By Sheryl Aronson
On Thursday, September 8th, the lovely and talented R&B vocalist, Aunyae Heart had an Official Video “Deep End” Release and red carpet event at Project Hollywood. The video was directed by film maker Daniel R. Chavez. Carlos Battey, Multi-Platinum Producer/Grammy Winner of the Jackie Boyz wrote the song; it was produced by Grammy Award winning music makers, Phillip Aphillyated Guillory, and Tyler “TySteez” Rohn and Heart; Nicole Bradley, Aunyae Heart’s Manager was the Executive Producer and Yvette Morales, Aunyae Heart’s Publicist, was the Associate Producer.
The Hollywood 360 was on the red carpet and interviewed the creative team that was responsible for creating “Deep End.” Our first interview was with Carlos Battey who wrote the song. The Grammy winning artist expressed his enthusiasm working with Aunyae Heart.
Talk about your experience working with Aunyae Heart.
Carlos Battey: When you have a beautiful soul like Aunyae Heart in the room, it’s hard not to have inspiration. She’s amazing, her talent is so great. We just vibed together and wrote from the heart.
The lyrics, deep end. What is that about?
Carlos Battey: It’s about falling in love. It’s about taking a chance and believing in something bigger than yourself. I’ve written a lot of songs…you get that feeling when you’ve written something great. This is one of those times.
Could you describe Aunyae’s voice.
Carlos Battey: Her voice is reminiscent of Brandy… and like some of the artists of the 90’s. I’m a big fan of the 90’s feel. Aunyae’s tone is very rich, and she’s so on key. Every time she performs, her pitch is amazing.
What are your expectations for “Deep End?”
Carlos Battey: I expect big things from this song. Grammy nominations. I believe in her all the way.
Do you have a special message you’d like to express to Aunyae Heart?
Carlos Battey: Aunyae, keep doing what you’re doing. God is blessing you and shining on you right now. Love you and keep doing your thing.
Daniel R. Chavez told The Hollywood 360 he was amazed at the gorgeous tone of Aunyae Heart’s voice. We discussed how he fashioned the music video.
How did you become involved in the music video project?
Daniel R. Chavez: I was asked to get involved, so I met with the team, Aunyae and her Manager, Nicole and her publicist, Yvette. They described for me what they had in mind. Water is a metaphor for love. We tried to formulate a story. When you direct music videos, you can go in a couple of ways. You can be artsy or you can try to tell a bit of a story without being on the nose. In this case, we told a little bit of a story and used water as a metaphor for love, and at the same time I think we showed some really good scenes.
What was special about Aunyae as you filmed her?
Daniel R. Chavez: Her voice is angelic. During a music video shoot…you have this thing called playback so they can lip sing to it. So she would actually sing, and while she was singing live I heard her voice and it was so beautiful. It blew me away. I was amazed. At one point I cut and told her, “You got an incredible voice.” When you hear someone live acapella…I was incredibly moved. I am moved by talent. Talent of any kind. With her, I was moved by her voice. As a person, she’s an incredibly sweet person.
What other elements were unique about the video shoot?
Daniel R. Chavez: I brought in a cinematographer that I used on my film Broken Glass, Morgan Schmidt. I told him I want you to shoot the performance video on the beach. You can only use natural light so I said, “Let’s shoot it during golden hour.” We shot all kinds of other scenes until the performance video, then we shot that during the golden hour. He captured it phenomenally. What you end up with is this beautiful woman singing with this beautiful voice against the backdrop of this beautiful ocean.
What is the metaphor or symbol of the Deep End?
Daniel R. Chavez: Deep End…deep in love. We made sure we used water. You’ll see a swimming pool, you’ll see a lake, it’s in a way where it needs to softly come across.
Any special message you’d like to say to Aunyae Heart?
Daniel R. Chavez: Aunyae, you are not only a beautiful spirit with a beautiful voice, I believe incredible things are going to happen. I think that the world will be fawning all over you. The success that you have the potential for, is greater than you know.
Phillip Aphillyated Guillory revealed to The Hollywood 360 that the song was produced in a family environment feeling because that’s how he does business.
How did you meet Aunyae Heart and what was your working relationship with her to produce the song, “Deep End?”
Phillip Aphillyated Guillory: I am the Producer of the song, “Deep End: for Aunyae Heart. My production company was a part of producing the song. We worked with Victorious Management …Nicole Bradley, who is Aunyae’s Manager She was the Executive Producer and Yvette Morales connected us all. That’s how I met everyone.
I met Aunyae four or five months ago during the Grammys. She came to the studio and we connected really fast. The chemistry was so amazing. Unbelievable. Almost like it was meant to happen. We got together and created the song, ‘Deep End” then went to the studio where she nailed the vocals. It was better than when we first started writing it. We got it all finished a month ago; got it mixed with my engineer from Inner Scope along with Carlos Battey from the Jackie Boyz. He wrote the song.
Talk about producing the song…how did you work together?
Phillip Aphillyated Guillory: This song was created in a family environment. That’s the most important to me because you come up with the best material. That’s how this song came about. It was all done in love and I pray that everyone loves it.
Talk more about your philosophy of producing.
Phillip Aphillyated Guillory: Here’s what I consider important in this business – we can all work for money but at the end of the day it’s about relationships. Everything I’ve done thus far has been based on connecting with people as people. It’s ok to do business but what if this person is a good friend of mine. I took this theory into my business and everyone I worked with, I considered them a friend. They are people you bond with and we all love what we do. Let’s get to know each other before we even get to work. I rather be your friend first, then we can do business also.
