Keys Please

Kristin Hoffmann does her thing as a classically trained singer/songwriter/musician. Her beautiful soulful voice is smooth and sultry, while her words are powerfully poetic. Kristin has created her unique signature sound by blending pop, soul, blues rock. Kristin's live performances from her album Real, wowed audiences at Sundance and the Knitting Factory in NYC. - Binside TV

Gig alert! Kristin inspires March 22 at SF’s Boca. Introspective, almost new-agey singer/ songwriter Kristin Hoffmann fuses classical talent with post-modern chicky-poo love songs and epic love poems for every modern lover. Think of every emotional sweeping theatrical moment on TV or film – a sweet soulful divaette sings over the action from the heart while a montage of life gets us closer to home. My top picks: “Home,” “Real” and “I Declare.” - San Francisco Bay Times

In today's popular culture, a young, upcoming artist knows she has made it when her hit song is played in the background of a dramatic, introspective scene in "Dawson's Creek." That is precisely what happened to Kristin Hoffmann several months ago.

The playing of Hoffmann's hit song, "Mary" on WB's highest rated show was a tremendous publicity boost for the singer and marked the pinnacle of her roller coaster four year career. Hoffman recorded her first record at the young age of 17, and led to her signing with Capitol Records. However, during her freshman year at New York University, the two men responsible for her signing left the company, effectively severing her ties with Capitol Records.

"I was left with no one," Hoffman said. "At this point I realized this wasn't going anywhere and we decided to part ways."

The severance wound up being the greatest lesson of Hoffman's life. "I couldn't pay any amount of money for that lesson," Hoffman said. "You put your whole soul into that and then you have to learn to move on with what you're doing. It doesn't mean you're doing anything wrong. The biggest thing I got out of it was learning how to move on from a traumatic experience. If something gets in your way, that's not the end."

At this point, Hoffmann could have lain down and given up on herself as many young artists choose to do after being released from their all-important label. Instead, she turned the lowest point of her life into a positive and used it as a learning experience.

Hoffmann's soul searching led her to Thailand, where she embarked on a month-long journey that included guitar playing, meditation, sleeping on the beach and yoga. Through her study of eastern culture she learned to trust her instincts and let her thoughts, sensations and new ideas come naturally. "I brought a guitar with me and spent countless nights playing for groups of people for no other reason than to add something to my life and to theirs," Hoffman said. "For me, it was the true meaning of music-- the opportunity to share strictly for the sake of sharing."

Hoffmann returned home to New York invigorated and immediately began recording songs for her current album "Divided Heart". "Divided Heart" is a catalog of her life and her experiences. It features 10 new full-length songs that explore a woman's journey through life, love, heartbreak, professional challenges and personal renewals.

Hoffmann describes the song "Temple," as the one that is most indicative of her life today. "Temple represents my ideal vision of a relationship between two people and with myself," Hoffmann said. "It's about being real -- letting yourself be seen and loved in your true light.

'Temple' is about the things that can break down this realness -- things like moving in the same circles over and over again without growing. It's about opening your eyes to the night-time hunters and moving beyond them."

Hoffmann's manager Rachel Pine refers to her music as a combination of "Tori Amos, Avril Lavigne, and Alannis Morrisette." She said that Hoffmann's work appeals to women because of the "strong feminist sentiment in her lyrics," and is popular among males because of her "physical attractiveness."

In a recent review, Don Thomason of The Amplifier Online raved that Hoffmann delivered "piano-dominant music with a Joan Osborne meets Carole King feel." An anonymous author on Hoffman's web site-- www.kristinhoffmann.com -- even equates her music to skydiving.

"After it is over, both the music and the diving, your feet get firmly planted onto the earth and you realize that you just have had a life-transforming experience," the author wrote.

Undoubtedly, music is ingrained in Hoffmann's soul and has allowed her to develop and grow from a confused, star-struck teenager to a strong, composed woman. "Music allows people to connect to each other and that connection can encompass so much, relationships, healing, exploration, love, challenge and openness.

"Connecting with people, sharing who I am, is what inspires me, and I feel as if I've been given a gift in being able to express myself through music," Hoffmann said.




