Anya Kvitka has been quiet for a while.

Professionally that is. In person, she doesn’t stay quiet long. She’s got a lot to say—about the arts in San Jose, about ABBA and about her recent decision to sign with the tastemaking independent label that dug Flying Lotus out of obscurity.

“I’ve purposely been dormant,” she says, nestled on a sagging couch at Philz Coffee in downtown San Jose. “As an artist, you have to really be able to glue yourself to something before committing to releasing that content. I was just very steadily looking for something to be worthy of the fans’ attention. I think this is the first time in that time I’ve reached something that’s tangible—and I’m really excited to see where it goes.”

The “it” she’s talking about is her recent signing to Plug Research, an established and respected indie label based in Los Angeles. “They have an amazing track record,” she says. Plug released Flying Lotus’ debut LP, 1983, and currently boast a roster of boundary pushing artists, like the future-jazz/electronic producer, Milosh, and neo-soul crooner, Bilal. “A lot of these people I’ve looked up to my whole life that I feel are, like, kind of musical pioneers. I just feel like, ‘Holy crap, I’m a part of that now.’”

Anya isn’t the only one excited about what’s ahead. Allen Avanessian, owner and CEO of Plug Research is just as stoked.

Avanessian first became intrigued with Anya after hearing her feature vocal on the track “Penny Nickel Dime,” by alternative hip-hop producer and Plug Research artist Amp Live. Avanessian asked Kvitka to meet with him and play him some of her music.

“It kind of blew me away,” he says. “It was ahead of its time.”

What he heard was a singer with an incredible range—technically and stylistically. Not only could she belt out powerful melodies, but she could assume the soulful timbre of Amy Winehouse, or go an entirely different direction, which Avanessian describes as “future-soul-electronic-pop.”

Plug Research is not the first label to find Anya’s style and sound appealing. She’s flirted with labels in the past, including the majors.

From the moment she began performing, Anya’s powerful vocals cut through the din of the myriad guitar, bass and drums bands in the South Bay. Fans flocked to her, and within months, industry interest began to trickle in. “It was insane,” she recalls. “Within two months I had Atlantic Records calling me. It was weird. Because realistically that doesn’t happen to people.”

Born in Moscow, Kvitka came from a home that valued not only the structure of classical training, but the drama and bombast of pop.

“My mom and my dad kind of brought ABBA, Queen and Modern Talk (into the home),” she says. “Pink Floyd—a lot of that was a great foundation, too, because I’m not sure how many people at that crucial age, where you’re developing your tastes, are exposed to that type of music.”

Kvitka emigrated to the U.S. in 1992, where she continued to develop as a musician. She majored art history and minored in piano performance at UC Santa Cruz—graduating in 2009. While there, she garnered serious recognition as a standout member of the a capella group, Acquire A Capella, and even starred in a viral video—an a capella version of “I’m on a Boat,” by The Lonely Island—which six years ago became a YouTube phenomenon and has clocked almost 3 million views at last count.

It wasn’t even a question of what to do with herself when she came back to San Jose. She started making music, both as a solo artist and with a backing band, the Get Down—blending her omnivorous musical tastes by incorporating elements of her classical music education with her love of pop and R&B.

Eventually, Kvitka become Anya—just Anya—a sultry, silken-voiced soul singer with a little bit of sass and grit.

She has “the look” Avanessian says. “She’s forward thinking about how she wants to do things. It’s unique, but it also has a familiarity to it. That was extremely appealing to me.”

Kvitka says she is happy to be at Plug Research for a number of reasons.

“I did talk to a lot of major labels,” she says. “But whenever you sign to a major—especially when you’re an up-and-coming artist—there are a lot of artistic sacrifices you have to make.”

She has never felt that Plug Research would try to box her in. “Allen (Avanessian) was open to my creative direction,” Kvitka says. “in fact, he was encouraging to it. It just made sense. It was kind of a no-brainer.”

She will celebrate her signing to Plug Research this Friday when she headlines The Ritz in downtown San Jose. “Now that I’m on Plug Research, I really feel like this is the beginning. So, like, this show for me is really just the announcement that I feel like now is the start.”

Kvitka will be joined by longtime collaborator and lead guitarist Matt Gonzales, who has been keeping a busy touring schedule with the nuevo norteño sextet SuenaTron. “We can’t wait to rock the Ritz,” Gonzales says. “There are going to be a lot of surprises.”

Drummer Mitchell Wilcox, also of Cathedrals, and producer Marcus Daniels round out the lineup.

