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News/Reviews

Oria's performance mentioned in the San Francisco Chrionicle

"...However, Clark said that several programmers told her that their top highlight was me. Crazy, huh? It wasn't for my chat with Constantine, which went fine. Clark had heard from Chris Mays, PD of KINK in Portland, Ore., whom I met when she programmed KLLC ("Alice") here, that I could sing (if not move) like Elvis. Clark asked me to open an evening showcase by surprising the audience with a song. She recruited guitarist Glenn Alexander and his daughter, singer-songwriter Oria Aspen, who'd done an earlier showcase, to back me. They found a YouTube video of Presley performing my chosen song, learned it, and after a quick run-through, we were onstage, doing Andy Kaufman and Nicolas Cage's fave: "Love Me."

Ben Fong-Torres  –  San Francisco Chronicle, pg 31, Sunday March 4 2012

Read more: http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2012/03/01/PK801NAQG1.DTL#ixzz1oGzqkudu

 

Oria's duet with Southside Johnny gaining airplay

Oria's duet with Southside Johnny - "What A Wonderful World" - is gaining spins! It's being featured on WTF - 87.9 FM, Michigan and

www.backstreetradio.com has added it to their 24/7 rotation!

RadioIndy reviews Yellow Paint

"Talented vocalist/composer, Oria Aspen, releases a fantastic pop album, Yellow Paint. This CD is brimming with rich and flavorful pop songs that will surely melt your heart. The opener, "Be My Rock Star," hooks you right from the start, as this song has a nice bouncy beat that swirls around the warm and inviting vocals. Oria brings down the tempo slightly with a beautiful ballad, "Over The Rainbow." One can hear her sweet and charming voice delicately sing the emotive lyrics. The title track, "Yellow Paint," is definitely a fun pop song as you can hear the passion in Oria wonderful vocals. Overall, this album has a solid and consistent sound and is dynamically balanced. If you are looking for some fresh and original pop music that has outstanding female vocals, then you will really enjoy the excellent Yellow Paint."

Stephen M. Russo on Oria

"She is an amazing talent!"
Stephen M. Russo - Registered Craftsman, Piano Technicians Guild LLC
www.PrimePiano.com

Kathleen Biggins reviews Yellow Paint

"I first heard Yellow Paint' and thought what a rare talent singer-songwriter Oria Aspen is. When I found out she was just 17, I was gobsmacked. Her songs betray sophistication and experience well beyond her years while revealing a unique voice and superb musicianship. Hearing Oria breathe life into her songs in concert is icing on the cake. Buy the CD and see her live so you can say, 'I knew her when."

— Kathleen Biggins, WFUV-FM host

Oria conquers Europe!

It is said great music transcends any cultural or language barriers, and Oria is proving that adage true, as Yellow Paint gains both radio airplay and rave reviews in Europe. Check out some of the reviews below, as Oria conquers Europe!

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***HiFi City – Hungarian music website review***
(Translated from Hungarian)

Overall, Oria Aspen is a sympathetic and enthusiastic artist with a wide range of impressive talents as a singer, songwriter and flutist.  Most of the songs on her debut CD “Yellow Paint” are very radio-friendly, so it is no surprise that she is achieving frequent airplay overseas.

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***Strutterzine – Dutch music magazine/website review***

Just 17-years-old and already releasing a very impressive full-length CD, the New Jersey-based singer/songwriter Oria Aspen is a             super-talented new sensation in the pop/rock world. We don’t need shows like Idols, X-Factor or The Voice, because if you’ve got the talent, the voice and the songs, well, then one day you will be discovered somewhere, especially in the current social media world. Oria Aspen is such a young girl, who makes her debut with Yellow Paint. Although not all included 13 songs are impressive (“Get Back” and “It’s You,” for example, are the weaker ones) and therefore clearly reveal that these are Oria’s first steps in the big music business, it definitely shows that we have someone here who could make it really big someday soon. She reminds me so much musically and vocally of Rachel Sweet, who was also a young, talented teenage rocker during the late 70s/early 80s. Sadly, Rachel quit the music business more or less after the early 80s, so let’s hope Oria will stay much longer and release many more records in the future. Although the music is here and there going into the typical teenage pop-rock direction (“Be My Rock Star” and “Party Song”), she also has songs that show similarities to female artists like Nina Nesbitt or Tiff Merritt and fully shines during beautiful ballads like “Lucky To Be Me” or “Forbidden Love.” Even a great catchy almost early 80s Pat Benatarish AOR/Pop rocker is included (“Burn Up In The Flames”) and also “Last Song” is a great AOR-tingled song, so there’s enough diversity here to keep you busy. Most interesting is the fact that Oria has got a superb voice, enabling her to sing rockers and ballads without any problems and that is incredible for a girl of her age!  Also nice to add here is the fact that the legendary Southside Johnny is doing a duet with Oria on the cover of the classic “Wonderful World”. We are definitely going to hear more of Oria in the future.  (8.5 out of 10)

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***rootstime – Dutch music website review***
(Translated from Dutch)