- Campus Times University of Rochester

You know, here's another instance of a misleading picture. Hoffman is somewhat diminutive in stature (and no knock there, she looks young and kind of short), but when she opens her mouth, hoo boy, it's like an angel singing. A big angel. Her voice is emotive, and she knows how to wrap it around words, ranging from raspy to sweet, and though you may be tempted to think of, say, Tori Amos or others, Hoffmann is captivating enough on her own to push aside thoughts of comparisons. Her years of classical training show through in the numbers, which are often ballads or slow-paced tunes with a lot of interesting musical movement. The real kicker is she's only 23, and I mention that because the music seems so polished, and the emotions so authentic, that it sounds like she's been through the wringer for years. I like surprises, and this one cheered me up big. - NYRock.com

Natasha Alexandra is a piece of meat. An unprocessed slab of animal flesh creeping along a conveyor belt called the music industry. As a consumer, you’re here to ensure the final product meets your increasingly fickle standards.

Welcome to the meat market! Here, the final product is Natasha Alexandra’s music, which explains why she’s calling her upcoming string of shows the Meat Inspection Tour.

“Its tongue in cheek,” said the singer-songwriter. “I just love the whole meat inspection thing.” Why? As a performer, you can feel like a piece of meat when you’re on stage, she said. Alexandra wants to put the shoe on the other foot, let the audience squirm around a bit.

Ultimately, she admits, “It’s whatever it means to you.”

Natasha Alexandra is an unknown. On the cover of her five-track demo, a red tint saturates her image as her hand rests seductively on her neck; her eyelids garishly painted with eye shadow, hair sprawled out across the cracking concrete. Beyond seduction, this leads nowhere.

Then, in a moment of crystal ball clairvoyance, she calls her first song ‘What do you wanna know?’

“If I could’ve been different I guess you might of liked me/well that’s too bad its about to get ugly/see I’m a one-gun army, got a mouthpiece on me/if you think I’m charming you, you don’t know me at all is what you said”

FYI: Natasha doesn’t belong to one of those families that develop musical virtuosos by the age of five: she never took lessons. Some might consider that a handicap, it hasn’t slowed her down at all; she’s been performing music for close to 15 years. “I knew that’s what I wanted to do. It just came naturally.”

Without dwelling too much on musical connect-the-dots, the simplest line connects her to prototypical piano-vocalist Tori Amos. “She’s just brutally honest,” said Alexandra. For her, Amos’ honesty topples the wall between artist and listener. Her goal, while breeding on familiar ground, is to push honesty to the point of complete transparency.

“It’s the yin and the yang of being wanted to be taken seriously; it’s a curse.”

‘Refuel’ begins to display her attempts at transparency over a chilling guitar that warps into some seriously psychedelic riffs. Alexandra delivers the shamelessly repentant lyrics with the cold indifference of a lover scorned. Poetic couplets such as ‘I don’t know where your fantastic went/tender madness’ reflect a stripped-down approach to emotional complexity.

“It was one of those songs where I wrote it and I didn’t think I wrote it,” she said.

In the moments before a storm, sadness looms in the heavens. Natasha’s voice/piano brews the same emotions. It’s the promise of something wicked combined with the prospect of the calm after the storm. “It’s a stream of consciousness; it just comes out of my mouth and my fingers.”

At times, Alexandra’s music seems at odds with itself. Rarely does one find noble melodies in such dark portraits of emotional instability. Her cover of Depeche Mode’s ‘Walking in my shoes’ verges on the atmospheric soundscapes of early Portishead.

Over lonely piano chords, Natasha’s seductive panting positions the listener in front of a broken mirror where she asks you to re-examine your life. “You go through parts in your life where you’d like to tempt people to walk in your shoes,” she said, and that’s where her music leaves you . . . stumbling in unfamiliar footsteps.

Beverley St. from the second floor inside the Church, a robed clergyman bellows down to the crowd. He said we come in search of redemption. Tonight, we achieve it in Alexandra. Her performance is strong, though at times overwhelmed by the band’s booming acoustics. She’s at her best when the band lies low, allowing her piano and voice to dominate. As a performer, she commands the stage with a coy smile, pausing between songs long enough to sip from her coffee cup and reflect on the Janet Jackson ‘Rhythm Nation’ ambience of the light show. It’s refreshingly unpolished, honest without being overly dramatic.

There is of course, one last thing… and only you can give her music that final stamp of approval.

