Violaine
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Violaine

Band Alternative Adult Contemporary

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This band has not uploaded any videos

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"Amazing..."

I like the mood of this song, it is relaxing but very ALIVE and uplifting at the same time! This song sounds superb, mainly because of the principal voice and original guitars and cool arragenments making this sound very original and making this band one of the best combos I have heard here at garageband.com.
Her voice is superb, it deserves to be heard, this song is a great intro to this great band.

Reviewed by: morris777 from Klein, Texas - Garageband.com Review of "Keep Her In Mind"


"Best I've Heard!"

Wow! I like every part of this! though I thought the guitar was a bit too loud in the chorus. apart from that....I would change nothing if I wrote this. That reversed part on the drums is great, perfect, just a small bit but great! How good is the outro!!!! Hint of strings...oh I'm gonna stop now and just listen to it again, change nothing except the volume of the guitar in the mix during the chorus.

Extra Credit: Female Vocals, Guitars, Drums, Bass, Keyboards, Production, Lyrics, Melody, Mood, Most Rocking Track.

- zarz76
Quakers Hill, N.S.W, Australia - Garageband.com Review of "Keep Her In Mind"


"Wow"

Beautiful, ethereal vocals. Reminded me a lot of Zero 7. Excellent production really brought this piece to life. I really can't express how impressed I am, if I heard this on the radio I'd regain some faith in radio!

Great track, you've used the perfect amount of reverb and 'wall of sound' to create a pretty powerful, seductive mood.


- PlasticExplosiv
San Diego, California - Garageband.com Review of "Keep Her In Mind"


"Who Let the Pros In?"

I think you are going to like the way this song is done! A short intro saying lets get to the point with no boring faaflaw. The song is kept on track with a drum rythmn that seems to skip along with an original beat to it. The ocals...pretty damn good,with a very moody tone to them. This ties in with the chord structure real cleverly as the chords have a touch of class to them and then contrast with a heavy guitar sound off and on. The keys play very subltely but effectively not getting in the way of anybody else. Sometimes one has to take time to smell the roses and while listening to this song I get that message. Ladies and Gents sit back and listen to how the Pros do it. Great job!! P.S. Well produced, only making it tougher for the rest of us here in the garage.

Extra Credit: Mood, Originality, Coolest Chill-Out Track.

- kazam1961
Windsor, Ont, Canada - Garageband.com Review of "Keep Her In Mind"


"TAXI Reviews Compilation"

How I Feel Around You:
"Guys, hats off. It's all good - very, very good indeed...Interesting and original bridge, love the noises and the whispers and then the "claps"."

Keep Her In Mind:
"Nice verse melody. Great surprise kick into the chorus. Strong bridge!"

My Everything:
"Tons of appeal in this track! The interplay between the fragile vocal sound and wall of guitars is very effective and takes some of the weight off the lyrics. The melody is well-crafted and memorable"

"I felt My Everything was a great, striking song with a knocked-it-out-of-the-park vocal ad distinctive harmonies. The arrangement, production and playing are all excellent. Both the melody & chord progression struck a great balance between satisfying and unexpected, with just enough surprises to keep the listener riveted."

Overall Comments:
"Hey Shawna, not much I want to say, except "How I Feel Around You" has put a big smile on my face...great stuff. So is "Keep Her In My Mind". They are both exceptionally well-crafted and performed songs. Interesting and original, yet with lots of commercial appeal. I wish you good luck with everything. " - TAXI A&R Review


"Big pop hit..."

Awesome intro and intial chord progression. Nice, nice voice with a great delay on it...harmonies are very good and give the song impact. DRUMS! That sounds really good...very, very catchy chorus. Chorus sounds like it coulda been produced by the MATRIX, and performed by any number of bands on the pop charts (Avril Lavigne, Liz Phair, etc.). This band should be beyond Garageband and looking for entertainment lawyers in NYC to shop their demo...if all your songs are catchy and modern like this, I would begin focusing on your image and start playing the rockstar vibe. Great stuff!

Reviewed by: Joe_Black from Baltimore, Maryland - Garageband.com Review of


"Great work!"

Very well done in every way. Professional recording mixing, sounds, arrangement, vocals and harmony.
Catchy chorus, and reasonably original melody and style. I wish there were more like this band, to keep us inspired.
Great work.

