Tricia Kanhai
Contributor
The beautiful and talented Kreesha Turner has returned to the music scene after three years with the release of her sophomore album Tropic Electric. The album is a genre-defying double disc that fuses the rhythms of reggae/dancehall, and R&B with the rhythms of pop, dance, and electronic music.
The Electric side of the album is more of a pop album influenced by dance and electronic beats. Turner recorded Electric in Canada and the USA working with producers Greg Ogan, Shawn Desman, Phil Tan/Dean Coleman, and Bei Maejor. The single “I Can Stay” will attract fans of Turner’s 2008 pop album Passion, home of chart-toppers “Bounce With Me” and “Don’t Call Me Baby.” Other popular singles on Electric are “Where Ever You Are” and “Killer in the Club.”
Turner changed her image for the Tropic side of the album. Literally returning to her roots, her new hair-do is a natural, luscious afro that gives her presence. Her sound compliments her Jamaican heritage—she was born and raised in Edmonton, Alberta to a Jamaican mother and a Canadian father.
Turner and Jamaican female producer The Wizard created a uniquely reggae/dancehall inspired sound. Tropic was recorded entirely in the tropics on the island of Jamaica. Turner can even be heard singing in patois as is featured on the track “Rock, Paper, Scissors.”
Some criticize Tropic Electric
as musically inconsistent, but Turner had a clear vision for her second album. Her album is evidence that Canadian artists are open to all music genres. Electric is dedicated to Turner’s fans that she gained with her debut pop album Passion; Tropic is dedicated to Turner’s fans from her days
as an undiscovered artist working the underground circuit. During her time in the underground circuit, her music consisted of R&B, hip-hop, and reggae. Collectively, Tropic Electric demonstrates Turner’s versatility as a recording artist.
Turner’s hand in co-writing all of the songs and using the double-disc album format successfully caters to all of her fans and reflects her multicultural heritage as a Canadian artist.