- SceneandBeHeard.com

An anxious buzz grows throughout the crowd – a relentless, aggressive beast, rarely tamed. They attempt to stem their impatience for the show to begin. Suddenly, she takes the stage – a single, curious creature – taking a seat before her weapon: 88 keys and a microphone. An anxious cheer is released by the audience as their anticipation comes to a boil. With the first chord the crowd falls silent – hypnotized by her fast key strokes and unwavering, powerful, sultry voice. Without warning, the song comes to an end. The beast explodes with whistles and screams, demanding more. She continues this way...tension and release...the crowd fixated on her every word, her every note. The keys explode, fingers dancing, only to come to one final note bringing the set to a close. Our heroin gives the crowd a final farewell, then disappears. The crowd erupts. Unsatisfied the beast wants more...it craves more...it will just have to wait until the next show!




This is just one of many testimonials written by an unsuspecting audience member after seeing one of Natasha Alexandra’s shows. They never knew what hit them. Foolishly they entered the club expecting “just another piano girl.” Instead they received a full hit of Natasha Alexandra and her powerful live performance. A lethal combination of honest, dark, heart-wrenching lyrics cut with hypnotizing keystrokes. The poor fool stood no chance. Leaving the club that night they didn’t realize it, but even from one dose they were hooked...doomed to be a Natasha Alexandra junkie like the rest of the crowd.

Very little is known about the source of Natasha Alexandra. Widespread speculation has identified the source to be Hamilton, Ontario – a small steel town north of the Canada/U.S. border. Natasha Alexandra circulated the streets of Canadian cities such as Hamilton and Toronto, spawning junkie after junkie. Natasha is first recorded to have entered circulation in the United States in 2004 on a “Meat Inspection” tour. Under this guise she hooked hundreds if not thousands of unsuspecting New Yorkers in places like The Living Room, The Cutting Room, The Bitter End and The Rockwood Music Hall to name a few.

2005 has already seen dramatic increases in demand for greater Natasha Alexandra circulation. A new, deadlier strain of Natasha Alexandra has recently been made available – In Your Face, a new album hot off the presses produced by esteem producer Byron Wong, (Crystal Method, David Usher). Tracks from this latest CD have already found their way into the hands of other major industry pushers. Natasha will be featured on the following compilation CDs in 2005 – The Songwriters Hall of Fame, NYC (CD & DVD), Jane Magazine, Rockrgrl Magazine, & Hamilton Music Scene.

Unfortunately there is no solace that can be offered to those growing numbers addicted to Natasha Alexandra. The only choice is to come out to one of her shows and FEED YOUR HABIT!

Exclusive Interview



- Camp Betty Campout

“Extraordinary, outstanding, compelling, distinctive and very, very special”
– Songwriters Hall of Fame.

A child of the rich Canadian music scene, NLX – Natasha to the audiences that she instantly befriends – grew up absorbing the influences of Daniel Lanois, Tori Amos, PJ Harvey and NIN. No wonder, then, that her music combines heart wrenching lyrics with deep, dark piano melodies … a cocktail she describes as “tension and release.”

Having honed her live performance at venues such as Joe’s Pub, The Living Room and Rockwood Music Hall in New York City, Hotel Café in Los Angeles and The El Mocambo and The Drake in Toronto, NLX is now committing her wide ranging sound and style to a more permanent medium.

Hence, the release of both NLX: In Your Face and NLX: Behind Your Back, each with it's own distinctive production style. Aggressive is the tone for NLX: In Your Face, co-produced and recorded in Toronto with Byron Wong (Beck, Crystal Method, David Usher). Meanwhile, the sound on NLX: Behind Your Back is more sparse, a product of a collaboration with Chris Brown and Lurch (Kathleen Edwards, Barenaked Ladies, Crash Test Dummies) at their Brooklyn studio.

- Harrisradio.com

I am beginning to sound like a broken record, but Harris Radio also introduced me to NLX: Natasha Alexandra. Natasha sent me her CD In Your Face (twice in fact, since the men and women of our fine postal service broke the first one in transit), and I was very intrigued and wanted to hear more. I had heard that her live acts were not to be missed. Well, I am now one of her biggest supporters after heading to her gig April 7 at Caffe Vivaldi. (Yes, I know this gig was in April - but March was the month of the Irish - and the website took a month off). Not many artists would have much energy for a gig after driving from to NYC from Toronto that same day, but Natasha walked in carrying a Red Bull or two and put on one of the most entertaining shows I have encountered. Always with a smile and joke or two between songs, she captured my attention with sharp lyrics and beautiful piano play. After the set, she gave me her second CD Behind Your Back - which I strongly recommend. - Local Music Now

http://www.piratecny.com/mholland/article.php?article_id=tE1159756481t45207ac12981e&display=10