Reviewed by - leogee, Byron Bay, New South Wales, Australia - Garageband.com Review of "How I Feel Around You"


"Amazing etherial power pop"

Spacy intro, ethereal female vocals come in accompanied by acoustic guitar and keyboards. The song builds to a great crescendo, the chorus is first rate, the sound is first rate. The haunting keyboard sounds really add to the "pondering" kind of mood this song evokes.
This song just "has it". It's got everything it needs and then some, and it's all done to perfection. Who are these people and where can I buy their music?
The vocals are absolutely first rate, as is everything in this song. There are some really interesting things going on in the mix.
This arrangement is fantastic. Wow. What a song! Why am I not hearing this on the radio?

Reviewed by: sheridan8502 from Spokane, Washington
- Garageband.com Review of


"Full of pleasant surprises!"

Electric guitars and a simple synth starts this acoustic guitar driven tune!
And then comes this wonderfull female vocal that leads my mind through the rest of the story - wow!
An excelent little repeated bridge leads us into the hook, that seems centered in a minor scale - underlining the sombre and sort of foreboding mysterious mood of the work!
The chorus build of harmonics is very nice and a bit unusual - lovely voice again!
Have to give you a 5!

Reviewed by- CarstenJi, Copenhagen, Sealand - Garageband.com Review of "My Everything"


"Garageband Statistics"

Violaine is featured on Garageband.com, where their song "How I Feel Around You" peaked at #4 out of about 3,500 songs on the all-time pop chart, where it stayed for months. It is currently ranked at #6 out of 3,931 songs on the all-time pop chart and #3 out of 4,225 on the all-time alternative pop chart!

"How I Feel Around You" has received 5 out of 5 stars based on reviews by listeners. "My Everything" has received 4.5 out of 5 stars. "Keep Her in Mind" currently has 4.0 stars and is ranked at #18 out of 313 songs in the active contest.

Violaine has received numerous rankings and awards such as "Best Female Vocals", "Best Production", "Most Rocking Track" and "Best Melody" and Violaine has been featured as "Track of the Day" and "Track of the Week" numerous times. Violaine is also featured on garageband's internet radio station Live365.

While being involved with Garageband, Violaine has received numerous requests for CDs, their songs have been added to many playlists, they have had many visitors to the Violaine website and requests to be added to their mailing list. - N/A


Discography

Violaine's EP "Tinderbox" is available on iTunes, Tunecore and MySpace.

Photos

Bio

The unlikely tale of a singing former sorority girl from the Bible Belt and a Monk-like reclusive guitarist from the big city.

Shawna Hogan, co-founder, vocalist and lyricist, hails originally from Tulsa, Oklahoma and has been singing since the age of seven. She began by performing in Musical Theatre and later explored such genres as Jazz, Italian Opera and Choir (in which she obtained a vocal music scholarship at Texas Christian University). She sites Ann Wilson (Heart), Chris Cornell (Soundgarden, Audioslave) and Jann Arden as influences. She also loves antiquing at the Great American Flea Market in Tulsa and collecting rare out of print Hasselhoff vinyl.

Ewen Williams, co-founder, principal songwriter and guitarist, is from Los Angeles, California. Influenced by Electronica (Laika, Lamb, Hooverphonic), Rock (Radiohead, Frank Zappa, Silverchair), Singer Songwriters (Jeff Buckley, Ryan Adams, Elliott Smith), Shoegaze (Cocteau Twins, Ride, Lowlife) and R&B (Erykah Badu, New Edition, Prince) has helped him create his own unique sound which presents itself within VIOLAINE. Ewen happens to be vice-president of the Pasadena local chapter of the Falco Fan Club and hopes to one day scale Mt. Wilson, which is his Everest.

After a chance meeting in 2001 they discovered they shared a mutual desire to create an original sound and began writing together. They chose the name Violaine as a homage to The Cocteau Twins, whose song Violaine represented the cool, ethereal and bittersweet sound and feel they wanted their music to have.

Combining Shawna’s deft skill of writing lyrics acquired through a lifetime of bad relationships and Ewen’s keen artistic musicality obtained through years of having no social life, they’ve created their own unique sound.