Jamiroquai
The name of British jazz funk band «Jamiroquai» is closely connected with her founder and irreplaceable lead singer Jay Kay. His efforts back in 1992 resulted in the release of first band’s single «When You Gonna Learn» that helped them sign the first contract with a music division of Sony Music Entertainment.
Debut album «Emergency on Planet Earth» (1993) wasn’t long in coming. Despite rather lukewarm reviews of the critics who accused «Jamiroquai» of copying famous representatives of this genre the album still got the platinum status in the UK and France and topped UK charts. It’s one of the most pronounced acid jazz albums in the band’s discography. The album released four singles: abovementioned «When You Gonna Learn», «Too Young to Die», «Blow Your Mind» and «Emergency on Planet Earth».
Second album «The Return of the Space Cowboy» (1994), which followed the first multi-platinum one, earned Jay Kay the spotlight in the mass media once again – this time due to obvious promotion of soft drugs in song «Space Cowboy». That didn’t stop the song from entering club and chart rotation, though.
Their next album «Travelling Without Moving» (1995) went through some experiments by the composers which allowed them to vary the songs considerably and thereby cover larger audience and get more favourable reviews. The album was not only the most successful in the band’s career, but also won the overseas listeners having sold over one million copies in the USA for the first and only time in the history of «Jamiroquai». Although it didn’t enter the US charts, it still contributed to band promotion in the US. The credit for this goes to song «Virtual Insanity» that received a «Grammy» and several MTV awards.
Album «Synkronized» (1999) presented the same traditional sound of «Jamiroquai» and took first chart lines in many European countries and in Australia. It was more successful than previous albums in terms of airplays, but rather modest commercially. In between «Synkronized» and the next album «Jamiroquai» partially changed their lineup, so critics and audience stilled in anticipation of what they were in for. And that was «A Funk Odyssey» (2001) which once and for all took the band to the world music market. It reached #1 in six countries including the previously indifferent charts of the USA and entered the top ten in several others. On its popularity «A Funk Odyssey» can well compete with «Travelling Without Moving» and even surpass it eventually. The album yielded singles «Little L» and «Love Foolosophy».
The release of «Dynamite» (2005) indicated the following: the audience either got used to the tricks of Jay Kay and Co, or the band played out somewhat. If compared with the previous album «Dynamite» didn’t justify its name and only became platinum in Great Britain. Even the success of single «Feels Just Like It Should» couldn’t improve its ratings. The situation with the last album so far – «Rock Dust Light Star» (2010) – is even worse. Despite positions in the top tens of different charts the album hasn’t managed to sell million copies. «Rock Dust Light Star» is the first studio album released not by Sony Music Entertainment. As explained by «Jamiroquai», they decided to part their ways with the company because they lost control over songwriting process.
