Wil Key

When was the last time you purchased a CD - with 15 songs/no interludes no less - and dug it enough to let it play through without skipping one tune? L.A. based singer/songwriter Wil Key has delivered such a worthy disc thanks to the thoughtful, sensitive and sensual nature of his lyrics, the quality and sheen of the independent production, and a striking balance between live instrumentation (rhythm, horns and support vocals) and tastefully synthesized tracks. Vocally, Key gives utmost respect to his compositions, forgoing excessive riffing to deliver his lyrics with soulful sincerity that is as warm and endearing as it is tasteful and impressive. If you love Maxwell and Eric Bene’t, you will be feelin’ this brother who rolls with a slightly jazzier flow akin to Will Downing.

Titled But a Woman and graced with a lovely cover model .......(click link for full review - Urban Music Scene

When was the last time you purchased a CD - with 15 songs/no interludes no less - and dug it enough to let it play through without skipping one tune? L.A. based singer/songwriter Wil Key has delivered such a worthy disc thanks to the thoughtful, sensitive and sensual nature of his lyrics, the quality and sheen of the independent production, and a striking balance between live instrumentation (rhythm, horns and support vocals) and tastefully synthesized tracks. Vocally, Key gives utmost respect to his compositions, forgoing excessive riffing to deliver his lyrics with soulful sincerity that is as warm and endearing as it is tasteful and impressive. If you love Maxwell and Eric Bene’t, you will be feelin’ this brother who rolls with a slightly jazzier flow akin to Will Downing.

Titled But a Woman and graced with a lovely cover model .......(click link for full review - Urban Music Scene

Clearly, Wil Key put a lot of work into his latest effort, from singing and playing most of the instruments to tapping five-time Grammy nominee Ryan West (Beyoncé, Jay-Z) to engineer the disc, which was recorded in New York, Los Angeles and Denver. He also recruited a number of deft vocalists, including his wife, Laura, and horn players to bolster his compositions. There are a number of standouts here, including a decent take of Prince's "Welcome 2 the Rat Race" and "Now We," which opens with actress Kirsten Dunst reciting the "eternal sunshine of the spotless mind" section from Alexander Pope's "Eloisa to Abelard." A decent outing overall, Key displays solid writing skills and shows that he's well versed in contemporary jazz and R & B. -Jon Solomon - Westword (Denver, CO)

February 18, 2009
Soul locksmith
Chances are you’ve heard Wil Key in at least four films
BY MAT HERRON
“Let’s stay with idea of, ‘Don’t lock it down to one style,’” Wil Key says of his latest record, Satisfy My Soul.

The University of Louisville grad’s record mixes spoken word, hip-hop, soul and R&B. Produced by Ryan West (Jay-Z, Beyoncé, T.I.), a five-time Grammy-nominated engineer, Satisfy’s grab bag of styles was the ethic from the start. “I wanted to explore all those styles and see how they could all marry,” Key says.

Key has been a studio presence for years, beginning in 1992, when he converted the old West End Masonic Temple into Camael Recording. He later moved Camael to the Newburg neighborhood before relocating to Colorado in 2000 to attend a graduate program in recording at the University of Colorado-Boulder.

He recorded 15 songs for LA Ganz that were later used in “Long Kiss Goodnight,” “Booty Call” and Ice Cube’s “Dangerous Mind.” He has also worked with Def Jam artist Playa.

West is using one of Key’s songs, “I’ll Be Around,” off Satisfy, in an instructional video for Digidesign, the company that makes Pro Tools, a widely used recording software.
He’s planning a show in Louisville this summer.

HEAR MORE:
Wil Key
www.wil-key.com

http://leoweekly.com/music/soul-locksmith - LEO Weekly (Louisville, Ky)

BOULDER, Colo. — It's Grammy week -- and yes, there's a local connection with the national music awards.

Denver hip-hop, jazz and spoken word artist Wil Key is a University of Colorado graduate and he's busy promoting his latest CD, Satisfy My Soul.

However, this local performer's had a little help from five-time Grammy nominee and mixing pro Ryan West. The national studio ace is known for his work with Jay-Z and Beyonce.

Key is hoping West's mixing talents will take his new CD to the next level.

Q: How did you originally start your music career?

A: I'm from Kentucky and music was always around my family when I was growing up.

I went to Howard University and did my undergrad work in music and jazz studies. Then I came to Colorado for the recording program at CU-Denver, and I got my master's in jazz performance from CU-Boulder in 2005.

Q: What kinds of musical styles do you like to perform?

A: I have so many musical styles, but now I'm doing jazz, hip-hop, R&B and spoken word.

Contemporary stuff is my main focus. I've been playing Denver clubs like Dazzle, Soiled Dove, the Oriental and Herman's Hideaway.

It just depends on the venue and the crowd migration on what kind of genre I'll play, but every one of my sets has a little bit of everything.

Q: What national music projects have you worked on?

A: I used my recording experience to work on projects for Jive and Merv Griffin Records.

I've worked on projects for Playa, L.A. Ganz and the movie "The Long Kiss Good Night."

Q: How did you meet Grammy-nominated mixing engineer Ryan West?

A: I wanted a second ear for my music, so it put it up on my Web page. Ryan is a serious engineer -- and he actually found me online. He said he loved my material and wanted to work on it.

I got him on board, and he started mixing right away. Some of it he mixed at his place in New York.

Ryan's worked with people like Beyonce and Jay-Z, but he told me he was looking for some new stuff. He said he was looking for stuff that had more substance than what's on the radio.

Q: What's planned for your new CD Satisfy My Soul?

A: It's going to be on iTunes and CD Baby in a few weeks.

Ryan West will also be presenting it to some people. He's now working on an instructional video that will feature one of my songs.

We're looking at Internet radio and blogs. That's the way to go. A&R (artist and development) people aren't going to shows anymore -- they're looking at how many MySpace and blog hits you get.

And I'm going to play CD-release shows in Boulder, Denver and Fort Collins. -Wendy Kale - Colorado Daily