Selina Toyomasu, née Selina Grinsted (born 1975) is an Indian-Norwegian musician and singer. She is known for the album Soul Fire from 2004.
Personal life She was born in Amersham as a daughter of an Indian musician and a Norwegian mother. At the age of 5 she came to Oslo with her family. At a young age she self-released the album Selina. At the time her album Soul Fire was released in 2004, she was a student of physical education at Telemark University College at Notodden. She also studied folk music at the campus in Rauland. Later she also studied music at the Liverpool Institute of Performing Arts.
She married Jo Toyomasu, who was of Japanese ancestry. They are now divorced.
Soul Fire
Following the release of the single "Into the Flames", Soul Fire came out on the independent label on 10 May 2004. Musically, the album was a mix of pop and electronic music with Bengali song, Norwegian folk music and :no:wikt:kveding.
Toyomasu hoped for the album to surprise the listeners, and maybe contribute to spiritual awakening in the individual. She wanted to shift the common focus "from the materialist to the spiritual". In 2004, she told NRK that she believed angels helped her in creating her music.
Reception Most critics rated the album as medium-to-positive, issuing a dice throw of 4 out of 6. Among the largest newspapers to give the grade 4 was Aftenposten, calling the "ethno-inspired and synth-based" pop music "sophisticated" and "original". The crossroads between "Asian, modern drum beats and somewhat classical" was "fascinating", but not all songs were equally fulfilled. Review by Knut Utler in Aftenposten 11 May 2004 The latter point was also raised by others.Review by Anne Therese Melbye in Haugesunds Avis 2 June 2004, p. 31 "It all goes somewhat to sleep, in its strangeness and originality"; at times the album came to a "standstill", wrote two critics though the overall grade was still 4.Review by Erik Wiggo Larsen in Demokraten 21 May 2004, p. 20Review by Torstein Davidsen in Romerikes Blad 22 June 2004, p. 48
Varden stated that most of the record demanded time and concentration from the listener, but nonetheless sounded similar after a while.Review by Helge Ottesen in Varden 8 May 2004, p. 69 The same critique was voiced by Fredriksstad Blad. Several of critics who rated it as 4/6, noted a similarity to the ethno-pop music of Bel Canto, with Toyomasu even having a similar voice to Anneli Drecker at times. However, Toyomasu also had a distinct "ethnic crack" in her voice.Review by Desirèe Grandahl in Fredriksstad Blad 11 May 2004, p. 50 Review by Anne Lill Aas in Telemarksavisa 12 May 2004, p. 58 Another critic called her voice "good, powerful and pleasant".Review by Per Ivar Henriksbø in Gudbrandsdølen Dagningen 4 June 2004, p. 49Review in Panorama.no 4 June 2004 "Good", "powerful and special" were also used to characterize her voice in Smaalenenes Avis, among the very few outlets that gave the album a 5/6 grading.Review by Trond Erikson in Smaalenenes Avis 25 May 2004
Few of the positive critics commented the lyrics; Exact magazine wrote that "the lyrical universe contains plenty of symbolicism, fantasy, air and emotions". The reviewer commended the album for being personal, at the same time as a couple of missteps might not be made the next time Toyomasu entered a studio.Review by Kenneth Dahlby in Exact, issue 95, p. 14 Vårt Land called some of the lyrics "floating and contourless".Review by Olav Solvang in Vårt Land 11 May 2004, p. 19
A number of critics also rated the album much lower, at 2 out of 6. VG opined that Toyomasu had an "OK" voice that "does not stand out in any kind of way", and lambasted the album as "boring", not "very successful", "with pretty advanced, but unfulfilled and uninteresting tunes, that don't contain any of the qualities needed to intrigue the listener".Review by Espen A. Hansen in VG 1 June 2004 Bernt Erik Pedersen in Dagsavisen saw similarities to Bel Canto, claiming that the world pop was less spectacular in 2004 than in the 1990s. Pedersen also called some of the lyrics "bordering on pure nonsense".Review by Bernt Erik Pedersen in Dagsavisen 18 May 2004, p. 30
One reviewer giving a dice throw of 3 reiterated the critique about being similar to Bel Canto. Wrote the reviewer, Toyomasu was "fifteen years late". The album was also a "dam that bursts" because too many ideas were packed into one effort.Review by Jon Arnesen in Sarpsborg Avisa 13 May 2004, p. 16 The modern and electronic elements made the album "overly synthetic", wrote Trønder-Avisa, issuing another 3/6 accompanied by "a polite yawn".Review by Olav Lorentsen in Trønder-Avisa 2 June 2004, p. 21
Adresseavisen called Soul Fire an offering of pop music that was not "pop enough"; "long-winded", "mediocre" and "ordinary", the songs having been "ground to tedium".Review by Kai Kristiansen in Adresseavisen 11 May 2004, p. 20 The Østlendingen reviewer got "no impressions" from the record, and foresaw that "this album will not break through at all, and will be completely overlooked".Review by David Jønsson in Østlendingen 8 June 2004, pp. 24-25
References
External links Discogs