ULTRAVIOLET SOUND
GROUNDBREAKING ELECTRO DANCE/POP DUO
ELECTRIFIES ALONGSIDE LADY GAGA AND
KATY PERRY—AND HITS THE DANCE CHARTS
WITH ‘SUCK MY KISS’ AND THE FAST RISING
SELF PRODUCED HIT ‘GIRL TALK’ FROM THEIR
SELF-TITLED DEBUT CD
* * *
UVS, aka Vocalist Sarah Hudson and Keyboardist
Sami Diament, is a Favorite of Celeb Blogger Perez Hilton,
Has Been Tweeted as “Buzzworthy” by MTV and
Has Just Been Added To the MTV Radio Network/National
Syndicated Show
In the three years since Ultraviolet Sound’s (UVS) breakthrough digital release, fans of electro dance/pop everywhere have had a frenzied case of “O.C.D. (Obsessive Compulsive Dancing),” as the hip and compelling duo of Sarah Hudson (lead vocals) and Sami Diament have exhilarated audiences all across America and found unique and innovative ways of marketing their music. UVS goes beyond just writing their own songs, but also engineers, and produces all their own records, truly delivering something unique to their fans
Once they got people on the floor and grooving, UVS (www.ultravioletsound.com) got some sweet licensing opportunities and built a buzz with songs on everything from MTV’s “The Hills” and “Real World” to ABC’s “Castle” and “The Beautiful Life,” Lifetime and Oprah, among others. Over the past few years, UVS has also received praise from the Los Angeles Times, New York Post, LA Weekly, 944 Magazine, Interview Magazine, Las Vegas City Life and arjanwrites.com.
Leading up to the spring 2011 release of their self titled full length debut, UVS made the world a provocative offer: “Suck My Kiss,” which broke into the Top 25 on the Billboard Hot Dance Club Songs chart. The music video debuted on the Logo Channel and MTVHive.com as well as celebrity blogger Perez Hilton showed tons of love for the video.
UVS’ latest single, the equally infectious “Girl Talk,” produced by UVS, is rising quickly on the Mediabase and R&R/BDS radio charts, and they currently rank #1 on the Mediabase Top 40/Independent Label Release chart. MTV tweeted about the song and it was their “Buzzworthy Pick” for the weekend of May 21-22; the track was recently added to the MTV Radio Network/National Syndicated Show and the Sirius Hits-1 channel.
UVS’s unique electro pop sound comes from their hands on writing and production style. The combination of Sami’s engineering and programming, with Sarah’s stylized vocals results in the modern pop aesthetic of the groups infectious sound. “As much as Sarah and I love to create music in the studio, playing our songs live is where we and our band really come to life,” says Sami. “Everything we do on the recording end is geared toward that!”
UVS has toured multiple times across the U.S. a tour in the UK—including performing at radio station festivals and The Bamboozle (a three-day annual event in New Jersey) and touring with crunk rock favorites Family Force 5. Perez Hilton’s diehard championing of Ultraviolet Sound has included invitations to perform on bills with some of today’s pop superstars. The duo jammed at Hilton’s South By Southwest launch party for Perez Radio, which featured Katy Perry, N.E.R.D and Swedish pop sensation Robyn. They also played at a July 4 party at a Las Vegas club with Lady GaGa.
Sarah adds, “We love the energy of the audience and what they give back to us when we’re up there. Playing live is just a reflection of the dynamic way we work together. Our songs are like our babies, and being able to play them live and affect people’s lives – there is no other feeling like it. We want people to enjoy the beats but also feel inspired by our lyrics. ‘Girl Talk’ is a playful “girls anthem” for girls and gay boys. It celebrates the joy of being in love with fashion, makeup and boys. The verses are a little sardonic, but it’s all in fun.”
The pulsating, ethereal opening track “Careless and Free” is an inspirational track that perfectly captures UVS’ philosophy of love and life and the struggles they face within themselves as artists. Sami says, “The message ties in with what being an artist means to us. We all need that inspiration and it’s up to us to find it. We’ve reached this place where we have overcome obstacles to get to this inspired moment. The lyric says, ‘I’ll listen to my heart and live inside my heart, and the music in my head will never stop, rise above the pressure, painting my adventure, I wanna feel this forever, and never – say never”
Sarah adds, “This is what inspires us, the idea that we can all live life to the fullest, with no limits. If we can move people to think about their lives and choose to embrace those ideas, we have accomplished our goal. As for some of our more provocative songs like ‘Suck My Kiss’ and our ‘Tough As Nails Pt. 2 Remix,’ I’m not afraid to express myself in any way. A big part of my personality is really brash, edgy and outgoing. Whatever we’re feeling, whatever is on our mind, we like to put in our music.”
Sami agrees: “When it comes to lyrics, we’ll write about anything we’re feeling, in any way we feel like, we don’t put limits on ourselves. Lyrically, I think ‘Dead on the Dancefloor’ is one of the truest messages of our band. When Sarah sings in the chorus, ‘I forever ever wanna get caught up in believing, music is my freedom…till I’m dead on the dancefloor’—this is who we are, and what we’re gonna do. Music can be such a freedom, such a release.”
Sarah comes by her boldness as a person and artist via inspiration by one of pop music’s most honest and up front, unapologetic female artist ever—Cher. The daughter of songwriter-producer Mark Hudson (of the famed ‘70s pop group The Hudson Brothers), she grew up in a house where amazing musicians like Harry Nilsson were regular visitors. But no one made a bigger impact on her than Cher.
“When I was growing up,” Sarah says, “she would babysit me, or we would make necklaces together. I was her for Halloween when I was 10. She let me come over and pick stuff from her closet! I wore one of her wigs and one of her jackets. This was all pretty amazing. She’s everything I love about an artist, and I’m not surprised if I’ve subconsciously emulated her in many ways.”
Sarah and Sami bonded immediately over their mutual passion for electronic music and artistic freedom when they met in NYC in 2005. She was signed to S-Curve Records/EMI as a solo pop artist, and he was recruited to play the keyboards in her back-up band. Sami had originally been a rock drummer, then later co-founded a successful street dance team called Liquid Pop Collective with local East Coast dancers. He then dedicated himself to making beats in his parents’ Jersey basement, while looking for his big break.
One day during rehearsal, Sarah, who liked to dance as much as she liked to sing, brought in a somewhat obscure album by Mirwais, the Parisian electronica artist best known for working with Madonna. From there, she says, “we started trading music and then were like, ‘Let’s just write something. The combination was something really unique. It was almost like a no-brainer once we started.”
Sami adds, “We love coming up with new musical ideas and get amped when we finish a piece of music that we love, especially when we believe it will connect with our fans. The minute we finish one song, we’re already on to the next because we’re constantly looking for new ways of expressing ourselves, whether it’s in our songwriting, videos, or production. Echoing her partner in UVS, Sarah says, “There’s nothing more fulfilling than seeing an idea come to its full fruition and being part of the process where an idea that starts in our heads suddenly becomes a song that people are going to listen to and hopefully be inspired by, or at least, shake their asses. Our fans our everything to us, without their love and passion for our music, we wouldn’t be here today.”
