* Sprays on wall * "BLOG'S NOT DEAD"
In this new series, that I plan on continuing for the next 40 years approximately (I'm lazy), I will present some artists that lent their fabulous voices to one of the most amazing musical phenomenons, and the first that I have consciously witnessed - Eurodance.
Today we start with
Manuela Ray, best known for being the leading voice of the Austrian Eurodance act Imperio.
Even back in 1995 when I discovered Imperio with 'quo vadis' and especially 'nostra culpa' I had the slight feeling that they are a bit odd. Their songs sounded a bit like patchwork and the "ancient roman" bits didn't seem to fit to the hard electronic sound. Even so, I found them a bit fascinating and the aforementioned songs were catchy hits that we listened to over and over.
Listening to them now they seem even more like an oddity, especially the male vocals and raps don't seem quite right. However, they haven't really lost their charm, and the songs are still hits. But there is one thing especially that I discovered upon listening to them again, and that's the amazing vocals of Manuela Ray.
Born Manuela Ferisović in Pula (Yugoslavia, now Croatia) in 1974 to a Brasilian mother and German father and resident of Vienna in the nineties, rumor has it that Imperio producer Norbert Reichart discovered her dancing in a disco in Frankfurt, where she was visiting a friend. At first she thought he was hitting on her in an especially dumb way when he asked if she can also sing, but we all know that it worked out in the end - and that she could sing. And how!
Manuela has a strong voice made in Eurodance heaven and lifts all songs she featured to a higher level through her presence. This is especially obvious in my opinion on Imperio's first single of summer 1994, 'veni vidi vici'. Musically strong, but the male vocals are pretty abysmal - the computerized deep voice that does the 'veni vidi vici' being the worst (instead of "declaring" the words it sounds like someone is ordering lunch), closely followed by the "Ave Imperator" shouts with what sounds to me like a hilarious Austrian accent. The short "danceflooh!" raps assigned to Michael Harris sound decent enough, but when Manuela's voice emerges from the hard beats it's a revelation for the ears, really awesome vocals.
That, as mentioned, applies to every Imperio track this gifted singer did (thankfully, the male voices got a bit less silly on the following singles as well). Although not all tracks are must-haves, Imperio's full-lenght album "Veni Vidi Vici" is recommendable for Eurodance lunatics. It unites all the successful singles ('amor infinitus' was the fourth one and not mentioned yet) and adds another two or three tracks that are worth having. With their 1996 effort "Return to Paradise" and the connected singles Reichert altered the musical and artistic concept and went into the dreamdance/trance direction which didn't sound so compelling to me anymore. In other words, you don't need that, and it doesn't seem that Manuela Ray was still in the band anymore either - the vocals sound a lot weaker.
Manuela Ray previously to Imperio also participated in Reichart's other project, Decadance (from what I've heard of these tracks, again a great performance by her, paired with dubious male vocals).
I wish she had lent her voice to more Eurodance tracks since this music style seemed like a perfect match for her to my ears. Still getting goosebumps when she fills these choruses with magic!
'veni vidi vici' is not Imperio's best tune, but since I talked so much about it - here's the music video on youtube:
Imperio - veni vidi vici
Edit: Google also told me that when Austrian private TV channel ATV started, Manuela was one of the hosts of "erotic weather". Fucking hell! : ) Can anyone still remember that? Indeed, I recall that for a week or so, they tried to do a "fresh and more interesting, different take" on the weather forecast by having the lady hosts present the forecast in "a sexy way". Yeah. And in case you're wondering, no, it didn't work, it wasn't sexy and the weather never did what they said it would.