How would you describe Aunyae Heart?
Phillip Aphillyated Guillory: Wow. I have no words for her voice…I love the person…the heart. That’s why her name is Aunyae Heart. She’s very open. Loving and kind. Just a sweetheart.
What are your expectations for “Deep End?”
You want this single to be the biggest thing…but it’s more about impact. It’s more about people to know we’re here to bring good music, we’re here to bring a brand to the industry that’s new and refreshing. So many people out there want to hear good R&B music and we’re one the companies on the forefront creating R&B music. Obviously we want a Grammy. But that’s not as important as making an impact with our sound and our brand. We want to make sure we touch as many people as possible. If it’s 10 people, that love it with all their heart …you know what, I’m glad we reached those ten people.
Nicole Bradley, Aunyae Heart’s Manager told The Hollywood 360 she has known the vocalist since childhood and always believed she would be a star.
Talk about your relationship with Aunyae Heart?
Nicole Bradley with Victorious Management: I’ve known Aunyae all her life. She is definitely like family to me. We grew up together and our families are really close. We attend church together. We’re both from St. Louis, Missouri. I knew from the day that I met her, that she was going to be a star. I am someone who is very familiar with her and always have her best interests. That’s where we are to this day.
How is Aunyae’s voice unique?
Nicole Bradley: The reason why Aunyae’s voice is so special is because of how she expresses such soulfulness at her age. If you’re thinking like a pot of gumbo… her voice is a mixture of a lot of different things: she has the soul, the youth, she has the octave, she brings a lot to the table. She produces, she plays the piano by ear, self- taught, and she has the ability to do the acting. She’s done a lot from a young age. As far as Aunyae’s voice is concerned, it can be raspy but also very soothing.
The reason we picked the name Aunyae Heart is that her music pierces your heart and one sits there in awe.
Finally, the star of evening hit the red carpet looking stunning in a burgundy form fitted dress. She exuded confidence and a serene happiness.
Aunaye Heart: My inspiration is wanting to get a message out. Right now my message is love. We have so much going on in the world. You have woman bashing songs, men bashing songs but there’s not enough love. That’s the message. That’s the Universal message I’m trying to send.
Talk about your working relationships with the people who created the song?
Aunaye Heart: I have been able to work with a couple of amazing producers …Phil Guillory and Carlos Battey from the Jackie Boyz. This experience has been everything I wanted it to be in music. The chemistry is indescribable . We get together and the chemistry happens. We brainstormed and came up with this amazing record.
When you listen to “Deep End”, first off, close your eyes and then when the beat starts to kick in, groove with it. It will make you feel good. When you listen to the words and hear what I’m talking about, which is love, you’re going to want to find love. If you have love, rush home to whomever you’re already in love with …embrace that person even more. Or whatever you love. It’s not just about a woman and a man…it’s about being so in love with something, you’re just willing to swim in the deepest part of the ocean for it. No matter if you can swim or not, it’s that you’re willing to take that risk and swim out into the deepest part of the ocean.
How would you describe your voice?
Aunyae Heart: Speaking about my voice, I have the ability to make people feel what I feel. I have been told I have a raspy tone, a soulful tone and that has definitely been a benefit for me because it makes people feel exactly what I’m feeling when I’m singing. It’s a gift from God and I’m embracing it. I use it to reach the masses.
Any last words you would like to say?
Aunyae Heart: #Deep End… Aunyae Heart. Follow me on Instagram, Facebook, go to www.Aunyaeheart.com and tonight we’re premiering the single and the video, so after that go find “Deep End” download it, share it, post it.
After the red carpet, the guests headed into the club for a live performance from Aunyae Heart and a preview of the music video, ‘Deep End.” Aunyae had changed, and was now wearing ravishing black outfit from top to bottom. She took hold of the stage with the four-piece band and displayed that raspy, deep toned voice. The music sliced the airwaves with a soulful beat, so much so, that Carlos Battey grooved to it on the sidelines, simply enjoying the vocalist’s performance.
We were then treated to the music video, ‘Deep End.” The first frame of Aunyae Heart walking the beach in a flowing white beach outfit entices the senses. The lyrics to the song rolls over and over one’s heart like the waves then dives deep with a bass line as Aunyae sings…”Going off the deep end.” It’s a pure sensual experience, visually and vocally. Needless to say, there was thunderous applause at the end for the creative piece.
The Hollywood 360 caught up with the legendary artist, Mr. Larry Dunn, former keyboard player for Earth, Wind & Fire and his singer/songwriter wife, Luisa Dunn to find out what they thought of Miss Aunyae Heart’s performance.
Larry Dunn: Our dear friend Phillip Guillory was one of the main producers of Aunyae Heart’s song, “Deep End.” It is always great to hear live music, great music, and music with integrity. I’m speechless because it’s so rare today. Like she said, most of the music is derogatory, man against woman, woman against man, and integrity is missing. This had it all. Integrity, great lyrics, something uplifting and edifying. We loved it. God bless her.
Luisa Dunn: Her voice was amazing, powerful, and I got a spiritual connection from her. She’s so very talented and she comes straight from deep within, deeply rooted gospel, a little bit of everything… she has all the elements when it comes to her music.
Aunyae Heart, Single Release “Deep End” & Official Video
https://www.facebook.com/OFFICIALAunyaeHeartFanPage/?fref=ts
Nicole Bradley, Executive Producer of #DeepEnd & Aunyae’s Manager
Yvette Morales Associate Producer of #DeepEnd & Aunyae’s Publicist
Photos: Sheryl Aronson/ The Hollywood 360