Sometimes a talent in music is discovered at a very young age. But, the adolescent singer often has a short life in the spotlight, but, New Jersey resident Oria Aspen is, in our view, maybe the proverbial exception to this rule.  Seventeen-year-old songwriter Oria Aspen has such high potential with her very mature compositions and excellent voice. Lyrical themes are found in the tough cliffs that a youngster faces while growing up. It can be about love, happiness, sadness and fears:   Oria Aspen creates first-class songs about them on her debut album Yellow PaintOria Aspen debuts with her first full album, Yellow Paint, which includes thirteen self-written pop and rock songs, and a cover – a duet with soul-rocker Southside Johnny of "What A Wonderful World," the feel-good song that every music lover knows, particularly the version by Louis Armstrong. Oria Aspen - daughter of a jazz and blues guitarist – is a young lady that will have to be taken into account in the future.  We find her very strong performing the ballads "Over The Rainbow,” "Lucky To Be Me" and "M3NT@L”, the punky rock song, “Party Song” and the soulful “Get Back.” The first single from the debut album is “Be My Rock Star.”  It is a contagious pop song which CD producer and multi-instrumentalist The General – both on electric guitar, bass and ukulele – excels. The themes that tapped into the lyrics are about the difficult cliffs that a young adolescent might expect to encounter in the difficult growth to maturity. The love, the fears, the frustrations and the fun moments are all discussed. The beautiful “Scars” is a poignant, acoustic, piano ballad that is about the scars on her youthful heart were left after her sweetheart left. The story depicted in “Forbidden Love” is one of the best work on Yellow Paint. We are already convinced that this record is only our first acquaintance with this young American, and as her talent forms, we can expect much more from Oria Aspen in the next few years... Handsome debut! (Valsam)

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***Country Jukebox – German radio/website review – January 17, 2013***
(Translated from German)

Play it again, Oria, which one might call the debut of the 17-year-old singer and songwriter Oria Aspen of New Jersey. Thirteen of the 14 songs are self-penned with a musical maturity that usually does not come naturally for such a young lady. The debut, with support from experts such as drummer Shawn Pelton, pianist Tony Harrell and the jazz and blues guitarist Glenn Alexander, (has) pop, rock and country that all come together skillfully.

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***Roth-N-Roll Music Blog review – Kaj Roth, Sweden***
(Translated from Swedish)

Oria Aspen was only 15-years-old when she started writing songs for her debut album and she was 17 when Yellow Paint was recorded.  It´s an impressive lineup of musicians on this album – such as Shawn Pelton, drums (Shakira, Pink), Jeff Kazee, keyboards (Asbury Jukes), Scott Healy, keyboards (Conan O´Brien) and legendary rocker Southside Johnny, who is in a vocal duet with Oria on Louis Armstrong´s classic "What A Wonderful World." That´s the only cover on Oria´s debut album, the rest is written by Oria and the music can be described as a mix between pop and country rock.  She is a talented singer, which she shows, in radio-ready songs like "Be My Rock Star" and the punk-flavored "Party Song." The ballad "Over The Rainbow" is quite beautiful…”

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***Ikon – Swedish music website - by Roger Bengtsson***
(Translated from Swedish)

She is 17-years-old and debuts with the self-written album Yellow Paint. Fourteen songs including the sweet punk “Party Song,” the pop “Burn Up In The Flames” and the bonus track, “Heartbreaker,” appeals to me.

 

More European airplay for Oria

Regardless of where you are in the world, getting your music played on the radio is a difficult task.  But, radio programmers in Europe have embraced Oria’s music and added her to their playlists.  And Oria is in good company – check out some of the other artists Oria is sharing the airwaves with!

 

American-469 – Radio Free FM Ulm
Date: April 2, 2013

1 Jingle Mandy :: Americana 2009

1a The Roys :: New Day Dawning

2 Joey + Rory :: Josephine

3 Kate Russell :: Damned If I Do

4 Zydeco Annie & The Swamp Cats :: My Turn Will Come

5 Dale Ann Bradley :: Me And Bobby McGee

6 Steve Gulley & Tim Stafford :: Why Ask Why

7 Candy Floss :: Dreaming

8 The Andrew Sisters :: Bei Mir Bist Du Schön

9 The Andrew Sisters :: South American Way

10 Monroe Crossing :: The Old Cross Road

11 Owen Moore :: Ride Along

12 Maryanne :: Waiting In The Shadows

13 Dale Watson :: Honky Tonkers Don’t Cry

14 Maureen MacGillavry :: You’re The First Time I’ve Thought About Leaving

15 Clint Black :: The Goodnight-Loving

16 Kelly Clarkson Featuring Vince Gill :: Don’t Rush

17 Mara Levine :: River

18 Mavericks :: Lies

19 Oria Aspen & Southside Johnny :: What A Wonderful World

20 Tokyo Rosenthal :: The Immigrant

21 Keller Williams & The Travelin‘ McCourys :: American Car

22 Melanie Dekker :: Flowers

23 Cliffy Short :: You Only Want Me When You’re Lonely

24 Steve Roberson :: Howlin‘ At The Moon

25 Doyle Lawson & Quicksilver :: Lord I’ve Been A Hard Worin‘ Pilgrim

26 Doyle Lawson & Quicksilver :: When We Meet To Part No More

27 Doyle Lawson & Quicksilver :: You’ve Been An Inspiration To Me

28 Doyle Lawson & Quicksilver :: Sail On Toward Home

29 Doyle Lawson & Quicksilver :: Where No One Stands Alone

30 Doyle Lawson & Quicksilver :: Mountain View Missionary Baptist Church

31 Debbie Cochran :: Honky Tonk Yourself Right Out Of Heaven

32 Beppe Gambetta, Darrell Scott, Brad Davis :: Stefania CD

33 Razzy Bailey :: Mornings Ain’t Easy M-T-M

34 Buster Doss :: You Walk By Stardust

35 Sarah Darling :: Home To Me

35aAlbert Lee :: Payola Blues

36 Earl Thomas Conley :: What I’d Say LP

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