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"Intriguing... distinctive... unexpected... incredible... Atlanta's
best female voice..." without officially releasing a single record,
Jessica Tonder is drawing excitement and praise from everyone
who has caught a glimpse of her music. Growing up in Miami,
Jessica sang her way to Boston... then on to New York... and
more recently arriving in Atlanta to launch her career as a
vocalist that you'll be hearing much more of very soon.
With influences ranging from Ella Fitzgerald to Bjork, Chet Baker
to The Beatles, and Herbie Hancock to Radiohead, the 22-year
old Tonder's sound is as intoxicating as it is diverse. Diversity
that stems from her heritage as much as from her musical
influences... her parents are of Italian, Peruvian, and
Yugoslavian descent, and Jessica is fluent in four languages.
A singer/songwriter who "started singing when she was
conceived, basically", Jessica grew up with the influences of her
mom singing around the house, and her father spinning records
by John Coltrane and Ella Fitzgerald. Being in a musical family
and performing as a child gave her the courage to experiment
with different sounds and genres, and grow into herself as an
artist. This development led her to study at the Berklee College
of Music, where she met producer Derrick "Drop" Braxton (Lupe
Fiasco's "The Cool") through a sound engineer they were both
working with at the time. This led to Jessica signing a production
deal with Drop Music Inc., and making weekend bus trips down
to New Jersey to begin working in the studio, recording her first
7 songs.
A chance meeting at an industry party in New York connected
Jessica with Bob Whitfield, a former Atlanta Falcons offensive
tackle and founder/owner of Patchwerk Recording Studios
(Beyonce, Ciara, Sting, Annie Lennox, Ludacris, T.I., Akon,
Whitney Houston, Keith Sweat, 50 Cent, Missy Elliott, Snoop
Dogg, Toni Braxton). Inspired by Jessica's singing and artistry,
Whitfield made sure that she and Drop would have the best
studio environment to finish an album. This brought the
recording dynamic duo to Atlanta, where they have worked out
14 more records to date.
Collaborations with other Atlanta artists and a remix of her song
"The Bee" have music blogs raving about the new artist who's
not even out of the gates yet. Big things are in the works for
Jessica Tonder, so when she arrives, look out... she'll be coming
out swinging.” |
