SeeMeNot – Chez Renee (Radio Edit) (Video)
“We just couldn’t resist to comment on this one. Feel the energy flowing in your body, bringing the desire to dance! A fresh masterpiece with already enough followers.”
-Nagamag.com
SeeMeNot’s ‘Chez Renee EP’ is the second release from the hotly-tipped Jamaican-Canadian artist and musician, and features remixes from Joe Goddard. The ‘Chez Renee EP’, including Goddard’s full length and dub mixes, is released on 4 December, alongside another new SeeMeNot song, ‘If I Could’. Goddard’s radio edit is available from 20 November. Early DJ support for the EP comes from DJ T., Digitaria / TERR, Sam Shure, Rhythm Masters, Kiddy Smile, ONYVA, Roger Sanchez, Ferreck Dawn, Benny Benassi, Paco Osuna, Peter Kruder, Spada, Nicole Moudaber, BOg, xxxy, WhoMadeWho, Greg Delon, Dee Montero, Eelke Kleijn, Auntie Flo, Severino / Horse Meat Disco, Henry Saiz, Da Mike, Øostil, and more.
Tipped by Mixmag, DJ Mag, Beatportal, i-D, and more, SeeMeNot brings both purpose and protest back to house music. Her debut release, ‘Borderline’, came with remixes from Roman Flügel, and dropped in September. The world radio premiere came from Radio 1 (Pete Tong), with DJ support from Skream, Anja Schneider, Solomun, Adriatique, TSHA, Erol Alkan, Adana Twins, Monika Kruse, Andhim, Tim Sweeney, Chloé, Marco Carola, Digitalism, and many more.
‘Borderline’ was included on SeeMeNot’s first creative work, her July 2020 debut mixtape ‘Long Overdue: The Sound Of A Revolution’, along with an excerpt of Tamika Mallory’s powerful speech in the wake of the death of George Floyd. Released via her Soundcloud page, ‘Long Overdue’ featured SeeMeNot singing a cappella over a mix from DJ Oliver Baptiste. The 30 minutes of music is the sound of a Black female artist detailing the journey of Black people from Fight to Flight, channelling the pain she’s experiencing – and experienced – into something beautiful that pays respect to her ancestors but serves as a contemporary reinterpretation of traditional healing through singing and music. Influences from country music to gospel are joined through a shared history of hymnals as both protest and healing music.
About SeeMeNot:
SeeMeNot seeks to carve out new spaces for what is marketable and achievable within an industry that relies so heavily on the consumption of Blackness. A highly successful model from her early teens, in 2009, she suddenly found it hard to find work as a model in New York after appearing in the documentary The Colour of Beauty, a short exposé bringing to light the pervasive structural racism in the fashion industry during a time that it was not such a palatable conversation.
During this turbulent period, music became Renee’s coping mechanism and vehicle for self-expression. She began writing songs in a music studio in Yonkers, New York alongside a few friends who had suffered the same fate. The first song she wrote, ‘Some Of Me’, followed a similar structure to Azealia Banks’ 212. It was the electronic element of 212 that captured Renee’s interest in more dance music led production. Working with Jamaican sound-system and reggae DJs and producers shifted her style slightly but with the onset of debt caused by the recession and possible liability lawsuits due to the feature in The Colour of Beauty, Renee made the difficult decision to move back to her hometown of Toronto, and now New York. The last 4 years has been a time of healing and rehabilitation.
Follow SeeMeNot:
Facebook: www.facebook.com/seemenotofficial
Instagram: www.instagram.com/seemenotofficial
Soundcloud: soundcloud.com/seemenotofficial
Youtube: www.youtube.com/brainstream
Reviewed by Nagamag on December 11, 2020