Ingrid Chavez
Encyclopedia
Ingrid Julia Chavez is a Mexican-American poet, vocalist, songwriter and photographer.
, United States
, and raised in Marietta, Georgia
. She moved to Minneapolis, Minnesota
, in 1986 to follow her ambition of becoming a singer-songwriter
.
Chavez has a son, Tinondre, born circa 1984, who lived in Atlanta, Georgia
for a time. She also has two younger daughters, Ameera and Isobel, with English singer and musician David Sylvian
, whom she married in 1992 (but divorced twelve years later).
album. Prince encouraged Chavez to write 21 poems with the promise that they would make a poetry album together. When she finished her poems, she and Prince went into the studio. Prince sat at a keyboard and played while Chavez read through all 21 of her poems. This was the original recording that would later become her only album ever released on the Paisley park label. Shortly after this session the project was put on hold indefinitely.
In 1989, Chavez formed a band called Skyfish with Richard Werbowenko. They created a six-song album released only on cassette. Chavez ran into Prince a year or so later and handed him a copy of the Skyfish demo. Shortly after the exchange, Prince contacted Chavez and wanted her to listen to a track that he had just finished with the poem "Heaven Must Be Near". Prince asked Chavez to finish the poetry album.
It was at this time that Chavez was asked to play the part of Prince's romantic interest in his 1990 film Graffiti Bridge
. During the filming Chavez went into the studio with Lenny Kravitz
and Andre Betts and co-wrote and recorded what became Madonna's sultry 1990 hit "Justify My Love
". She received a large out-of-court settlement for not being credited on the single's release.
In 1992, not long after recording vocals with David Sylvian
for the songs "Heartbeat (Tainai Kaiki II)--Returning to the Womb" and "Cloud #9" on Ryuichi Sakamoto
's 1991 album Heartbeat
, Chavez married Sylvian, and over the years contributed her trademark breathy vocals to a number of her baritone-voiced husband's releases.
During the mid-1990s, Chavez worked with Sylvian and Werbowenko on a second solo album titled Little Girls With 99 Lives. Chavez and Sylvian sent out demos to record labels and close friends, yet could not strike up interest in a deal. The album would have included tracks entitled "Lighthouse", "Snowfall", "Whose Trip Is This?", "Starred And Dreaming", "Kall/Les Fleurs Du Mal", and "Remembering Julia"—the latter four of which can be found as b-sides on the 2-CD UK single of David Sylvian's "I Surrender".
In 1996, Tommy Roberts, a former Minneapolis recording engineer who recorded the Skyfish demo, contacted Chavez and asked her to be in a band with him. She joined the band, called Ova, and recorded a four song EP and an E.P.K. Chavez became pregnant and decided to let go of the project and focus on her family. Chavez currently lives in New England with her children focusing on photography, writing and a new recording project. Chavez and Sylvian are divorced.
. (The title is the first anniversary of the date the cover art was photographed). The album was initially intended to set her spoken-word poetry to music supplied by Prince. It was recorded gradually from late 1987 to mid-1991. When Warner Bros.
pushed for the album to have sung vocals in place of the spoken word, Prince abandoned the project. Five of the album's tracks ("Elephant Box", "Slappy Dappy", "Jadestone", "Whispering Dandelions" and "Heaven Must Be Near") ended up as spoken word with atmospheric music by Prince under his Paisley Park alias, and the remainder were relatively poppy tracks with sung vocals, co-produced by Ingrid with Prince's studio hands Michael Koppelman
and Levi Seacer, Jr.
. The singles "Hippy Blood", "Heaven Must Be Near", and "Elephant Box" were released as singles (along with club remixes).
Personal life
Chavez was born January 21, 1965 in Albuquerque, New MexicoAlbuquerque, New Mexico
Albuquerque is the largest city in the state of New Mexico, United States. It is the county seat of Bernalillo County and is situated in the central part of the state, straddling the Rio Grande. The city population was 545,852 as of the 2010 Census and ranks as the 32nd-largest city in the U.S. As...
