Livin Out Loud

Livin Out Loud seemingly exists in series of alternate universes. In the United Kingdom, a handful of the R&B quarter's singles have been in rotation at dance clubs and urban radio, remixed by prominent DJs for the last four years. In the American South, they've attracted listeners and programmers at adult r&B radio. In Japan, the act as sold 2,000 vinyl copies of the single "More Than A Fantasy," released via Mo's Music. Not bad for a group based out of Hollywood.

"I guess we have what you call crossover," Livin Out Loud member and creative producer Reuben MacCalla says. Whatever you call it , the foursome is having some obvious success drawing attention on this side of the Atlantic (and Pacific). Two singles "Lately" and "I Can't Stop" have made it onto Billboard's Hot Adult R&B Airplay chart, with the latter currently sitting at No. 39.

But Livin Out Loud earned it's acclaim in England first before winning over audiences in the United States. When MacCalla's brother and business partner Thomas shopped the band's 2003 single "More Than A Fantasy" to UK DJs he made an immediate fan out of Mike G from Choice FM, who spun the track the same afternoon he heard it.

From there, producers and DJs like Karl "Tuff Enuff" Brown, 5AM Productions, and 2Darc started making their own remixes of the effort. Livin Out Loud was soon invited to open for Ne-Yo at the Hammersmith Paliais in London and completed it full-length effort in 2004. a sampler of that set went out with 80,000 copies of (ill-fated) British magazine BLINK.

"We know that competition for airplay (in Los Angeles) is tough so we wanted to try to start somewhere different. We just never thought it'd be 10,000 miles away" MacCalla says. to tackle "competition" stateside , the group left its future in US radio in the hands of promotion veteran Jesus Garber, who has worked his magic on stations like KOKY-FM, Little Rock, Ark and KMEZ New Orleans after Hurricane Katrina.

"I Can't Stop" is culled from the group's most recent album, What About Us" realeased digitally August 19. The physical release will hit stores Nov 18 with distribution from Fontana. Livin Out loud also has a digital release deal with Urban Essentials/Pinnacle in the United Kingdom. - Billboard Magazine (USA)

August 20, 2007

Livin’ Out Loud - What About Us
- What About Us, from Livin’ Out Loud, is a mixture of R & B, hip-hop, techno and soul, all bundled in a harmonic package. The danceable rhythms will have listeners aching to groove to the record’s infectious tone, and the band members trade vocal duties seamlessly so a beat is never missed.

On “All That Really Matters (5AM Radio Edit),” listeners can hear the band members harmonizing against the techno flow of the song. Their voices mesh over each other in a rhythmic way as they talk about what means most in their lives, with such lines as, “Anything that you give to me. Anything that you give to me. All that really matters to me that you give to me…There is a special place that I want you to stay and that it is in my heart forever and ever…You’ll always have a place in my heart.”

With the title track, rap begins the track as it is about the finale of what one person thought was a relationship, but comes to find out it was just a fun time for the other participant. The track is like a discourse between the two, with the male rapping and the female singing her thoughts on their hookup. The male begins with lines like, “I used to love ya baby, the key word is used to…I’m a man so that means I’m a dirty dog...We had a good thing, now let’s chalk it up to a good fling.” Then, the female retorts with questions on the man’s uncaring view of their relationship, with, “Can I talk to you…It’s been too long since we got along and I know things change, livin’ day by day. You don’t take the time to tell me what’s on your mind, baby. You used to love me crazy. I knew I was your lady. Now that it doesn’t feel that way. What about you? What about me? What about us?” It seems the female is asking the male what went wrong and why he suddenly discarded her from his heart, when she felt things were going so well.

On “Where's the Love (Original Urban Mix)," there is a slow, soulful vibe as the female vocalist opens the song and talks about her knowing her man is telling her lies and how she will not stand for it anymore, as she emotes lines such as, “Give me one reason I should stay…Wait a minute now. I need to talk to you. Don’t you lie to me, you better talk true…Tell me what’s up…Talk to me boy is so hard for you to show? Where’s the love? Where’s the love? Where’s the love? Why are you givin’ it up, so tell me where’s the love? I remember when you were caressin’ me, you called out a name, now tell me who is she?” It looks like the female vocalist wants to know why this man has been telling her untruths, and she also wants to know what happened to all the affection between them.

