Coco Hayek
Montréal, Quebec, Canada | INDIE
Music
Press
Oct 31, 2008- Toronto Exclusive Magazine 2008 Awards:
Winner of Best Provincial Pop CD Album
* Claire Hayek, “Intention”, Montreal, Quebec
http://www.clairehayek.com/2008_Best_Provincial_Pop_CD.tif
Winner of Best Provincial Pop Female Artist * Claire Hayek, Montreal, Quebec
http://www.clairehayek.com/2008_Best_Provincial_Pop_Female.tif
www.torontoexclusive.com/magazineawardsonline/2008awards-provincial-musicnominees.html - Toronto Exclusive Magazine
'Claire Hayek has a vocal sound that is reminiscent of Cher without the gross vocoder fabrications that she adopted later in her career. Hayek has the same sort of dark timbre to her voice and is very distinctive and easy to recognize (once you know the voice).'
' 'If Only I' is one of the gems of Intention. Stripped down to just guitar and voice, you can start to see the true potential of Claire Hayek.'
' 'Just Another' is a great soundtrack tune, probably for a nighttime teen drama or reality show.'
'Also worth a listen is 'What About (Mother)', written with a baroque opening that opens up into Claire Hayek and piano. The song is pure theater and allows Claire Hayek to paint a very different picture with her voice. This is where you'll decide that you have to buy absolutely anything the woman ever puts out...If you're not convinced yet, then check out 'Redemption Song'. You'll weep.'
'Claire Hayek should be around for a long time to come. Talent like this never stays hidden.'
- Wildy's World
"Intention" is the impressive solo pop/rock debut from Canadian singer/songwriter Claire Hayek. These songs are fueled by nice acoustic and electric guitar work, great drum beats, and an excellent vocal performance from Hayek reminiscent of Paula Cole and Alanis Morissette. Hayek's songs convey a variety of emotions, and the arrangements seem to correspond with this, ranging from happy upbeat songs to heartbreaking acoustic tracks and everything in between. Her lyrics are intelligent, inspired, socially aware, and she sings with purpose. "Intention" was self-produced in Hayek's home-based studio, and it sounds clean and professional. "Charmer" opens with a Middle Eastern sound maintained in the background throughout, then introduces a great drum beat and features great cynical lyrics and a superb, catchy vocal performance. "Baby Girl" is an upbeat track you can dance to with a great arrangement and a catchy chorus. Displaying her intelligent and emotive lyrics and fantastic vocal range, "Intention" could very easily boost Claire Hayek's career and find her some radio play. Fans of pop rock and great female singer/songwriters should pick this one up. - Chris & the RadioIndy.com Reviewer Team
Claire Hayek is a force in the music scene. It was nice to see Claire involved with A2W as Skope has been covering her music for some time now. Claire is
from Montreal, Quebec by way of Lebanon. It was while in Lebanon that Claire gained a love & passion for playing music. She played music to escape
from her harsh reality of Lebanon’s civil war. Claire is older now and stronger in so many ways. Her music & voice is powerful. She leaves you no choice
but to listen to her voice over a rock/pop background. We really like Claire on her track, “Charmer.” This is a perfect song for radio in every sense. When
Claire is not doing music she has her engineering degree & career to fall back on. She is also involved with various charities that are special to her. Like her
song, “Open Book”, Claire’s music lets you in to her life. Her songs are personal and catchy. We will continue to watch Claire as she keeps putting out
quality music.
MAY 2009 SONICBIDS “ARTISTS 2 WATCH” Skope Entertainment Inc Page 2 of 7
http://skopemag.com - Skope Entertainment Inc.
Have you ever cringed listening to a cover song and wondered why an artist or band would butcher a great song? That was an initial fear upon seeing the track listed on Intention, but certainly not the case with Claire Hayek’s version of “Redemption Song” by original artist Bob Marley. I was hooked as soon as I listened to the first word out of her mouth with an accompanying drum in the background. The song is naturally euphonious and Claire was able to “naturally” keep it that way, but with a woman’s touch! Her vocals make you feel like you can read her soul like a book. She hooked me with her strong vocals at the beginning and then again with her French twist at the end. Absolutely beautiful!
“All Means Nothing”, but it does mean something! Wow. This song was another favorite. We’ve all had really bad relationships. I’m sure everybody can relate to this song. “All Means Nothing” is, by far, musically and lyrically meaningful with simplistic drum beats that fit perfectly into the song and strong vocals that tell more than a story.
From familiar artists like Cher to Bob Marley, Claire Hayek has a way of appeasing everybody’s musical interest. Pop or rock? I honestly don’t know. There is no genre to classify her unique style. Regardless of her struggles through life, Claire has truly showed how dedicated she is to connecting to the rest of the world through music.
