Artist: Esthero, Album: Breath From Another, Song: That Girl

Esthero is a singer songwriter from Toronto.  She began plying her trade at various open mic and coffee house stages around the city before meeting Doc McKinney.   The two began recording demos together and soon landed a deal with Sony's WORK label.  Esthero's debut, Breath From Another, was released in 1998 to critical acclaim.  It's laid back beats and jazz undertones meshed perfectly with the popularity of trip hop that was growing throughout the nineties.  That Girl is a very cool track with wonderful horns care of Bryden Baird who recently toured with Feist.  You can watch the video for the song, That Girl, on You Tube (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CJ-6vzIqsg4&ob=av2e).  Her debut was nominated for Best Alternative Album Of The Year in 1999 but she lost out to Rufus Wainwright.  Esthero would switch record labels and part ways with Doc in the seven years between her debut and her sophomore album which was released in 2005.  However, the lay off didn't hurt her popularity as her list of collaborations during that period was second to none.  She has worked with just about everyone in the hip hop genre such as Kanye West, Timbaland and The Black Eyed Peas.  Esthero has been playing the odd engagement in Toronto since 2010 in anticipation of her next release,  Everything Is Expensive.  The release appears to be delayed but may finally see the light of day this year.  You can keep tabs on her at http://www.nearlycivilized.com/.  Her debut is a difficult find today.  At the time of this blog, there were copies trading on Amazon between $5 and $50.  Thanks for reading and enjoy!