Philip 7
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Philip 7

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"Phillip 7's Beautiful Surprise"

PHILLIP 7 SCANTLEBURY has been thrilling people with a beautiful song for two years.

It was no surprise then, that he took one of the four individual awards for which he was nominated at last Sunday's third annual Barbados Music Awards.

Minutes after a brilliant rendition of his popular and infectious Beautiful Surprise, Phillip 7 took the stage for a second time to accept the award for Best Rock/Alternative Artist.

From all appearances, the song went down without a hitch, and the pan by David Ziggy Walcott was an added touch, but Phillip 7 said it was "nerve wracking".

"It's the night that you need to come out with all your guns blazing and leading up to that night was chaos. But my boy Ziggy came through and the musicians, so it was really, really good," he reflected.

Though he didn't pen the song, Phillip 7 has made Beautiful Surprise entirely his own. He said the song was first brought to him about two years ago by Gary Serrao. It was produced by Canada-based Derrick Brin, who has worked with some of the top acts in North America.

"I heard the song . . . . I said, hey, I Iike this song. We recorded this song like two years ago. So me and the band [Masala] were performing it for like two years and then we decide[d] we [were] going [to] do a video," the dreadlocked singer said.

The Beautiful Surprise video, which was done by Creative Junction, was released last year. He said the response has been great so far.

"Judging from last night [Sunday] really good, people were singing it. I didn't expect that much. It was a really, really good response from the Barbadian public, especially for a song that ain't soca or reggae," he said.

Phillip 7 comes with his band Masala, and he said they were ready to work. They perform four nights a week at The Ship Inn, Jumbies, The Tavern and Royal Pavilion. Masala also performs at weddings and other functions.

The recent award will undoubtedly propel the group further on the entertainment scene.

"We work hard and we enjoy it. We will continue to work hard with or without the award. We're very thankful for it, and we appreciate the public for giving us the love," Phillip 7 said.

He said he formed Masala because he felt the need for the rebirth of the live band, rather than singing to tracks spun by a DJ. It was also to show fans what he could do in the alternative arena.

"We were doing really well, but I wanted to take it even further. You just can't say I've reached this point and stop, I wanted to go beyond. So, for me to go beyond that point, I had to decide there would be more opportunities to go solo and bring the band along with me," Phillip 7 said.

Discussions are currently under way for some overseas performances, one of which is the Heineken Regatta in St Maarten on March 6.

Phillip 7 is set to release another Derick Brin- produced track titled Nothing Left To Sing, which is more uptempo than Beautiful Surprise.

He said his goal was to be recognised and get the respect as an entertainer and he was willing to go wherever the music took him. - Nation Newspaper


"The Philip 7 Story"

The versatile and multi-talented Pyramid artist Philip 7 is again revealing the depth of his skills, with the recent recording and release of a warm and melodic track produced by one of Jamaica’s most long-standing and accomplished producers Richard ’Shams’ Browne.

Philip 7 is well known for the quality and variety of his music, which reflects alternative as well as R & B influences, but when he struck with the authentic reggae hit Beautiful Surprise some time ago, he proved his musical flexibility, and his ability to incorporate different genres.

This latest reggae track Who You Are, was created in Jamaica and is a reggae inspired exploration of a special love interest that totally captures Philip 7’s mind. High production values, solid lyrics, and the characteristic versatile vocals of Philip 7 will ensure this number shines brightly.

The work has not stopped there for Philip 7. He also made recent links with other top Jamaican producers to ensure his talent reaches maximum potential on wax. Most recently, he completed the track Looking For, which was produced by the young yet accomplished Jamaican producer Stephen McGregor, and he has also been working with another veteran producer Donovan Germaine of the Penthouse Label.

We will get back to the second part of this story later, but here we wil do a flash back and invite you to veiw Philip 7 video to the song “Beautiful Surprise” click below

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f4LSD3G0qVU



- www.boycevoice.com


"New Reggae Release from Philip 7 on Penthouse's Protect and Serve Riddim"

Multi-genred vocalist Philip 7 offers up his latest release ‘I Don’t Want To Feel This Way’. The single produced by Penthouse Records is on the Serve and Protect riddim.

