Candis
Born: Georgetown, Guyana SA

Candis immigrated to the United States in 1980 at the age of 9. At this age, she was a quiet and shy little girl who placed her creativity in poetry and the sketching of her story book characters or action figures like wonder woman. But her creations, considered just a leisure activity, were placed in a box and forgotten until the weekends. In place of it, Candis was forced to focus on her educational studies of Biology and Mathematics. Dreams of a daughter being a highly recognized doctor was so anticipated by her father. Years past and moonwalking on cardboard mats and scratching on turntables was the “in” thing. Watching didn’t seem like enough so Candis convinced her cousin Mark, to teach her how to mix records on those infamous turntables. His collection ranged from Punk to HipHop and it was a thrill to try to make every sound fit seamless together. The more obscure two records were, made the process of mixing even more challenging. By the end of her first year of college, Science and Mathematics became synonymous with the words boring and dull, and so Candis added courses to her curriculum like Art History. Soon Art History uncovered an interest in Painting and Photography. Photography became her first love, while studying Pre-Med. Pre-Med, however, couldn’t compete with Candis’ dreams of becoming an artist. While studying Photography, it became evident where her focus would lie. It was art that won her over but a decision had to be made. By this time, the poetry had made itself into a binder and the love of lines, texture and layout which all encompassed picture taking, developed into a visual organization and orchestration on paper. It was all of this which brought thoughts of Design into play. Together, music and design became one and the same. While exploring more creative ways of design freelancing, Candis met producer, Greg Hines. It wasn’t long before the two became fast friends. She worked on the compact disc cover layout of one of his artists. Mutual respect and admiration for each other’s talents led to the sharing of artwork and poetry. It was this bond that eventually led to the collaboration of what has become the “Aural Pleasures” album.