KAREL

K A R E L

MANY SAID IT COULDN’T BE DONE...ESTABLISHING A DANCE ARTIST ON AN INDEPENDENT LABEL - NOT A ONE-HIT WONDER BUT AN ARTIST WHO WOULD GO ON TO BUILD A CAREER ON SOLID TRACKS AS WELL AS PUBLIC APPEAL FOR THE PERSON MAKING THE MUSIC. BUT “KAREL” HAS ACHIEVED JUST THAT THROUGH A SERIES OF HIGHLY ACCLAIMED MUSICAL RELEASES AND VISIBILITY IN BOTH THE EYES OF THE CONSUMER AND THE MUSIC INDUSTRY.

“KAREL” FIRST BURST ON TO THE MUSIC SCENE AS AN ARTIST IN 1993. HE TESTED THE WATERS WITH A 12” SINGLE ENTITLED “EVERYBODY (GET ON UP)” WRITTEN BY DANCE MUSIC VETERAN MICHAEL ECKART (STACEY Q., ANGELICA, VESTA WILLIAMS). THAT SINGLE DID WELL FOR HIM AND HIS NEWLY-ESTABLISHED ORBIK RECORDS. IT CAUGHT THE ATTENTION OF THE DANCE COMMUNITY AND THE NATIONAL MEDIA AND PROVED THE STEPPING STONE “KAREL” NEEDED TO CONTINUE FURTHER INTO THE GENRE.

NEXT WAS THE SINGLE “TURN IT UP” “KAREL” AND LONG TIME FRIEND THEA AUSTIN (THE VOICE OF SNAP’S “RHYTHM IS A DANCER” AND EUROPEAN SOLO ARTIST) COLLABORATED WITH SEBASTIAN REYES (LEADER OF THE GROUP DESIRE) AND CRAFTED A TRACK THAT IMMEDIATELY TOOK OVER THE DANCE FLOORS. THAT SINGLE WAS PICKED UP BY THE HOLLAND GROUP, HEADED BY EDDIE HOLLAND (PART OF THE HOLLAND-DOZIER-HOLLAND TRIO THAT CREATED MULTI-NUMBER-ONE HITS FOR MOTOWN LEGENDS). HGD SIGNED “KAREL” AND ORBIK TO A PRESS-AND-DISTRIBUTE DEAL AND “TURN IT UP” AGAIN GAINED NATIONAL HEADLINES AND STORE PLACEMENT FOR KAREL.

THE JOURNEY CONTINUED WITH THE COMPLETION OF KAREL’S FIRST FULL-LENGHT ALBUM, “DANCE...OR ELSE”. THAT ALBUM CONTAINED EIGHT FULL-LENGHT GROOVES AND FEATURED PRODUCTION AND WRITING BY THE BEST IN THE FIELD. “KAREL” AGAIN WORKED WITH MICHAEL ECKART, THEA ANDREW SONIC, EACH CARRYING WITH THEM IMPRESSIVE RESUMES. HOWEVER, THE BUSINESS END OF THE ALBUM CHANGED. “KAREL” AND HGD REALISED THAT HGD’S FORTE’ WAS R&B MUSIC, AND WHILE MANY OF KAREL’S TRACKS HAD AN
R&BEDGE, HE WAS A TRUE DANCE/POP ARTIST. SO, “KAREL” AND HGD PARTED WAYS AND ORBIK RECORDS BECAME A SOLO ENTITY. MS DISTRIBUTING, ONE OF THE NATION’S LEADERS, IMMEDIATELY TOOK ON THE PROJECT AND PLACED THE ALBUM IN EVERY MAJOR CHAIN RETAIL OUTLET.



REVIEWS FOR THE PROJECT WERE GLIMMERING. FROM BILLBOARD TO DANCE MUSIC AUTHORITY, GENRE TO THE ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER, ALL WERE HAILING “KAREL” AS THE NEXT DIVA OF DANCE. THE MEDIA NOT ONLY LOVED THE MUSIC BUT KAREL’S UNIQUE AND CANDID STYLE. OFTEN CALLED OUTLANDISH, PERHAPS LARRY FLICK OF BILLBOARD SUMMED IT UP BEST WHEN HE STATED, “DANCE...OR ELSE RESSURECTS THE LARGER-THAN-LIFE, MALE DISCO ICON, SWATHED IN GLAMOROUS SEQUINS, LIP-LICKING ATTITUDE AND SYNCOPATED GROOVE MELODRAMA AS KAREL IS A CONVINCING SUCCESSOR TO THE THRONE WITH HIS HONEY-COATED FALSETTO AND SAUCY PHRASING STYLE...”