Philip 7 joins a growing list of artists including Queen Ifrica, Romain Virgo, Peetah Morgan and labelmate Timeka Marshall already on this riddim.

- www.pyramidartists.com


"Caribbean Flavour: Alternative haven for singer Philip 7"

Barbadian Philip 7 is currently in Jamaica working with several producers. -Contributed

When Barbadian singer, Philip 7, hits the stage, the edgy alternative/rock sound that resonates from his powerful frame is the last thing audiences expect to hear.

With an inborn love for music, Philip 7, aka Philip Scantlebury, has carved a niche for himself in a musical genre not typically known for its West Indian roots. The Sunday Gleaner spoke with the easy-going Barbadian singer while he is in Jamaica working on new singles.

Having done four months of steady vocal training, Philip 7 has a powerful, raw vocal talent that has made him a blossoming artiste in Barbados.


However, while Philip is currently a musical success, music wasn't something that he pursued while growing up. "Music got involved with me. It's fate, really. I tried running from music all my life, having never participated in singing in school or being on the choir, but music is the only thing in my life that kept coming back to me," he said.

Early beginnings

Philip's stint in music started over a decade ago when he began performing with the Barbadian R&B a cappella group, Suave.

Shortly after the break-up of Suave, Philip was invited to audition for the blues and soul band, Acoustic Blue.

With a successful audition, Philip's growth and evolution as an artiste began, and it was while with Acoustic Blue that he got bitten by the rock bug.

Eventually gaining a spot on the local nightclub circuit, the band changed its name to Le Groove and began performing at McBride's Irish Pub.

Under the name Le Groove, Philip recorded six original tracks, notably Without You and Where Were You?

While alternative music is not as popular as reggae in Barbados, Philip soon had a following of fans in his homeland.

He explained, "I started off singing an alternative flavour but I have more range to my music, having to try to appeal to everyone, so I play anything from R&B, hip hop, reggae, soul and jazz."

In 2005, Philip merged with the alternative band, Masala, and together they tirelessly rehearsed and fine-tuned their sound to set the band apart from any other.

First big break

However, Philip believes his first big break in music came with the single, Beautiful Stranger, which was then remixed into a reggae version by Clive Hunt at Harmony House in Jamaica.

"Beautiful Stranger right now is the song everyone in Barbados knows me for. Everyone thought it was an American singer at first," he explained.

Philip's talent was soon recognised in his homeland when he was awarded 'Best Rock/Alternative Artiste' at the third annual Barbados Music Awards.

With the success of Beautiful Stranger, Philip has been working with Barbadian producer Gary Serrao and Canadian-based international producer Derek Brin with new alternative tracks, Nothing Left to Say and Unconditional.

Working with producers

Philip has released a soca song, Bring Di Wuk, which he hopes will make it big for Barbados' upcoming Crop Over season, as well as the R&B song, Silence Me.

While in Jamaica, Philip has been working with producers such as Bulby, Stephen McGregor and Jeremy Harding, among many others. He hopes by the end of the year to release his first solo album, but he hasn't decided which genres of music will be featured.

In the meantime, Philip is looking forward to a bright career in music as he says, "I am music. It's my love and passion."


- Jamaica Observer -Krista Henry, Staff reporter


"Philip 7"

Philip Seven is taking the music industry by storm with his hit single 'Beautiful Surprise' and after winning the Barbados Music Awards 2008 as the best rock/alternative artist it is looking like he has a promising musical career ahead of him.

TotallyBarbados.com caught up with Philip Seven to find out about the man behind the music.

Philip Scantlebury grew up in the Eagle Hall area of St. Michael in Barbados. He attended Roebuck Secondary School and was raised by his mother Jeannette Scantlebury, along with his three brothers and only sister.

