REDD ALERT!

Three years of careful planning, seamless song-writing; lean beats and genre-shrugging rhymes equal Redd-Angel – Cape Town, South Africa's answers to the call for quintessential cool.

26-year-old Jerome Martin has spent the better part of the new millennium preparing for world-chart domination with the release of his highly anticipated debut album, Fabulous Vol. 1.

Unie Moller, owner of Sexy Records UK, has committed to Redd-Angel in a way that has seen the two collectively build great repertoire and forge critical alliances from the UK , across Europe and right into the heart of Asia with the massive single “Fabulous Day”, released more than two years ago. “The song was a huge hit in South Africa , and was even picked up by one of the biggest publishing houses in Japan , Johnny Music and JVC Victor Records,” Unie points out. “It was covered by one of their key acts whose record sales had been on the slide and a very strong song (Fabulous day) was required to resurrect their fading careers. I knew then that the album “Fabulous” would follow was set to have an even bigger impact.”

Rather than rush the album, Unie made contact with his network of Record Producers/songwriters with whom Jerome could collaborate in the UK and Europe to work on what is now Fabulous Vol. 1 : 14 tracks of enough real identity, originality and vitality to warrant longevity in a market plagued with deposable, undistinguished tunes.

Enticing, engaging and immediate, Redd-Angel's Cape Flats roots give his music a level of realism and honesty seldom heard today. “With so many artists, there is a lot of hype and little or no delivery on the promise of greatness and individuality,” Moller points out. “With Redd-Angel, his early success on the back of just one single confirms that what he has to offer is worth buying into.”

“For example,” Unie continues, “in 2002 Brendan Block & Alex P, two of the UK's biggest House DJs, worked with Single-Minded Promotions to put an album together for The Daily Mirror Newspaper in London , which featured seven of the hottest songs playing in the house capital of Europe, Ibiza . Not only was Redd-Angel's “Fabulous Day” included, but it was also was the lead track on the compilation that was included with the 2.8 million copies of the newspaper.”

Having started out as part of a group, Redd-Angel's accomplished debut is the result of solo ingenuity, having learnt that his contribution is the essence of the whole, with no need for external intervention.

In the past year, in preparation for Fabulous Vol. 1 , Redd-Angel flew to Italy where he shot two videos for the new album. One being in Venice (where the last person given permission to shoot there was Madonna for “Like A Virgin”, after which all videos were banned until now), making Redd-Angel's feat, above and beyond the strength of the track, even more monumental. “The support in putting this album together, from Virgin, here in South Africa through to all our partners overseas has been amazing,” Unie asserts. With South African Tank Film's having produced the video for “I'm Sorry”, the mix of personalities is truly universal.

“We're not bragging about what Redd-Angel has achieved or what he's set to achieve,” Moller points out. “All that has and is transpired is a natural evolution. The irony thus far has been that most people don't even know what Redd-Angel looks like.”

Produced at Gosh Studios in Austria , Fabulous Vol. 1 was moulded under the watchful eye and ever-critical ear of the song's creator. The mix of influence and styles make for an album filled with R&B, hip-hop, pop and smatterings of jazz blended together. From up-tempo beats to emotional ballads, each offers the Redd-Angel vocal signature and song-writing credibility. “It's an album that has to be listened to in order for it to be truly appreciated,” Jerome insists.

Italian Hit makers “Motivo Productions” have teamed with Unie Moller's Sexy Records on a joint venture to form “Rythme Fatal feat Redd-Angel” and recorded a stunning club version of Michael Jackson's hit “Man in the Mirror”. The new recording is now set as a 2004 summer release throughout Europe much to Jerome excitement.

“I have always wanted to be the first South African artist to be appreciated at home and then to take that with me overseas and repeat the success there,” Martin asserts. ““Fabulous Day” has set the stage and with a full-length album now in hand, it's all up to the songs and how well people connect with them. I have learnt a great deal over the past three years and I have applied all of that into making this album, so it is truly representative of who I am and what I am about as an artist.”

Tracks to watch are “Oh No” with it's bouncy, R&B hardcore tempo-driven beat, the smooth ballad “Watching Over You” and of course, “Fabulous Day”. The music of Redd-Angel is the made up of the stuff we can all relate too, whether home is the Cape Flats or Cancun, Mexico – and Fabulous Vol.1 is just the first chapter of many to be told through song by a young man ready to embrace the wall of recognition set to trail his climb to the top of a chart near you.

Coming Soon: Redd-Angel – Fabulous Vol 1