BASIA - /ˈbɑʃə/ - [bah-shuh] With a fresh year in 2011 and 4 new singles in the post-production stages, Basia Lyjak is a woman in control; she is a veritable supernova of songwriting and vocal talent poised to explode, putting a stranglehold on her eager existing fans and caught-off-guard new converts alike, leaving them rapt and thirsty for more, more, more! 10 years into her professional career, Basia has seen and learned a thing or two about her ever-changing and increasingly uncertain industry. From the glitz of generously funded development deals and girl groups, to living out of her car in order to record and release her next single, Basia has been personally and professionally privy to to the whole spectrum of the good and bad of being a musician. “That's it!” says an uncharacteristically relaxed Basia. “Everyone has their two cents to offer to me: I should sing like this, write with that person, use this producer, focus on a different genre, wear different clothes – the list goes on and I can't please everyone. I'm here to write great songs, period, so I'm done with limiting myself to genres when every kid with an iPod has at least 50 different kinds of music on it! That's the mindset I was in when we went into the studio with these new songs – make them the best they can be, not cram them into a genre.” The songs in question are 3 FACTOR-funded and sonically unalike tunes: the first, “Sunshine,” is a fun, girl-power cruising song for the open highway – a hood down, hot sun on your face, feel-good track that draws from Basia's early country roots and influences. The second single, slated for a summer release, is “Hero,” a universally relatable, goosebump-inducing power ballad that draws the listener physically into Basia's voice and emotion as she transcends from whisper to crescendo over haunting 12-string acoustic guitar. “My grandfather taught me to sing from my heart and my gut, and my parents taught me about rock n' roll. One of my first jobs was babysitting country/bluegrass legends Caitlin Hanford and Chris Whiteley's son, Jesse Whiteley – and they showed me the purity and soul in country. People are always shocked when I sing country or blues because everyone's used to hearing my rock voice, and I really wanted to explore that other side of me with these new songs.” The third song, “Yeah Yeah Yeah,” is a reminder that while Basia is a little bit country in her heart, she's still got rock n' roll coursing through her veins! A sexy, take-control, ultimate brush-off song, “Yeah Yeah Yeah,” will have you strutting and singing along with an extra bounce in your step! The fourth single of the bunch is the fruit of a collaboration with Yurko Mychaluk (Klooch, Nelly Furtado). “Sick N' Tired” is a feisty, hooky track that takes the grit and attitude of Canadian superstars like Three Days Grace and Finger 11 and puts a heavy, ballsy female rock vocal over it, proving that Basia has no problems keeping up with the big boys! “I'm proud of where I've been and excited about where I'm going,” she declares, smiling, referring to her past releases - her debut EP, 'Basia Lyjak' (2002), her sophomore EP 'Writings on the Wall” (2007), and three stand alone singles, 'Don't Talk' (2008, also the subject of her first music video), 'What It Feels Like' (2009) and 'Never Wanted Anything' (2010). If these first few flourishes of colour in the aural kaleidoscope that is her arsenal of songs are any indication, Basia has no shortage of music to share with the world. “When I sit down with a guitar by myself, country songs come out naturally, and I want people to finally hear them! On the flip-side, I have pop and rock demos that I want people to hear too – my goal is to keep writing, recording and releasing singles. Rather than one full-length CD every few years, I want to keep regularly releasing new songs -- basically, I don't want to give anyone the chance to stop listening!” The live audiences who have been the guinea pigs for Basia's new songs seem to agree that all the things we've come to expect from, know and love about her are still intact: she is a petite, spitfire package of energy whose vocal range, colour and diversity isn't just a talent, but a necessary artistic and physical outlet that keeps her heavily charged circuits from overloading completely. To witness Basia's live performance or to hear her recordings makes it difficult not to feel the honesty of her delivery to the very core – her whole being is wrapped into her music, and to separate the two would be impossible. “I don't have a life beyond music, and that's the truth. Everything I do is a means to an end, a way of getting to that next step, earning that next fan. If that means working bizarre jobs with insane hours and spending more time driving in my car than in my own bed and home, so be it! Bottom line, I'm living the dream, and that's the bigger truth!” So, what are you waiting for?! “Sunshine” is coming to your iTunes on May 10th, 2011 - stop missing out @ www.BasiaLyjak.com! Contact: Emy@BasiaLyjak.com