Philip recalls that his mother was always singing, but says in general his family are not that musical. He is grateful to his family for being supportive of his musical career and that they respect his space to explore all his options.

Philip's performance at the Barbados Music Awards 2008 was excellent and certainly had the ladies in the audience wooed by his good looks and beautiful voice. Sadly for all his female fans, Philip is in a relationship and is unfazed by all the female attention that he receives.

As a solo artist Philip performs as 'Philip Seven' as he has always believed that seven is his lucky number, and he turned out to be right when it came to winning the Barbados Music Awards 2008.

He is also lead singer in 'Masala', who were also nominated in the Barbados Music Awards 2008. 'Masala' performs at Lord Willoughby's Tavern on the west coast of Barbados on a Friday night, at The Ship Inn on Saturday nights and Jumbies on a Tuesday nights, both located in St. Lawrence Gap on the south coast of Barbados. The band covers soca, reggae, 60's Beatles tunes, 70's rock classics and of course some of Philip's original material.

In his spare time Philip likes to surf, play basketball, watch movies and most importantly rest. Philip believes that sleep is very important and says he sleeps as much as possible!

Philip started singing when he was nineteen and learned to play the guitar. He then joined local R&N acapella group 'Suave', where his full vocal range came to it's potential. He then joined a soul and blues band called 'Acoustic Blue', which was where he developed his passion for rock music.

The band then changed their name to 'Le Groove' and it was at this time that Philip began to record his own material. He then joined the Toni Norville Project, where he further developed his vocal range in R&B and Reggae.

He then teamed up with Kirk Brown and formed 'Strategy'; this allowed Philip to have regular performing slots across the island and still work on his song writing and original material. After a year Philip moved on to create 'Masala' as it is today.

He works with a team of writers from Sony/BMG to create his songs and in particular is grateful to Derek Brin, a Canadian music producer for his contribution on 'Beautiful Surprise'. The track was also recorded as a reggae remix by Clive Hunt at Harmony House in Jamaica.

R&B artist Brian McKnight and Stevie Wonder inspire Philip and as a fashion icon he likes the style of Lenny Kravitz. His music is influenced by current trends in the market such as pop and has tried to create a fusion of pop, rock and alternative.

Personally he is very grateful to his friend and local music producer Gary Serrao of Gee Whizz Studios for his help and support and his manager Sanita Bradshaw from Pyramid Entertainment.

Philip believes that growing up in Barbados has influenced his music and his mindset. He feels that some Barbadians are narrow minded because they live in such a small country, he however likes to think outside of the box and thinks this is conveyed through his musical style.

Philip has currently released 'Beautiful Surprise' throughout the Caribbean region and in Europe. His next single 'Nothing left to say' is about to be released along with his first EP.

With regard to winning at the Barbados Music Awards 2008, Philip is pleased that 'Philip Seven' as an act has now be launched to the public and was quite shocked to have actually won, as he was nominated in 2006 and again in 2007.

Philip is not yet signed to a label and is quite happy as he is; he really wants to go on tour with the band and likes the freedom of controlling what he records and where that is distributed.

Philip has scheduled some major performances for 2008, Heineken Barbados are really looking forward to working with Philip Seven and Masala at one of their events, which will include the Heineken Regatta in St. Maartin, the Heineken Music Festival, The Green Synergy Event and a Heineken Full Moon Party.

Philip is also looking forward to working with some of the UK's up and coming musicians who will fly over for the Barbados Music Festival in October 2008.

For the future Philip plans to always live in Barbados, he likes the way of live and that people are more laid back and don't get involved in your business, he believes it is very important to be able to lead your life the way you want to.

He also loves the sunshine and thinks that is why people in Barbados are happier than those who live in cold countries. He believes his fellow nationals are a caring race and just couldn't imagine living anywhere else however, he would like to travel and visit various countries, he hopes to go to Dubai, France, the Italian countryside, Peru and even Alaska!

Philip is a very motivated individual and his dream would be to play Wembley Stadium in the UK one day, and he hopes that by this time next year he will be on tour with the band.