Review by Thea Brown
http://www.targetaudiencemagazine.com/uploads/Winter_2009_reviews.php
- Target Audience Magazine
Claire Hayek hits female fronted pop/rock right on the head with her new album "Intention." This CD features a very wide range of influences that set the tone for every song. Whether it's Hayek's view on war or an Alanis Morissette style pop tune, the Canadian based artist gives you quite a variety on "Intention." Songs like "Open Book" stand out as the main theme for Hayek's mid – 90's songwriting approach and features some nice lead guitar work. On a completely different end of the pop/rock spectrum, she throws in some Middle-Eastern flavor with "Charmer." Hayek delivers more of a rock than pop feel to her latest album and would be a great listen for anyone who is a fan of Melissa Ethridge or Alanis Morissette.
Shaun and the RadioIndy.com reviewer Team
http://radioindyall.blogspot.com/2009/02/intention-by-claire-hayek-pop-artist.html - RadioIndy.com
Discography
Desconocidos- EP 1996
Butterfly- EP 2001
Snake charmer- EP 2003
Intention- CD 2009
Analemma, I will follow You- DJ Yovan feat. Claire Hayek- Single 2009
Miss You- DJ Robson Vidal & Blond:ish feat. Coco Hayek- Single 2010
Photos
Bio
« Her vocals make you feel like you can read her soul like a book. […] Claire Hayek has a way of appeasing everybody’s musical interest. […] Claire has truly showed how dedicated she is to connecting to the rest of the world through her music. » — Thea Brown, Target Audience Magazine
« This woman has a voice that will bowl you. […] a pretty good album by an incredible artist. […] Claire Hayek should be around for a long time to come. Talent like this never stays hidden. » — Wildy's World
« Her lyrics are intelligent, inspired, socially aware, and she sings with purpose. […] Fans of pop rock and great female singer/songwriters should pick this one up. » — Chris & the RadioIndy.com
BIOGRAPHY
Before her parents fled Beirut with their children, Claire Hayek escaped the unbearable realities of the civil war in Lebanon with music. As a young child, she sang and played the flute for her school choir. At that point she already knew that music would be her lifeblood.
Location: Quebec. Although Claire earns herself an engineering degree in metallurgy, she never forgets her love of music. She is determined to break through as a singer-songwriter. Pushing herself to the limit, she takes on ear training, piano and singing lessons, works constantly and participates in many competitions. At the same time, she writes songs, which she has been doing for years, hoping to one day share them with the world. Is she looking for fame? Not really. Singing and songwriting being her favorite form of expression, she simply wants to share her life and worldviews with as many people as possible. However her career in engineering takes over her life, leaving little time to pursue her true passion.
A series of events lead her one day to put her professional career on hold, giving her time to focus on her first love, music; its soothing sounds and melodies that envelop you. Opportunities soon come knocking. She plays small venues across Quebec, accompanying folk, R&B and rock bands, co-founds two original bands, DareDream and Butterfly. She is also awarded grants from the Conseil des arts et des lettres du Québec in Development and Research & Creation, and aid from the Young Volunteers program.
The future looks bright. But after four years with her duo band Butterfly, their adventure comes to a sudden halt. A shock for the singer-songwriter who was working on many promising projects. Lucky coincidence? Perfect timing? Claire is invited shortly after to join a classic rock band, created to perform a series of shows in Morocco. During the two-month tour, the band plays six nights a week. The schedule proves to be beneficial for her and convinces her to produce her own album.
Struggling between jobs that finally convince her to reconnect with her engineering career, she throws herself entirely in her writing project. She pours her life experiences and her own reflections into her music and lyrics. Three years later, her self-produced album Intention is born, a collection of her original songs. She works with an excellent team of musicians and technicians, including renowned guitarist Rob MacDonald; the musician-songwriter-producer acts as a guitarist, bassist and sound engineer. The album is completed in summer 2008.
Upon the album’s release, Claire experiences overwhelming recognition. In September 2008, she is among the top five most requested ‘Indie’ artists on Women of Substance radio, based in California. Many of her songs have also captured audiences of OutboundMusic.com and Plattsburgh Pipeline Radio. The song Peace of mind can even be heard on Radio-aria.net in France, Belgium, Luxembourg and Germany. The following month Toronto Exclusive Magazine grants her two awards for ‘Best Female Provincial Pop Artist’ and ‘Best Provincial Pop Album’ of the year while the song If Only I is chosen to be part of the second volume of Violet Femmes (RPW Records) to be released in March 2009.
At the end of 2008, Claire and DJ Yovan sign Analemma (I Will Follow You) with Kult Records. She also performs at the Festival du monde arabe de Montréal and at Club Balattou. In the beginning of 2009, she has four music videos from her album; Charmer and its French version Charmeur, and the song Gotta Go in English and international versions (interpreted in five languages). She is also a member of L’Esprit des Vents, a group of female voices and mother drum paying tribute to the rich native Indian culture with an undeniable success in Quebec and the US.
Between her engineering career and her passion for singing and songwriting, Claire Hayek remains a citizen of the world. Aware of the challenges humanity is faced with, the artist and environmentalist, whose album cover is entirely created from recycled materials, personally supports a number of charities dear to her heart, including Équiterre, the S.O.S Water Coalition, the Canadian Cancer Society, the Canadian Wildlife Federation and the Lebanese association of SOS Child
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