rageous! - ION Arizona

Live at PHOENIX PRIDE
ULTRA NATÉ
By Ted Kirby
Back around the turn of this century I had the
opportunity to host Ultra Nate in Detroit, Michigan
while she was performing a show at one of the
popular clubs. My fi rst impression was that this true
dance diva was a pure, consummate professional.
In her career as an entertainer, songwriter, singer,
producer, and even DJ, Ultra has always seemed
to take the road less traveled, especially with her
succinct writing approach, eclectic musical styles
and marketing strategy. She’s always looking for
paths to re-invent herself and even started her own
record label.
Practically every dance single that Miss Nate’ has
given her voice to on the club-play charts has been
in the Top 10. She has entranced us on the dance
fl oor with her vibrant vocals on “Show Me,” “Found
a Cure,” “Free,” “Desire,” “If You Could Read My
Mind (with Amber and Jocelyn Enriquez), and
“Love’s the Only Drug.”
Over the past 17 years, Ultra has come out
with fi ve successful albums, each with its
own fashion and fl avor. Her recent dance
delight album, “Grime, Silk, and Thunder,”
in which she is joined by internationally
known vocalist N’Dea Davenport on this
high-energy effort, has spawned backto-back
#1 dance hits. For this interview
I caught up with her just a couple of days
after her birthday, performing a show in
Vancouver, British Columbia.
ION: How did you come up with the
intriguing name of your recent album,
“Grime, Silk, and Thunder”?
ULTRA: The name was inspired by an
article I read in Rolling Stone magazine
years ago. A journalist spoke of the grunge
movement and described one of Nirvana’s
albums as “grime, silk, and thunder.” This
gave me an idea. This is how I got the title
and concept for the album. This record
captures the style of dance music over the
years — garage, electronic, R&B, soul,
reggae, and grunge infl uences. It has that
“Underground” feel and vibe, not the same
ole, same ole.
ION: You’ve had back-to-back #1 dance
hits with the Pointer Sisters remake of
“Automatic” and recently with “Give It All
You Got” featuring Chris Willis. Please
share your thoughts with us on this amazing
accomplishment.
ULTRA: It’s a great thing! A while back
there was a hiatus there in between record
labels and [almost a year] in between
these two songs. I started my own label
and partnered with Tommy Boy Records.
Over the years I have been supported
by Billboard DJs and many other DJs. I
have had a great relationship with the DJ
community — it’s a spirit keeping the spirit
alive that is cool, decent and fun. There is
that mutual show of appreciation. That’s
the relationship we have — one that’s
reciprocal. I want to keep my music relevant
to the current dance fl oor. Since I do that,
DJs are keeping things moving on the club
play charts.
ION: You take pride in that 95% of your
45
songs are written directly by you. Where
does your inspiration come from?
ULTRA: From everywhere and with
everything. Life experience in general.
Growing up with all kinds of experiences.
I pull from various things and interactions
with people. I am a melancholic writer. I
am open and tap into creativity and the
whole process. I try not to restrict myself or
pigeon-hole my style or vibe.
ION: You like to maintain the integrity of
your songs that are especially made into
dance remixes. How do you choose which
DJ will remix a certain song?
ULTRA: My manager and I, along with my
co-label Tommy Boy, work closely together
to see who will remix my songs. We try to
fi nd a remixer’s style that will align with a
particular song and what genre and market
that it will fi t into. On certain remixes I trust
the they’ll do right by record and that it
makes sense with what it’s geared for.
ION: What was the motivation behind
starting your own record label, “Blufi re
Records” and what additional experiences
have you gained with this venture?
ULTRA: I’ve positioned myself to reap
more benefi ts and control over my projects
and my label as well. For many years I have
been doing the same things. I had decided
to take ownership of my masters and be in a
better business position for the long-term.
ION: In addition to the disciplines of
writing and singing, you also DJ, how did
you get involved with that?
ULTRA: This happened fi ve years ago as
something fun to do. It wasn’t a master plan.
It was of those nights that I didn’t want to
go to a club and I stayed at home with one
of my homegirls and we spun vinyl. I have
many friends with turntables. Our goal was
that we wanted to apply and master what
we were learning. I had the programming
background because I grew up in the club
scene and learned the technical execution. I
currently have a radio show in France every
Sunday (www.radiofg.com). I feel I am very