There is a particular moment in every artist’s career when they arrive at a unique sound, where their creative output is confident in the messages it means to convey, and the tools it uses to deliver them. No matter how many influences or genres have served as blueprints in the past, something entirely new emerges. With the new album, “Weight of the World”, the voice of LEMON has emerged.
LEMON is the result of the pairing of New York vocalist and songwriter Roger Smith, and Danish production guru Thor Madsen. Together they have crafted a sound which evokes the legendary soul virtuosity of the likes of Marvin Gaye, Al Green, and the expansive sound of 70’s Motown, laid over modern R&B production, and held together by mature, intelligent songcraft. “I’m a songwriter, and I pay obsessive attention to melody, form, arrangement and lyric,” says Smith. “Production value is key, but like a movie with special effects masquerading as the plot, it can leave you emotionless, and it definitely won’t guarantee longevity. This is what I love about great pop of the last 30 years, it sounds as relevant today as it did the day it was recorded.
Central to the duo’s sound is the vocal prowess of Smith. “I grew up on a collection of artists and groups where great vocals were just par for the course. People like Mick Hucknall of Simply Red, or Freddy Mercury of Queen, or George Michael. These were people who could ply an audience’s emotions with the finesse of their voices, and their vocal talent allowed them to do nearly any kind of material, or at least incorporate any kind of material. That’s what makes it interesting to me.” True to form, LEMON’s material incorporates pop, soul, dance, jazz, and rock, into a hybrid which is at once artistically credible and infectious for radio. “It’s encouraging to see the extraordinary success of a Norah Jones, or a John Mayer. It tends to make me believe that melodic, song-based pop can find an audience, regardless of trend, or corporate radio’s chokehold on what new music sees the light of day. Something that sounds beautiful and fills the soul is never pedestrian or out of style.
Lemon has been collecting songwriting awards for the past two years including Semi-Finalist in 2002 Songlounge.com for “Daydreams”, Finalist in the Hard Rock Cafe’s “Road to Town Fair IV, a Nationwide contest in Philadelphia and a current contender in the first round of the 2003 Coca Cola New Music Award.
Roger Smith, vocalist and songwriter for the band Lemon, started his music career in Boston with a well-loved pop group, Frankly Scarlett. Frankly Scarlett performed in venues throughout Boston, Cambridge, and greater New England, including Avalon, Venus De Milo, TT the bears, The Rathskellar, Local 186, Toad, The Plough and Stars. They also played extensively throughout the college circuit including Boston University, Emerson, Tufts, Brandeis, and Boston College. Smith relocated to New York in the summer of 1995 and fronted several New York bands in the ensuing years, releasing two CDs of material from those efforts. In early 1999, Smith teamed with producer/arranger/guitarist Thor Madsen, and from these collaborations, LEMON was born. In addition to the new release, “Weight of the World”, Lemon has released two volumes: The debut EP, “Strangedays”, and the sophomore effort, “NUMB”. The members of LEMON have shared the stage with a far ranging collection of great artists including Morphine, Letters to Cleo, The Mighty Bosstones, and Wax Poetic to mention a few.
Roger Smith - Vocals/ Songwriter
Thor Madsen - Guitar/ Programming/ Producer/ Instruments/ Everything
