If there was any fragrance to remain from this year's Winter Music Conference, could well be that song called "Tell Me All About It". A cut written some twenty years ago by Michael Franks which incidently has reappeared both on a bootleg called "Blue Blackness" by the likes of Alan Smithee vs Natalie Cole (the latest who's given it a new birth two years ago on her Ask A Woman Who Knows album for Verve) and on Australian new comer, Treena Rose's debut-single scheduled for official release in the days to come on Jellybean Recordings.
IDMW.com has secured to have a chat with the aforementioned the day right after her live PA by the Riande Hotel's poolside…

"If I'm able to take up the challenge, might be a good start."

Don't ask me how I ended up staying in what you call that freezing NY as compared to my country, she says. It has nothing to do with the climate but the culture, the music and the atmosphere of the city which to me are so unique. NY is an amazing city, admitting that Paris isn't bad neither for what would have been her second choice…

I started training when I was 12, she explains, doing dancing and singing, starting with the current top 40 but my love of music really started with reggae and Bob Marley. As my mom's coming from the Fidji Islands, we grew up singing with guitars and yukuleles, precising with a smile that she can play that instrument and do that dance and all the Polynesian dances that she was first confronted to at the early age of 3. Well, needless to say that her native environment was something of quite miles away from the Western countries culture, not to say deep America's one… I've finally never considered living in NY like living in America, New York is so multi-cultural. I coudn't think of me living somewhere else in the States. People wouldn't care about where I'm coming from even though I sound different and the city's so friendly at the end of the day.

I'd been talking to Jellybean for quite a while about my will to do a song with him and I guess he was just trying to find the right material for me. He ended up coming with this song a few weeks ago, she continues, somehow a bit upset by the circulation of a bootleg making quite a stirr at the precise moment. If I'm able to take up the challenge, might be a good start. I mean Natalie Cole is a legend and Michael Franks is a good author. So to me doing a song like this is a real honour.

I didn't think that I would do a cover version for my first release as I didn't want to be compared to anybody, but it just happened so quickly. I would say that this bootleg around may finally help in the sense of that it has already created a buzz around the song, already thinking about her follow up. Will probably do another one with my current producer (George Mena) as I love what he's doing. We've already done a couple of other songs together and one has a spanish hook on a more disco oriented vein. I really like it and I think it could be hudge in Europe. But we're not arrived to that point by the time we speak and our lady already knows that she'll have first to perform in the clubs to promote her debut-single. I'm pretty much confident as I love what George has made of it, giving it a subtle atmospheric latin jazz environnement. Well, when the charm meets the beauty and vice versa, guess it shouldn't be a problem, should it ? And for sure, Treena's got both of'em and much more on offer… MFSB

TREENA ROSE "Tell Me All About It" (Jellybean Recordings) Listen

(more info : treenarose.com )