Artist: Abigail, Album: Let's Communicate (single) Song: Let's Communicate (Sounds So Sweet Club Mix)

Here is a lost r'n'b treasure from 1999.  I had my ear to the ground for the better part of the nineties as a result of the improving mainstream acceptance of r'n'b and rap music in Toronto.  Not that it was a new genre or anything like that but, strangely enough, our city took forever to embrace it and dedicate a radio station to it's format.  Toronto had a young core of talented and determined artists along with a few dedicated independent labels, that were making it their mission to get this music in as many people's ears as possible.  Beat Factory was one of the pioneering labels in the city to begin showcasing our local hip hop and r'n'b talent, but as the years progressed, more labels were popping up.  Although I don't know much about this recording, it does appear to have been released on Toronto label, V.I.B.E.S. Records.  It appears to be a "one-off" single release that received some decent radio play but never spawned a full length release.  The song was written and arranged by a man named Ray Walker who also produced two of the mixes on this single.  My interest in urban music really grew out of the samples that were being used but as well, I've always been a fool for beats.  However, around the time of this single, there were some interesting covers being released of popular 80's tracks.  Examples from this period were INOJ's Time After Time (Cyndi Lauper) or her cover of Love You Down (Ready For The World) as well as Shaune Ann's Tender Love (Force MD's).  The beats were thick and I found this track by Abigail to be quite similar.  There was another Canadian artist that was releasing material around the same time called, Jully Black.  One of her first singles, Rally 'n' was included on a Dance Hits compilation by Popular Records which also included this Abigail hit in 1999.  Jully has become one of our country's most celebrated r'n'b artists.  As for Abigail, this great song remains her only single to date.  She did record an entire album as well to accompany the single but it remains unreleased.  Abigail and her husband would go on to create a motion media company called B.Side (http://movingdesign.tv/).  Not only have they worked in the fields of film and television but most would likely recognize their imprint on famous brands like Ford, Disney, Lexus and Bell Canada to name a few.  Abigail is in the process of launching a sister company called B.Heard in the coming year and it may coincide with her much anticipated return to music.  You can hear the song, Let's Communicate, on You Tube (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1Ro_Au5Pqk0).  The single, Let's Communicate, is a difficult find today.  At the time of this blog, there was one copy trading on Musicstack.com for $65.  Thanks for reading and enjoy!