Czarina performing Live at the GrooveOn VIP Lounge in Melbourne this Tuesday night!

Talented Melbourne singer/songwriter Czarina burst on to the scene in 2007 with the her first demo album which resulted with her being featured in Melbourne’s MX newspaper, reaching the Top 30 in the ‘New Artists to Radio” competition and being one of the Top 10 finalists in the Oz Music Awards (Urban Category). She now returns in 2010 with “Diamond Sunset”, working with new producers & songwriters from Australia through to the USA.

GrooveOn caught up with Czarina to find out whats in store for her in 2011 and her special acoustic show at Alumbra (Melbourne) on Australia Day Eve!

1. You’re already a known and experienced artist and performer in Melbourne having already done shows at some of its top nightspots. How have you matured as an artist over the years and tell us more about your recent release “Diamond Sunset”?

As a person I have matured in the sense of letting other people get involved – other songwriters, other producers, other designers etc. The one thing that I had done before that was not necessarily wrong, but it didn’t allow me to grow as an artist or appreciate other people’s talents, was that I wanted to do everything that I knew how to do, all myself. It’s interesting as I’m one of those rare singers that can be a little too organised, since I’m self-managed, and I always try to understand all aspects of the making of the album.

When I did my album demo, I worked with one producer, did all the songwriting as well as the artwork.

“Diamond Sunset” however, had about 6 producers involved, songwriters from UK and USA as well as myself to complete the easy-listening tracks. It was fun to add my own style to someone else’s work, using my harmonies. I even went to LA to work with the mixing engineer/producer face to face, which was such a fantastic experience, and the artwork was done by a good friend of mine who also did my website: http://www.czarinamusic.com

“Diamond Sunset” is now available on iTunes!

2. Tell us about where your music will be headed in 2011?

Now that I have the album out on iTunes, and the CDs available, I am going to start focusing on the single – a song that I wrote last year called, ‘Good Luck Charm’.
Organising remixes and bonus tracks as we speak, as well as a video clip. So, provided that it all works out this year, I’ll be able to push ‘Good Luck Charm’ as far as I can.
The song is also on a sampler that Valleyarm is presenting at the MIDEM conference this year, which will be great exposure.

I also have other side projects happening with other artists and producers, featuring vocals and doing songwriting for different genres (hip hop, dance and pop/rock) - so it’s all fun and exciting stuff as well as development for me.

And with the gigs that I have lined up, expect to see some great shows with dancers & instrumentalists.
(Feb 13 @ Co., Mar 19 @ Blue Velvet, Apr 3 @ Cornish Arms Hotel).

3. R&B and Pop music has really changed over the past few years, with the merging of electro/dance. What are your thoughts on this, and which new local or international artists do you admire?

I honestly think that all music genres have merged with each other, there’s always a hint of something else in there. Though my album doesn’t have that electro/dance feel to it, I am in the middle of a project that would cater for it. I don’t personally like the idea of the heavy use of auto-tuning vocals in a whole song, but do appreciate the sound when the song is asking for it. I’m all for fun and happy tracks that make people want to dance, but also about good and positive lyrics that people can learn from and relate to. My ultimate favourite new artist at the moment is Bruno Mars.

4. This is your first appearance at the GrooveOn VIP Lounge at Soul Sessions. What can we expect from your acoustic show at Alumbra?

Working with guitarists has been so much fun, I have to admit, as most of my past shows were done with dancers and a backing track.
But because this is an acoustic set, I won’t have any dancers this time.
Hearing my original songs being played live on guitar is quite refreshing, and I get to make cool new arrangements for the songs.
At the show, expect to be entertained with a few mash ups of tracks that I have written with some popular covers.
A sweet, fun and chilled evening, up in the Prive Lounge – so come check it out!

5. Anyone you would like to say thanks to?

A huge thanks to my family for the ongoing support, which allows me to continue to feed my passion.

To those involved in making “Diamond Sunset”, especially Joey, Drew, Mike, Damion, Andrew and Rachael.
A big thank you to my guitarists for their hard work at rehearsals for the Alumbra show – Patrick and Lisae, let’s do this!

To Jon of course, for the GrooveOn hook up.
Last but not least, a huge thank you to everyone who supports me and my music. You are the best. Thank you.

Diamond Sunset is now available on iTunes.
http://itunes.apple.com/au/album/diamond-sunset/id406071032