H₂O Productions is the team of wife and husband Nicole and Mark Hamilton and like for example Yolanda Charles and Miles Bould and their Mamayo project their objective is to bring back music that evokes some kind of emotion…music that you can relate to on a personal level. Mark and Nicole made tracks and wrote songs in the basement for the past few years and finally have set up a studio in Philadelphia. With the a little help from fellow artists they’ve recently released a ten track album full of good songs bridging the gap between soul, nu soul and R&B/urban.
Furthermore Mark and Nicole introduce us to some impressive new artists like Peter Hadar who adds his vocal magic to the midtempo dance song Need Love. Chinahblac is another new name for me who lays down her soothing voice around the irresistible ballad Bae-Be. I really love the arrangement of the lead and background vocals on this song.
Na2 has a rich and soulful voice and actually it’s his performance that makes Let This Go so good. Unfortunately Let This Go is the only song that disappoints me a little bit in the instrumental department with its bubbling sound which I’ve really heard too often in a ballad.
Tanya and Stanley M. Cooke are a husband and wife duo too, but compared to Mark and Nicole Hamilton they are already veteran musicians who have recorded jazz, R&B, gospel and classical music over the years. On Over And Over Tanya and Stanley deliver a soulful performance over an 80s inspired song.
While it may be widely accepted and be considered as a sign of virility if a male has two lovers, Ebony tells the story of being torn between two loves from a woman’s point of view on the thought-provoking Can’t Let Go.
There’s even a song that features Nicole Hamilton herself on vocals, the floating midtempo groover Nevermind.
The name most of you may be familiar with is Eric Roberson (Erro) who appears on the deep and soulful I Dare U To Stay.
Abbey Dobson’s 4 The Love may also be wider known since this lovely modern soul gem was the winner of the 2004 Heineken Music Initiative. For The Love (Of Music) seems to be Mark’s and Nicole’s maxim and you’ll certainly discover it, if you listen closely to this labour of love. All in all While U Wait is an inspiring showcase of the talents of the Hamiltons and the singers involved. Hopefully we will hear more from all of them in the future.

Tracklisting of While U Wait: 1. Abby Dobson - 4 The Love/ 2. Peter Hadar - Need Love/ 3. Wynter - Love Like This (So Good It Hurts)/ 4. Eric Roberson - I Dare U To Stay/ 5. Chinahblac - Bae-Be/ 6. Na2 - Let This Go/ 7. Tanya And Stanley M. Cooke, III. - Over and Over/ 8. Ebony - Can’t Let Go/ 9. Nicole - Nevermind/ 10. Samuel III. - Nursery Rhymes | released 2005 H₂O Productions

For more infos visit h2o-music.com and cdbaby.com.

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