What About Us, from Livin’ Out Loud, is a techno, rhythm and blues fan's dream. The harmonizing is excellent as is the instrumentation. Both the male and female vocalists’ timbres are silky smooth, which adds to the power of their respective points. If you are a techno, R & B or soul enthusiast, go live out loud and pick up this album.

Reviewer: Sari N. Kent

new
Reviewer's Rating: 9.5
Reader's Rating: 0
Reader's Votes: 0 - The Celbrity Cafe

Jive rated 4 out of 5

After hitting the top of R&B and Dance charts in the UK during July and December 2006 with the singles “What About U” and “All That Really Matters - 5am mix”, Livin Out Loud is now ready to release the album “What About US” in the USA.

Livin Out Loud includes creative, visionary producer Reuben MacCalla along with his sister vocalist/songwriter/actress Sylvia MacCalla (Hair Spray, Rent), vocalist /songwriter Lisa LaShawn (Diane Warren, Derrick Bramble, Brion James) and songwriter-singer-guitarist J. Martini (Paul Simon, Marc Anthony). - Jive Magazine

May 2007

These four singers are smoother than silk and hotter than fire! Call it R&B, call it Neo-Soul or call it Dance - I call it great! Rueben and Sylvia MacCalla, Lisa LaShawn and J. Martini make up this quartet of velvety vocalist and oh man can they wail! LIVIN OUT LOUD first broke out on the British radio charts in late 2006 then took American radio by storm early 2007. Their debut U.S. release is scheduled for this summer and if you’re looking for the soundtrack to back a little livin’ and lovin’ as well as to bust your best move then get your hands on a copy of LIVIN OUT LOUD’s “What About Us?” and bop till you drop. - Hot Indie News.com

July 2007

The remix of the popular Livin Out Loud soul track "Lately" is Number 2 on the A List for the month of July. This funky house track was remixed by Livin Out Loud's creative producer Reuben MacCalla. - Soul Nation- Urban Essentials

LIVIN OUT LOUD - "WHAT ABOUT US"
KIN PRODUCTIONS ( to be released Spring 2007)

If the question is “WHAT ABOUT US”, then the answer is… GREAT MUSIC.
This 4-Some is R&B, Soul & Dance elegance in motion. The diversity of the CD flows effortlessly across genres and back again. Reuben MacCalla, Sylvia MacCalla, Lisa LaShawn & J. Martini are the voices that blend and compliment each other throughout the 14 tracks. With the UK chart success of the track “All that really matters” in both the World R&B & URBAN charts, the group is now focused on the USA release in spring 2007. These productions stand out in a refreshing departure from some of the limelight releases of late. Rueben MacCalla, a member and the producer for all the tracks, is bringing the best from the talented group. The four group members are all singer songwriters on the CD, that deep connection with the music is very obvious.
– John Reed - For Hollywood2you.TV (Mar 8, 2007) - Hollywood2you.TV

Livin Out Loud
All That Really Matters
(Livin)
By Martin Madigan
5 shouts

West Coast RnB act "Livin Out Loud" come with the third UK single 'All That Really Matters' from their album What About Us? The track's radio edit features 'Hit Maker' remix team 5AM who have recently had top 5 chart succes with their mix of the Lemar single 'Not That Easy'. Other artistis they have worked with include Usher, Kelly Rowland, Mario Donell Jones and Christine Aguilera. Club wise the remixes come from M J Cole, Karl Tuff Enuff Brown, Ray Paxon & Groove Professor plus GE (Gary Esson). The track is a smooth and sultry percussive groove that features the best vocal performance to-date from front man Reuben MacCalla. Its lyric in particular, is a personal statement reflecting on his feelings for a woman he fell in love with. "She got inside my heart, mind and soul. Once that happend I could never let her go. The mmod of the song is a reflection of how she makes me feel. It 's not always peachess and cream, but I would not have it any other way. She challenges me and always makes me want to be a better person." Inspired music indeed.
Mark Madigan - DMC Update Magazine (Jan 17, 2007) - DMC Update Magazine

