11 Sep 2006 : ABC SONGWRITERS CO-WRITE WITH ONE-TIME PRINCE ALUMNI
New ABC Music Publishing songwriters Merenia Gillies and Gianni Michelini, (Gian), had the opportunity to work with one time Prince
alumni Paul Peterson (aka St Paul) who was recently in Sydney while on tour.
Paul Peterson - who has written, produced and performed with/for The Corrs, Paula Abdul, George Benson, Al Jarreau, Oleta Adams, Gavin DeGraw, Jesse McCartney and many, many more - has over 15 million sales as a writer and has had his work nominated for a Grammy Award.
The writers were enthusiastic about both songwriting sessions and created some great songs, which are currently being finished off.
Merenia, (who has recently been touring with both Paul Mac and DJ Stephen Allkins as part of his Love Tattoo tour), attended this year's Mushroom Music Writer's Workshop in New Zealand. Merenia's music appears on Allkins, 'Love Tattoo' CD as well as various Casa del Discos Record releases including Omegaman's 'I'm Alright' and the 'Mi Casa, Tu Casa' compilation. The latin-american inspired urban diva is currently preparing her first solo album.
Gian was last year's stand-out multi-award winner at the 1233 Music Awards including Artist of the Year. His flamenco and classical guitar background fuses with his love of funk and soul to deliver music that has already made an impact on iTunes Us where his instrumental, 'Aire' was a top-selling track. Gian's album is planned for release early next year.
ABC Music Publishing's roster includes The Audreys, Andy Clockwise, Rephrase and Omegaman.
Pictured is Gianni Michelini and American songwriter/musician/producer Paul Peterson, in Sydney
