Vanessa Layne, a native of St. Vincent & the Grenadines, is rekindling her passion of singing after a 30-year hiatus during which she pursued other hobbies.
Whisper in the Dark by Dionne Warwick, a pop ballad that was first released in 1985, is a smooth, carefree cover version performed by Vanessa.
Vanessa, whose music is produced and engineered by Mark Cyrus of Masteroom, adopts a soft touch and effortlessly avoids oversinging. Her delivery, which has a strong vocal performance that is perfectly suited to the material, is expressive enough to create a personal listening experience without being overly serious.
My personal favorite of the three planned releases is the acoustic. Her calming, breezy, light vocals are perfectly showcased in this stripped-down, unadorned version.
The pop version, which is out today, is more radio-friendly, though. Vanessa’s vocal performance is reminiscent of 80s pop without Warwick’s bluesy overtones or the angst of the era, while yet being loyal to the original musical production.
The soon-to-be-released dance version is quite infectious and genuinely motivates me to dance; I predict it will be played frequently at local DJ clubs.
When specifically asked if there were any further songs in the works, Vanessa made a hint, but she avoided giving a solid denial.
“I’m just having a good time. She chuckled, “I’m just tossing it out there into the cosmos. Just a leap of faith, I guess. At times it’s spooky, but overall it’s entertaining. I want to see how it develops and let natural processes take place.
A welcome change from the conventional Caribbean musical genres is Vanessa’s current contribution to the local music scene.
Given that she expressed a strong preference for studio recordings over live performances, Vanessa presents a compelling case for returning to music on her own terms.
I will definitely add this cover to my playlist because I really enjoyed listening to it. I also look forward to seeing how Vanessa’s artistry as a studio vocalist develops.
You can listen to, and download the track at Apple Music
Follow Vanessa on the FB @vanessalaynemusic and IG @vanessalaynemusic