Livin Out Loud- All That Really Matters- Kin Productions

One of the most under-rated acts from the other side of the big pond comes with a strong new single. In its original version it is a strong radio cross over R&B track. But the one that matters to us is the sublime 5am Remix. This remix is and will continiue to have the same reaction as 5AM's amazing remixes of Roachford and more recently Lemar. They really have become purveyors of the quality groove. Add to this a smouldering vocal performance from the immensely talented "Livin Out Loud" and you should guess that this is track you need in your collection.
- Soul Nation Magazine (Nov 15, 2006)
- Soul Nation Magazine

Livin Out Loud "What About US"-Four Stars

Livin Out Loud are a US quartet who are big out on the West Coast. Their sound is soul with a hint of rap from New York based Pureto Rican, Crisis. As is often the case, their music has been championed in this country (UK) by club DJs and this album has been given a leg up from UK mixers 2 Darc and Thomas Burbree. So what we have is a kind of hybrid album that could appeal right across the black music spectrum. However, UK modern soul people are notoriously conservative and though they'll lap up some of the cuts here, I don know that they'll also balk at some of the rap interludes. Equally the hip-hop crowd might well find the soul a tad too smooth for ther more contemporary tastes. Soul boys I know will dig the lovely and lithe "Lately" (not the Stevie song, by the way). Featuring Sylvia MacCalla on lead vocal its one of the sweetest mid tempo grooves I've heard all year. Equally the group's harmonic take on the oldie "You Are My Sunshine" is real old skool soul. However, I can't see the hip hop brigade connecting with those cuts- excellent as they are. They'll no doubt go to stuff like "What About Us" and "Where's the Love" which both appear in two incarnations with not alot to choose betwwen them... and where do I stand on all this? Well , I consider myself broadminded enough to dig all takes on black music and I also believe that our music must evolve to survive. here Livin Out Loud are offering something just a touch differnet and I urge you to investigate.
BB - Blues and Soul Magazine (Sep 8, 2006)
- BB Blues and Soul Magazine

While in London late last fall I discovered a new R&B
act that was blasting from just about every radio
station I heard. Livin Out Loud is probably one of the
most underrated, undiscovered underground acts I‘ve
come across in my travels. Their debut album, “What
About Us” is full of consistent variation (wrap your
mind around that one!). It’s Club/R&B/Neo-Soul with a
gentle dash of Hip-Hop and cool swing. What stands out
with this combo are the strong vocals and solid
songwriting.
Livin Out Loud includes visionary record
producer Reuben MacCalla along with his sister
vocalist/songwriter/actress Sylvia MacCalla (Hair
Spray, Rent...), vocalist/songwriter Lisa LaShawn
(Diane Warren, Derrick Bramble, Brion James) and
songwriter-singer-guitarist J. Martini (The
Afrodisiacs, Paul Simon, Marc Anthony). After hitting
the top of R&B and Dance charts in the UK during July
through December 2006 with the singles “What About Us”
and “All That Really Matters - 5am mix”, Livin Out
Loud is now ready to release the album “What About US”
in the USA. The record will be available through
Fontana/Universal Distribution spring of '07.
Songs such as “Lately” show the best in
contemporary R&B with old skool roots. Tracks like
“Brokeazz”, “Hey Yo”, and “What You Came Here For”
have infectious grooves complimented by the laid-back
feel of “You Are My Sunshine” and “So Amazing”. “All
That Really Matters”, “What About Us” and “Where’s The
Love” are simply great songs that give this album a
real timeless quality.
One thing about Livin Out Loud has really
puzzled me. So many of their song titles (like What
About Us) seem to be structured as questions but they
never end with question marks. So I called their
publicist at Mia Mind Music to ask why. The reply?
“When you have artists this talented, there really is
no question”! - Review from Rap Fanatic in New York