For those visiting Barbados Philip would recommend that you go to the Black Bess area of St. Thomas and take in the view of the entire east coast, he says it is the most amazing view.

For further information on Philip Seven please log on to http://www.myspace.com/philipseven
- Totally Barbados www.totallybarbados.com


"Philip 7 -A musical genre fanatic"

Please visit the website for full story. - http://www.sknvibes.com/pep/ent_feature_details.cfm/150


"Caribbean Artistes promote music in TT"

May 10 2009

Guyanese singer Timeka Marshall is a reggae crossover artiste with infectious sound.Pyramid Entertainment Management Limited out of Barbados toured Trinidad and Tobago last week to introduce two of the company’s top music artistes. Reggae crossover acts Timeka Marshall and Philip 7, both of whom are sponsored by the sunglasses and sports apparel brand Oakley and are also vying for their tracks to be chosen as the new theme song for CSI Miami, want to break into the local music scene.

Timeka Marshall, 20, had her life changed after entering a jingle competition for a telecommunications company in her native Guyana. Winning the competition in 2006 launched the 16-year-old into the spotlight. A whirlwind of modelling opportunities came her way and her music career started to take off.

Marshall who is now based in Jamaica has been singing professionally for the last two years. Her music is a melange of R&B, reggae and pop beats. Marshall’s energetic, bouncy songs are a musical manifestation of the easy going island vibe.

She did not want to classify her music by genre, instead she likes to mesh sounds.

“I really had a passion for singing ever since I knew myself and I like to just say I do music because that covers everything. I like doing fusions, but I’m mostly interested in mixing pop with Caribbean sounds whether it be dance hall, reggae, soca, calypso. I want my music to have the propensity for an international hit while staying true to my roots.”

She says her demo CD has a few of her singles that have been in heavy rotation on radio and television stations across the Caribbean. Songs like “All Night”, “We Should Separate”, “Hush” and “Feel For” (which also features dancehall artiste Busy Signal) are all about relationships and even outside relationships.

“I am a fun and childish kind of person and I think that comes across in my music. So I think that a lot of young people will relate to my music. I talk about a lot of subjects that young people can relate to. I am a very open person and put a lot of my own experience into song.”

Philip Scantlebury, 32, of Barbados goes by the stage name Philip 7 which represents his lucky number.

He is a versatile vocalist who has fronted a number of bands before embarking on his solo project.

His mother was a singer, so for him to become a singer was a natural progression. “I grew up listening to my mother sing everyday. So it was very natural to me. Singing was always the way to escape. It just makes you feel good.”

At age 17, he started singing for the a capella group Suave. Philip next joined the band Acoustic Blues which eventually evolved into the band Le Groove. A stint with the Toni Norville Project allowed Philip to stretch his talents some more. Philip joined Kirk Browne to form the band Strategy.

His silky range and smooth vocals were tested in hotels and nightclubs across the island. But he had soon outgrown playing covers and yearned to play original music.

Eventually he gained a spot on the local nightclub circuit. As Philip became a regular on the scene, his music gained popularity with audiences.

In 2005, Philip again emerged with the band Masala which favoured a fusion of flavours of rock, R&B and reggae. With the self titled EP Masala, Philip considers the album a reflection of his lifelong musical journey and represents his diverse musical influences.

“The name ‘Masala’ comes from the name of the spice. To make it you need to combine different spices together. So that is what I did with my music. I blended different genres to form one sound.”

Philip said that he found playing just one genre was too limiting and that there was a niche for a band that could play any style of music. According to him, singing the same genre over and over again is like dying a slow death for a musician.

“An AMI Music Group representative out of London once told me that I am on the forefront. He listened to my album and said that the world does not know it yet, but this is the future of music.”

The song “Beautiful Surprise” was originally written by Sony/BMG for the winner of Canadian Idol, but was never used.

