Terence Trent Darby (2 albums) 1987 - 1989 [FLAC] [h33t] - Kitlope

Sananda Maitreya (born Terence Trent Howard on March 15, 1962), better known by his former stage name Terence Trent D'Arby, is an American singer-songwriter. He also plays many of the instruments on and produces his own albums.


Early life and career

Maitreya was born in Manhattan, New York City, New York, in 1962, he grew up with his step father, Reverend James Benjamin Darby, a minister of the Pentecostal church and Frances Darby, a fine singer, teacher and counselor. Maitreya was known to childhood friends as Terry Darby. Maitreya's family moved from New York to New Jersey to Chicago and then settled in DeLand, Florida, north of Orlando. Maitreya's mother was a gospel singer.[1] A graduate of DeLand High School, Maitreya sang with the Modernaires, a show choir of high school.[citation needed]

Maitreya trained as a boxer in Orlando and won the Golden Gloves lightweight championship. He received an offer to attend boxing school in the United States Army, but his father insisted he go to college instead. Maitreya enrolled at the University of Central Florida but quit a year later, enlisting in the U.S. Army. Maitreya was posted at Fort Sill, Oklahoma, and then served in Elvis Presley's old division: the 3rd Armored Division, near Frankfurt, Germany.[1] He was formally discharged by the army in April 1983 after going absent without leave. While in Germany, he also worked with the band The Touch, releasing an album of material called Love On Time (1984). It was later re-issued in 1989 as Early Works after Maitreya's world-wide success as a solo artist. In 1986 he left Germany for London, where he briefly played with the band, The Bojangels, after which he signed a solo recording deal.

As Terence Trent D'Arby

His debut solo album, Introducing the Hardline According to Terence Trent D'Arby, released in 1987, is his best-known and, in commercial terms, most successful work. The album, which produced hits like "If You Let Me Stay," "Wishing Well," "Dance Little Sister," and "Sign Your Name", sold over a million copies in the first three days of its release, and its sales currently total over 12 million. The album also earned Maitreya a Grammy Award in March 1988 in the category Best R&B Vocal Performance, Male. In that same year, he earned a Soul Train Award nomination for Best New Artist.

Maitreya's follow-up was the album Neither Fish Nor Flesh: A Soundtrack of Love, Faith, Hope & Destruction (1989). It sold over 2 million copies.

It took four more years and a move to Los Angeles until his next project, Symphony or Damn: Exploring the Tension Inside the Sweetness (1993) was released. The record explored some of the themes of Neither Fish Nor Flesh, and contains the famous singles "Delicate" and "She Kissed me". It gathered very favorable reviews and was played widely on radio. It peaked at #4 on the UK Album Charts.

In 1995, Maitreya released Vibrator, which largely followed Symphony or Damn in its musical direction. It was well received, and also followed by a very successful world tour.

During the 1990s, the relations between him and his record label Columbia Records became strained, eventually leading to his departure in 1996. He moved to Java Records for four years, during which he recorded Terence Trent D'Arby's Solar Return, which was not released. In 2000, he bought the rights to his unreleased album and left the record company as well as his management team, Lippman Entertainment.

In 1999, Maitreya collaborated with INXS to replace his friend, late vocalist Michael Hutchence, so the band could play at the opening of facilities for the Sydney Olympics.

As Sananda Maitreya

He adopted the name Sananda Maitreya, following a series of dreams. His name was legally changed to Sananda Maitreya on October 4, 2001. He proclaimed in an interview that "Terence Trent D'Arby was dead...he watched his suffering as he died a noble death," in what was perceived as an attempt to reinvent himself artistically and free himself from what he believed to be the oppressive nature of the record business.

2001 also saw Maitreya moving back to Europe and Germany, as he resettled in Munich and started his own independent record label, Treehouse Pub. The year also marked his first album release in six years, as the unreleased Terence Trent D'Arby's Solar Return was revamped into Wildcard. The album, which received a warm critical welcome, was at first available for free through his website, and later gained also a commercial release through a one-album distribution deal with Universal Music.

In 2002, the now 40-year-old Maitreya moved to Milan, Italy, and began working on his next project, Angels & Vampires - Volume I. the songs were initially released through Weedshare, allowing the fans to get a glimpse of the work as it evolved. In July 29, 2005, the fully mastered album was finally released through his webshop utilizing the mp3 format.

In July 2005 Maitreya started working on Angels & Vampires - Volume II, he released chapter after chapter online as soon he finished recording the songs. On April 29 2006 he released the fully finished and mastered album in his webshop. Maitreya currently lives in Milan, Italy where he continues to create music. Since the early stages of his music career he has always written, composed, arranged and produced all his tracks. In his last albums such as "Angels & Vampires" and "Nigor Mortis" he is also playing all instruments. In 2009 the latest album "NIGOR MORTIS - Critical Mass" will be released also in CD format from the ecommerce of the official website: Webshop

Film career

Maitreya has appeared in two films, as well as the TV mini-series Shake, Rattle and Roll where he played the part of Jackie Wilson. His music has also been included on several movie and television soundtracks, notably his version of the theme song of 1991's Frankie and Johnny, as well as having one of his songs featured prominently in the end credits of Beverly Hills Cop III, "Right Thing, Wrong Way", which he wrote and produced with Jimmy Jam & Terry Lewis. Another of his songs, "What Shall I Do?" was also featured in an episode of the popular UPN television series "Girlfriends."

Collaborations

Maitreya was featured on 'A Stronger Man', a dance single by Everything But The Girl's Ben Watt. (Buzzin' Fly) He also duetted with Des'ree on the single "Delicate" from the album Symphony or Damn. In 2007 3 songs appeared on Judd Apatow's movie "Knocked up". In 2008 Nathan Jay remixed the song "As Yet Untitled" on "This Land Is Still My Home" by , from the album "Virtually". On American Idol Season 8, contestant Danny Gokey performed D'Arby's hit song "Dance Little Sister."