“DANCE... OR ELSE” WENT ON TO BE NAMED THE # 10 DANCE ALBUM OF THE YEAR BY FLICK AL BILLBOARD. THE ALBUM YIELDED ANOTHER SINGLE, “LIVE TO TELL”, A REMAKE OF MADONNA’S CLASSIC. THAT SINGLE AND THE ACCOMPANYING VIDEO BROUGHT “KAREL” TO AN ENTIRELY NEW REALM OF MAINSTREAM APPEAL. THE VIDEO WAS CONTROVERSIAL IN THAT IT FEATURED AN HIV POSITIVE STORYLINE WITH AN ACTUAL HIV POSITIVE ACTOR IN THE LEAD ROLE (FROM COSTA MESA, CA’S MORGAN AGENCY). “KAREL” SERVED AS EXECUTIVE PRODUCER OF THE VIDEO AND HE, ALONG WITH ANDREW HOWARD, GARY BOWIE AND CENTURY PICTURES, CRAFTED THE STORYLINE AND CREATED A VIDEO FAR ABOVE WHAT MANY INDEPENDENT LABELS CREATE. THE SONG BECAME AN ANTHEM FOR AIDS AWARENESS, A CAUSE CLOSE TO KAREL’S HEART. HE HAS SEEN FIRST HAND THE DEVASTATION THIS DISEASE HAS CAUSED IN HIS COMMUNITY. HE DOES EVERYTHING HE CAN TO RAISE AWARENESS THROUGH HIS MUSIC AND PERFORMANCES.

KAREL’S STAGE SHOW BLOSSOMED AS WELL. SOON HE WAS PERFORMING WITH ACTS INCLUDING THEA AUSTIN, BRONSKI BEAT, DEAD OR ALIVE, CRYSTAL WATERS AND GRACE JONES. HE WAS DUBBED A “MALE BETTE MIDLER” DUE TO HIS UNIQUE MIXTURE OF COMEDY AND MUSIC. A STAUNCH BELIEVER IN THE BUSINESS OF SHOW, HIS PERFORMANCES INCLUDE MUSIC, COMEDY AND COSTUMING AND ARE QUITE A SPECTACLE FOR THE AUDIENCE MEMBERS.

KAREL’S ASSOCIATION WITH STEVE BRONSKI FROM BRONSKI BEAT LED TO THE RECORDING OF “DON’T STOP”, THE FIRST SINGLE FROM KAREL’S SECOND FULL LENGTH ALBUM, “DRAMA”. “DON’T STOP” IS A REMAKE OF A CLASSIC SYLVESTER SINGLE, AND BRONSKI GAVE THE ARRANGEMENT QUITE A MAKE-OVER. “KAREL” AGAIN CALLED UPON THEA AUSTIN FOR BACKGROUND SUPPORT AND ALSO UTILISED THE TALENTS OF ANOTHER GREAT SINGER, JEANIE TRACY. TRACY IS A SOLO ARTIST AND BACKGROUND VOCALIST WHOSE OFTEN WORKED WITH SYLVESTER. “KAREL” FELT IT TO A TRIBUTE TO THE MEMORY OF SYLVESTER, AN ENTERTAINER HE ADMIRED, THAT THEY UPDATE THIS GREAT TRACK AND CALL UPON SOME OF THE SAME TALENT FOR THE NEW ENDEAVOUR.

THE ALBUM “DRAMA” AGAIN CALLS UPON THE HOTTEST CONTEMPORARY PRODUCERS AND WRITERS INCLUDING STEVE BRONSKI (BRONSKI BEAT), RICHARD “RIKKO” PREUSS (PRODUCER:L.A.D.), TENA CLARK (VESTA, PATTI LABELLE), THEA AUSTIN AND A HOST OF OTHERS. KAREL’S SOUND HAS AGAIN TRANSFORMED ITSELF, KEEPING THE BEST OF DANCE, MIXING IN SOME R&B AND
GRAVITATING TOWARDS POP.

“KAREL” HAS OVERCOME THE OBSTACLES FACING AND INDEPENDENT ARTIST AND LABEL AND HAS BECOME SYNONYMOUS WITH GREAT MUSIC. HE REALISES THAT MUSIC IS A COLLABORATIVE ART FORM AND HAS CALLED UPON THE BEST IN HIS FIELD TO CREATE A SOLID FOUNDATION FOR HIS CAREER. AS HEAD DO A LABEL, HE HAS BEEN FORCED TO TEMPER ARTISTIC DECISIONS WITH BUSINESS ACUMEN, NOT AN EASY TASK FOR A CREATIVE ENTITY. HIS STRONG MUSIC INDUSTRY BACKGROUND - AS A PUBLICIST, JOURNALIST AND PHOTOGRAPHER FOR MAJOR ARTISTS AND PUBLICATIONS HAS GIVEN HIM THE TOOLS HE NEEDS TO SUCCESSFULLY MAINTAIN A STRONG LABEL IDENTITY. MEANWHILE, HIS STRONG, UNIQUE VOICE AND UNCANNY COMEDIC SKILLS HAVE HELPED HIM RISE ABOVE THE THRONG OF ENTERTAINERS IN TODAY’S MARKETPLACE TO EMERGE AN ENTERTAINMENT FORCE WITH WHICH TO BE RECKONED.