The story of Pleasure Center began in the mid-90s, when Cory Conley began formulating ideas for a dance music project. Having studied filmmaking, electronic music production, and music theory in college, the leap into songwriting and producing his own music was an easy one.
"I was clubbing a lot back then, and in some places I was hearing really interesting European techno, then in the big dance clubs all the muscle boys were dancing to House. I got hooked by what I was hearing - I loved it all. I'd grown up with lots of 80's pop as an influence, and the sound and vibe of what I was hearing in clubs really inspired me. One night, I was on a crowded dance floor and Luv 4 Luv by Robin S. was playing when something just clicked in my head. I remember it suddenly occuring to me, "I gotta do this!"
As Cory began working on original dance material, he started to look for a vocalist that was right for the project. Jennifer Rivers came to Cory's attention after responding to his ad looking for a vocalist with a "big voice" with whom to collaborate. After responses from many vocalists, Cory was thrilled to receive a phone message from someone "who sounded absolutely normal". An audition at the studio where Jennifer was teaching voice lessons proved that she had the vocal abilities (and the personality) that Cory was looking for. It wasn't long before the two were in the studio recording original tracks for the first Pleasure Center demo.
That first three-song demo caught the interest of several labels, with Cory eventually signing with a label looking for an American dance duo in the same vein as hot European acts at the time like La Bouche and The Real McCoy. Unfortunately, with hip-hop taking over MTV and radio airwaves across the country, the label began losing it's enthusiasm for dance music just as the first Pleasure Center single was about to be released.
Disappointed, Cory decided to take a break from music production. Meanwhile, Jennifer signed to High Power Records, which released her Freestyle tracks Now That I Found You, Precious Love and I Want You Deep via Warlock Records.
After a hiatus of several years, Cory once again found himself drawn to the keyboard and again writing original material - lots of it. It was clear that it was time to start again. In 2004, he and Jennifer began recording new material as Pleasure Center.
Believe In Me was the first of those tracks to be released, "The song was originally written 10 years ago, but I kept it to myself until it was time to return to Pleasure Center," Cory says. "There was always something about Believe In Me that told me to save it for just the right time. As soon as I decided to work on Pleasure Center material again, there was never any question that it would be one of the first new songs we recorded."
Deciding to self-release the song in order to retain as much creative control as possible, Believe In Me and its remixes received incredible support from DJ's throughout the country when it was released in late 2005. The song hit #19 on the national DJ Times chart for the month of April 2006, charted in the top 10 and 20 for many months on record pool charts around the country, and became a heavy rotation hit on AOL Music's "Top Dance" station (50 spins a week), iPartyradio.com (35 spins a week), www.clubnetradio.com (14 spins a week), WMPH The Beat of Wilmington (14x a week), plus receiving regular play on DMX cable radio, Energy Hits Radio(www.1dance.fm) and Fusion Radio Chicago (www.fusionchicago.com).
In the summer of 2006 the duo released their follow-up, the infectiously catchy Getcha Some, which became a massive US dance hit, reaching #20 on the Billboard Hot Dance Club Play chart (staying on the chart for 11 weeks). The track also hit #3 on the DJ Times National Dance/Crossover Chart, #2 on the Masspool DJ Association Crossover Chart, #4 on the Pittsburgh DJ Association, Pacific Coast DJs, and FMQB/Record Pool charts, and the top 10 of scores of others.
"In the United States much of dance music has taken on a dark, tribal, circuit party vibe that's pretty inaccessible to a lot of people," Cory says. "With Getcha Some I really wanted to write and produce something fun - something that you can identify with and dance to no matter who you are. People tell me it reminds them of Madonna or the B-52's, so I think we definitely got the feel that we were going after!"
Getcha Some prompted a review on Perfectbeat.com that began, "Highly fun in all its disparate versions, Getcha Some is the perfect song to play when the crowd's good and drunk and feeling a little playful. Known to elicit immediate and startling behavior, when the chorus hits you'll likely see all the bottoms get on platforms and shake the goods, the tops grinding their erections into anything that moves, and the versatile patrons doing flips to see which side lands face up . . ."
The Long Beach Press-Telegram said that Getcha Some was ". . . one of the catchiest and most infectious songs out there and sure to be a hit."
The popularity of Getcha Some prompted Pleasure Center to release 4 additional mixes of the song, previously only available to select DJ's, via digital download sites in the spring of 2007 as Getcha Some (More).
In September of 2007, Pleasure Center's released You've Got It All Wrong. The song has been licensed for use by a variety of companies, including for the store playlists of Armani Exchange, Crate & Barrel, Spenser Gifts, and many others. In addition, Pleasure Center created their first music video for the song. The video has been widely distributed and seen in bars, clubs, fitness centers, and retail outlets throughout the world since its release.
You�ve Got It All Wrong also appears on the Perry Twins compilation CD Activate and on Woobie Bears Music's "G" Global 2 compilation.
Love�s A Basic Freedom was released in 2008 and quickly became a popular marriage equality and gay pride anthem and one of Pleasure Center's most popular songs. The song was featured on Centaur Entertainment's Party Groove: GayDays Vol. 5 compilation mixed by DJ/producer Randy Bettis - the official CD for the internationally acclaimed week of events in and around Orlando's greatest theme parks, nightclubs and attractions. Love's a Basic Freedom was also a "breakout" on the Billboard Hot Dance Club Play chart
In 2009, the single If I Sound Excited was put into limited release. Remixes for the song will be released later in 2010.
Pleasure Center's latest song, Hush, is being released in the spring of 2010 as an exclusive download from their website. Visitors can preview the song in full, and choose their own price if they wish to download the track.
Unlike the group's previous releases, Hush is not accompanied by alternate club remixes, nor will any be coming. "As much as we love having our songs remixed by other talented producers, this track stands on its own. It's exactly what we want it to be just as it is," says songwriter and producer Cory Conley.
The voice behind Pleasure Center, Jennifer Rivers, says “This is quite a contrast to our other songs – I love singing Hush because I really feel the lyrics. It’s got a very ethereal type sound – almost smokey.”
The track is currently being released to dance radio outlets.
The Pleasure Center sound can also be heard on the remixes Cory has done for other artists including Jacinta (Destination), Randy Friess (Rotation - The Drums Are Alive), and The Perry Twins feat. Jania (Activate My Body).
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