, United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
, and raised in Marietta, Georgia
Marietta, Georgia
Marietta is a city located in central Cobb County, Georgia, United States, and is its county seat.As of the 2010 census, the city had a total population of 56,579, making it one of metro Atlanta's largest suburbs...
. She moved to Minneapolis, Minnesota
Minnesota
Minnesota is a U.S. state located in the Midwestern United States. The twelfth largest state of the U.S., it is the twenty-first most populous, with 5.3 million residents. Minnesota was carved out of the eastern half of the Minnesota Territory and admitted to the Union as the thirty-second state...
, in 1986 to follow her ambition of becoming a singer-songwriter
Singer-songwriter
Singer-songwriters are musicians who write, compose and sing their own musical material including lyrics and melodies. As opposed to contemporary popular music singers who write their own songs, the term singer-songwriter describes a distinct form of artistry, closely associated with the...
.
Chavez has a son, Tinondre, born circa 1984, who lived in Atlanta, Georgia
Atlanta, Georgia
Atlanta is the capital and most populous city in the U.S. state of Georgia. According to the 2010 census, Atlanta's population is 420,003. Atlanta is the cultural and economic center of the Atlanta metropolitan area, which is home to 5,268,860 people and is the ninth largest metropolitan area in...
for a time. She also has two younger daughters, Ameera and Isobel, with English singer and musician David Sylvian
David Sylvian
David Sylvian is an English singer-songwriter and musician who came to prominence in the late 1970s as the lead vocalist and main songwriter in the group Japan...
, whom she married in 1992 (but divorced twelve years later).
Career
After moving to Minneapolis, Minnesota in 1986, she auditioned for a number of bands, made the rounds of the Minneapolis music scene, and paid her bills working in a coffee shop. She first met Prince in a pub in late 1987, having written to him. Impressed by Chavez's voice and poetry, Prince took Chavez under his wing. She was known as The Spirit Child on his 1988 LovesexyLovesexy
Lovesexy is the tenth studio album by Prince, released on May 10, 1988. Lovesexy was issued as a substitute record after the release of the infamous The Black Album had been suddenly cancelled. The Black Album and Lovesexy almost act as companion pieces, sharing the song "When 2 R in Love", but...
album. Prince encouraged Chavez to write 21 poems with the promise that they would make a poetry album together. When she finished her poems, she and Prince went into the studio. Prince sat at a keyboard and played while Chavez read through all 21 of her poems. This was the original recording that would later become her only album ever released on the Paisley park label. Shortly after this session the project was put on hold indefinitely.
In 1989, Chavez formed a band called Skyfish with Richard Werbowenko. They created a six-song album released only on cassette. Chavez ran into Prince a year or so later and handed him a copy of the Skyfish demo. Shortly after the exchange, Prince contacted Chavez and wanted her to listen to a track that he had just finished with the poem "Heaven Must Be Near". Prince asked Chavez to finish the poetry album.
It was at this time that Chavez was asked to play the part of Prince's romantic interest in his 1990 film Graffiti Bridge
Graffiti Bridge (film)
Graffiti Bridge is a 1990 drama/musical written, directed, and starring Prince. It is a sequel to his first film, Purple Rain, though notorious for its relatively low quality and poor performance at the box-office...
. During the filming Chavez went into the studio with Lenny Kravitz
Lenny Kravitz
Leonard Albert "Lenny" Kravitz is an American singer-songwriter, multi-instrumentalist, record producer and arranger, whose "retro" style incorporates elements of rock, soul, R&B, funk, reggae, hard rock, psychedelic, folk and ballads...
and Andre Betts and co-wrote and recorded what became Madonna's sultry 1990 hit "Justify My Love
Justify My Love
"Justify My Love" is the first single by American singer-songwriter Madonna from her 1990 greatest hits compilation The Immaculate Collection and was released on November 6, 1990, by Sire Records. It caused international controversy due to the accompanying music video which was sexually explicit...