So Canadian music producer Derek Brin passed on the track to Philip and he recorded the edgy track. Philip was awarded “Best Rock/Alternative Artiste” for the song at the Third Annual Barbados Music Awards.

He said that he is trying to expose a new audience to his music. Philip hopes to make contacts here and even book some gigs.

“I would like to be recognised on the world market someday. But you have to creep before you walk. So I think it’s important to create a good following and fan-base home, then regionally and then internationally.”

- Trinidad and Tobago Newsday - Melissa Dassrath


Discography

The following tracks appear on the album titled Masala, all of which have been commercially released.
1.Beautiful Surprise (alternative mix)
2.Beautiful Surprise (reggae remix)
3.Nothing Left To Say
4.Unconditional
5.Blame It all on Love
6.Space and Time
7.Never Leave Your Side
8.Who You Are
9.In My Heart
10.Looking For
11.Silence Me
12. Came To Talk
13. Just Fine

The most recent single release is I Don't Wanna Feel This Way

Photos

Bio

With locks cascading down his back, the last thing one would expect to hear from Philip7 is the raw, edgy alternative rock sound for which he has become known. However, the talented Barbadian singer, songwriter and guitarist has carved a niche for himself in a musical genre not typically known for West Indian roots. As a talented and versatile artist however, Philip is not confined to the alternative sphere with reggae in his repertoire.

Barbadian music producer Gary Serrao of Gee Wiz Studios keenly watched Philip’s evolution over the years and that led to an introduction to Canadian music producer Derek Brin marking a significant milestone in Philip’s career. So impressed was Derek with Philip’s vocal style that they recorded the edgy soulful track ‘Beautiful Surprise’ a song which had been penned by songwriters in a Sony/BMG songwriters camp. Then came the song’s reggae remix which was recorded by the legendary Clive Hunt at Harmony House, Jamaica.

Philip complemented the single with a glossy, international quality music video produced by Stuart Hall of Creative Junction and shot on location in Barbados. This single catapulted Philip’s career and in January 2008, the local music industry endorsed his talent by awarding him “Best Rock/Alternative Artist” at the 3rd annual Barbados Music Awards.

With the success of ‘Beautiful Surprise’, Philip put his faith and talent in the hands of the track’s masterminds for another series of recordings. Barbadian producer Gary Serrao and Canadian based international producer Derek Brin began to work on follow up singles and crafted the alternative tracks “Nothing Left to Say” and “Unconditional”. These were followed by “Blame It On Love” which was in heavy rotation on both local and regional radio stations.
As momentum continued to build, the team quickly returned to the studio for another phase of recordings, this time with the assistance of Canadian songwriter Rupert Gayle and internationally recognised engineer Andrew Dawson. Philip then returned to Barbados to work with Anthony Hoyos and Chris Allman of Slam City Studios on the single ‘Space and Time’ and he followed up with another Stuart Hall directed music video.

By August 2008, Philip’s journey led him to Kingston, Jamaica the reggae capital of the world where he had the opportunity to record with some of the island’s leading producers including Jeremy Harding (2hard Records), Stephen McGregor (Big Ship Studios), Donovan Germain (Penthouse Records) and Clive Hunt (Harmony House). Drawing on the depth of knowledge he gained from his co-writing sessions with Rupert Gayle, Philip quickly adapted to the new environment to pen and record a number of reggae singles. Later that year he returned to Jamaica to shoot his first reggae music video for the single ‘Looking For’ with director Jay Will (Game Over).

With over 20 recorded singles, Philip took on the arduous task of narrowing down a selection to 12 tracks to release his debut solo album titled ‘Masala’. He maintains that the Masala album is a true reflection of the musical journey which he has travelled throughout his life. It represents his diversity and draws on several musical influences which have helped to shape him into the unique artist he has become.

Since coming on the scene, Philip has worked with some of the world’s leading music producers and songwriters to hone his skills as a songwriter and truly develop as a performing artist. The existence of talent has never been in dispute for Philip, but the new phase of his career will focus on Philip 7 the entire product.