Donn T Eyes June Album Release

This forward-facing singer-songwriter from the streets of Philadelphia satisfies all expectations for what a new millennium artist should be, slashing through musical genres while using modern technology to her utmost advantage. Donn T is a digital girl in a digital world, layering upbeat soul music all throughout her Kaleidoscopic debut album.

The Philly soul tradition is famously rife with outside-the-box, cutting-edge artists who stretched musical boundaries and turned the world's ear to their sounds of expression. Donn T fits this description with the best of them. Though she nowadays also calls Los Angeles home and worked steadfastly on KALEIDOSCOPIC with esteemed UK-based French producer DJ Simbad (Roots Manuva, Jay Electronica), Donn T brings as much Philly to her game as Santigold, Jill Scott or Jazmine Sullivan before her.

"I believe my early eclectic musical influences are what most inform my approach to music today," Donn T says. "I grew up with it all, every genre." The daughter of '50s doo-wop great Lee Andrews (of Lee Andrews & the Hearts), Donn T was always supported in her musical ambitions from an early age. KALEIDOSCOPIC ranges from funky London electronica to reconfigured Chicago deep house, from the post-disco New York vibe of the late '70/early '80s to that same period's soulful Berlin sonics.

The frenetic first single "Look At (What U Startin')" combines dance and pop aesthetics with a characteristically breezy ease. Upcoming remixes by Toddla T, Zed Bias, Altered Natives, Matthew Bandy and Deetron should create a monster buzz for Donn T on club dancefloors worldwide. In fact, global demand for KALEIDOSCOPIC seems inevitable given the international nature of the entire project.

"[Neither] my label, nor my manager, nor the producer for KALEIDOSCOPIC are based in the U.S.," Donn T explains. "Most of the key players responsible for pulling the project together, bringing it to light, are a world apart geographically. Digital media, blogging, all things virtual make our world go 'round. It wouldn't be a stretch to say I never left my living room for meetings. Skype changes everything."

No newbie to the industry, Donn T has long worked behind the scenes, i.e., songwriting on Common's Electric Circus ("I Am Music"); performing a cover of Radiohead's "Morning Bell" with the Randy Watson Experience (featured on Exit Music: Songs with Radio Heads); and contributing "Rainy Day" to the UPN Taye Diggs vehicle Kevin Hill, in addition to five songs for the second season of Showtime's Street Time drama. Nearly as connected as her older brother Ahmir "?uestlove" Thompson of The Roots hip-hop band, Donn T has also shared stages with or supported the live shows of singers Amy Winehouse, Zap Mama, Nelly Furtado, John Legend, Les Nubians, Floetry and more.