". She received a large out-of-court settlement for not being credited on the single's release.
In 1992, not long after recording vocals with David Sylvian
David Sylvian
David Sylvian is an English singer-songwriter and musician who came to prominence in the late 1970s as the lead vocalist and main songwriter in the group Japan...
for the songs "Heartbeat (Tainai Kaiki II)--Returning to the Womb" and "Cloud #9" on Ryuichi Sakamoto
Ryuichi Sakamoto
After working as a session musician with Haruomi Hosono and Yukihiro Takahashi in 1977, the trio formed the internationally successful electronic music band Yellow Magic Orchestra in 1978. Known for their seminal influence on electronic music, the group helped pioneer electronic genres such as...
's 1991 album Heartbeat
Heartbeat (Sakamoto album)
-Track listing:All songs written by Ryuichi Sakamoto, except where noted.# "Heartbeat" 4:46# "Rap the World" 4:53# "Triste" 4:23# "Lulu" 4:19# "High Tide" 4:47...
, Chavez married Sylvian, and over the years contributed her trademark breathy vocals to a number of her baritone-voiced husband's releases.
During the mid-1990s, Chavez worked with Sylvian and Werbowenko on a second solo album titled Little Girls With 99 Lives. Chavez and Sylvian sent out demos to record labels and close friends, yet could not strike up interest in a deal. The album would have included tracks entitled "Lighthouse", "Snowfall", "Whose Trip Is This?", "Starred And Dreaming", "Kall/Les Fleurs Du Mal", and "Remembering Julia"—the latter four of which can be found as b-sides on the 2-CD UK single of David Sylvian's "I Surrender".
In 1996, Tommy Roberts, a former Minneapolis recording engineer who recorded the Skyfish demo, contacted Chavez and asked her to be in a band with him. She joined the band, called Ova, and recorded a four song EP and an E.P.K. Chavez became pregnant and decided to let go of the project and focus on her family. Chavez currently lives in New England with her children focusing on photography, writing and a new recording project. Chavez and Sylvian are divorced.
May 19, 1992
May 19, 1992, Chavez's debut solo album, was released in 1991 on Paisley Park RecordsPaisley Park Records
Paisley Park Records was Prince's record label, associated with and funded in part by Warner Bros. Records. It was started in 1985, following the success of the film and album Purple Rain...
. (The title is the first anniversary of the date the cover art was photographed). The album was initially intended to set her spoken-word poetry to music supplied by Prince. It was recorded gradually from late 1987 to mid-1991. When Warner Bros.
Warner Bros.
Warner Bros. Entertainment, Inc., also known as Warner Bros. Pictures or simply Warner Bros. , is an American producer of film and television entertainment.One of the major film studios, it is a subsidiary of Time Warner, with its headquarters in Burbank,...
pushed for the album to have sung vocals in place of the spoken word, Prince abandoned the project. Five of the album's tracks ("Elephant Box", "Slappy Dappy", "Jadestone", "Whispering Dandelions" and "Heaven Must Be Near") ended up as spoken word with atmospheric music by Prince under his Paisley Park alias, and the remainder were relatively poppy tracks with sung vocals, co-produced by Ingrid with Prince's studio hands Michael Koppelman
Michael Koppelman
Michael Koppelman is an American record producer and recording engineer. He worked with the artist Prince from 1989 to 1992 on his albums Graffiti Bridge, Diamonds and Pearls and Love Symbol....
and Levi Seacer, Jr.
Levi Seacer, Jr.
Levi Seacer, Jr. is an American musician. He was an early associate of Sheila E. when he was tapped by Prince to form a new touring band after the demise of The Revolution in 1986. Seacer became the band's bassist, as well as a backing vocalist. Later, he began collaborating with Prince as a...
. The singles "Hippy Blood", "Heaven Must Be Near", and "Elephant Box" were released as singles (along with club remixes).