Keys Please is composed of Kristin Hoffman and Natacha Alexandria, two girls who were musicking around NYC separately and doing a similar thing--playing piano and singing and accompanying themselves with their computers and some electronics. They met, they jived, they teamed up and formed a flawless musical duo that produces a near symphony of sound together. by symphony i dont mean classical music. i mean a complex sound that would take 10 musicians to make if they didnt have this gadgetry.

So they get into the music. Kristin sings and pianos the first two songs, Natacha the next two. They back each other up on vocals and electronic equipment. The first four songs are all beautiful, but a bit slower and sadder than I'm in the mood for. Plus I spend the whole time focusing on the words and stressing the upcoming break where theyre gonna dialogue with us. because I know myself. already me and the bum are the only ones talking to them, and the bum gets kicked out after the third song because he keeps drunkenly yelling incoherent things to the girls between songs. The only thing i actually could decipher was "before i get kicked out, i just want you girls to know...." and then he trailed off and fell back into his stupor.

He was even yelling in the middle of the first song and got silenced, and after the third song the Redhouse staff escort him out.

so it's just me and the frozen audience who doesnt talk, and i know i'm not gonna be able to shut up during the dialogue. there's too many questions in my head as i experience these two. the lyrics i fixated on were something by Natacha about 'sometimes you have to lie to the boys to get what you want'. I'm determined to ask her about the lies she tells. if they wanna have a dialogue, theyre gonna get a dialogue.

both girls have beautiful voices, and they harmonize so perfectly together, as though they were given these voices so they could find each other and sing together. both are adept on the piano.

song five comes on, and here's where the symphony kicks in. it was upbeat, a ton of instruments exploding out the speakers from the electronic gadgetry. it was just rich, so much going on in the music that i got sucked into it and forgot about the impending dialogue....this is where it ceased to be a Sarah McLaughlinesque singer/songwriter sort of feeling, and became ravagingly original. the sort of performance where i cant decide which girl's music i like better, cuz each time they switch seats i'm getting so lost in whichever one is leading. I couldnt even decide which one was hotter. it was musical seduction. the two have a talent for sucking you right into the moment with a song.....you're powerless to remember any other moments, because what's going on now is so fucking overwhelming.

so then the break comes. the announcer guy walks out and says, "okay, which one of you has the guts to say something to these girls."

immediately some guy about 40 in the front row blurts out, "i got a message from you guys on myspace, that's how i heard about this show."

the girls had already discussed myspace addiction between songs, so they laugh. the guy continued in this nervous voice, "i'm just wondering how you guys pick who you write to on there."

Mike and I look at each other and grin cuz this guy is clearly fantasizing that one of them fell in love with him on myspace. Kristin explains that they look at people's band list and write to people they think would like their music.

Natacha jokes, "I only write to people with good pictures. if your picture sucks, forget it."

the guy continues shyly, "which one of you decided to write to me?"

the girls look at each other again, and its obvious neither one recognizes him. "i don't know," Natacha says, "do you have a good picture up." laughter. Kristin says, "probably me, i add a lot of people."

the guy mumbles something about how he's a filmmaker and his friend owns the Palace Theater and does B-Movie fest. it's a severely awkward moment, like he's gotten himself all tied up in knots and cant just jokingly say 'sorry for babbling, you girls got me all hot and bothered' to make the audience laugh, and then shut up and hit on them later.

so i jump in and ask them if the first four songs were older songs by them. i explain that the first four seemed less whole, less complex, and everything that followed was just mindblowing. i'm told that it's just to ease the audience in at a relaxed pace.

The dialogue lasts for about 20 minutes, the audience loosens up, the performers are amiable and funny, and hang out during intermission with individual audience members.

after intermission, its more mindblowing music--a barrage of beautiful instruments working together. i wouldnt know the genre. its a lot of things together. i dont read music magazines because i hate music reviewers and the - PirateCNY.com

http://www.dailyorange.com/news/2006/09/28/Feature/Keys-Please.Female.Duo.Opens.Redhouse.Concert.Series-2312782.shtml


- The Daily Orange - Syracuse University