ILIO Presents "Keys to the City" by Michael Beardon

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Any musician can now feature studio production elements in their tracks, with the release of Keys to the City, a CD-ROM library of synth and keyboard grooves introduced by ILIO Entertainments.

Created and produced by fast-rising keyboard star Michael Bearden, Keys to the City delivers tons of synth and keyboard grooves organized into multi-tracked compositions. The grooves are provided as complete mixes and individual elements, giving users incredible flexibility for working in an array of genres from Dance, Hip-Hop and R&B to Pop, Funk and Electronica.

"The sound is first-class from top to bottom, and the organization is as inspired as the grooves themselves," says Mark Hiskey of ILIO Entertainments. As an example of the CD-ROM's features, the 'Bass-ment' grooves are all individual bass lines that can be used alone or to accompany 'Studio' loops, which are single-layer comps; 'Duplex,' which are dual-layer grooves; 'Triplex,' three-layer grooves, or 'Penthouse,' which contain four or more layered parts.

Just as impressive as the library itself is the combination of talent and credentials behind the production of Keys to the City. Bearden's unique talents have led him to the top of the industry, recording and performing with the likes of Jennifer Lopez, Destiny's Child, Madonna, Michael Jackson, Brandy, Whitney Houston, Lenny Kravitz, Stevie Wonder, Christina Aguilera, Ricky Martin and Babyface. In addition to his work with world-class recording artists, he's also Paul Shaffer's frequent choice as substitute keyboardist on The Late Show with David Letterman. Fellow keyboardist and noted session musician Greg Phillinganes notes, "Michael is one of my favorite keyboardists because of his immense talent and ability to handle different musical situations," he says. "He also has a great personality, a very important element to being a success at anything, including music. In my experiences working with him on projects with artists like Cheryl Lynn and Michael Jackson, he has always been an enhancement and a total pro."

Keys to the City is available as follows:

• CD-Audio - $129 (2-disc set)
• CD-ROM - $199 for Akai and Acid or Roland and Acid (Includes Soundfinder system with .WAV files and MVP Player. Compatible with Giga, E-mu and Software Samplers.)

"Michael spared no effort in bringing this production home, tapping his vast experience in record production, studio recording and live performance to create tracks that are immediately useful and timeless in style," says Hiskey. "Most all of the grooves are played live and have that natural, fluid and truly musical feel that separates the limos from the taxis. We've gone a step further by offering these grooves in Acid format for CD-ROM users. So feel free to change the key and tempo to match your song!"

For more information, visit their web site at www.ilio.com.