Going forward, Avanessian says the plan will be to release a four- or five-song EP, which he hopes to release by the end of the year. After the EP and a few singles, Avanessian says Anya should be ready to put out a full-length record.

It’s all quite exciting, Kvitka says—though it can also be nerve-wracking.

“Honestly you know, it’s not easy to decide to do this,” she says “Of course I think every day, ‘You know, maybe I should commit to a full-time job.’… I think the hardest thing is when you realize that this really is about convincing yourself.” If all else fails, Kvitka could go and work at a startup—heavy emphasis on could. “My parents are very heavily in the tech world, and I live in the middle of it. I mean, tech is so successful and so tangible. (But that’s) not who I am.”

Music and Arts Editor, Nick Veronin, contributed to this story. Anya and the Get Down play The Ritz on July 3.

San Jose chanteuse Anya Kvitka is back with a new video for her track “Maybe.” Be the first to see it here.

Just in time for her appearance at Live 105’s BFD this weekend, the track features a sparse piano riff over a classic hip-hop beat as the visuals alternate with Kvitka floating among clouds and sepia-tone rose petals in a vintage bathroom.

Kvitka also recently dropped a cover of “Not Your Fault” from Awolnation (also, a headliner at BFD this year). Listen here:

Young Science has had its fair share of good luck. Getting played on San Francisco modern-rock station Live 105, for instance, was a big win for the synth-pop outfit. Yet even that couldn’t prepare the San Jose group, which headlines the Blank Club on Friday, for the bizarre episode that awaited them: getting mixed up with boy band One Direction.

Earlier this year, Live 105’s DJ Menace asked Young Science if they would let 99.7 NOW use their song “Chill Murray” as background music for a video interview segment with One Direction. During the interview, the members of One Direction talked about a new song coming out soon. Some of their fans assumed “Chill Murray” was the new song and quickly cut together YouTube videos with the song playing over footage of One Direction performing. These videos generated a lot of views before getting taken down a few months later.

It only gets more surreal from there. The truth of who sang “Chill Murray” eventually came out in the comments section of the YouTube videos as fans argued about which member of One Direction was singing lead. Once they realized their mistake, they happily became Young Science fans. “Our following on Facebook doubled in a month because of it,” says Young Science frontman James Melo. “People were like, ‘I came here for One Direction but ended up loving Young Science. What a joyous mistake.’”

Before this strange misunderstanding, it would seem unlikely that a group like One Direction, which caters primarily to prepubescent girls, would share fans with Young Science, which appeals more to a college-aged alternative-radio crowd, especially since “Chill Murray” is an ’80s-inspired synth-pop song about drugs, while One Direction is the epitome of the wholesome boy band.

Yet the song is really catchy. You can almost understand the confusion if you buy into the premise that One Direction would release a synth-pop number. “Our music is pop music. I guess it’s not that crazy to think we would be in the same genre as One Direction,” says Melo.

The whole thing ended up seeming like a genius prank that Young Science played, but Melo swears up and down that he had nothing to do with it. “It would have been a pretty awesome prank for me to do, but unfortunately I didn’t think of it,” Melo tells me.

Really, it’s just another example of Young Science’s penchant for good luck.

Young Science,
Anya & the Get Down,
Soft White Sixties
Friday, Nov. 9, 9pm; $10
The Blank Club,
San Jose

The Hedley Club at Hotel DeAnza will host a variety of vocal talents at SVSX that play along nicely with the art deco decor of venue. Anya & the Get Down headline with Amy Dabalos and Sweet HayaH on the bill.

Anya and the Get Down
11pm, Hedley Club at Hotel De Anza
Led by classically trained singer/songwriter Anya, the Get Down’s first EP got the local scene buzzing, its Amy Winehouse-type confessional rock blending effortlessly with dubstep, reggae and hip-hop. Then there was the revelation of Anya’s vocals—powerful, sensual and unpredictable. But if that first release established the noir side of Anya and her talented, versatile band, their newest EP expands their range, especially on the slow-burn “Gotta Be Got” and the emotional “Maybe.” The Bangerz’s DJ Cutso also contributes a wild remix of “C’est La Vie” that puts a dance-floor spin on an already disorienting swirl of genres wrapped into a single anthem. “Gone Baby Gone,” however, remains their signature song, its video especially capturing the mix of vintage style and dark, futuristic edge that makes Anya and the Get Down one of the most exciting bands to hit the South Bay scene in years.

Sweet HayaH
10pm, Hedley Club at 
Hotel De Anza
World beat may be a minor influence on Sweet HayaH’s sound, but its subtle undercurrent can definitely be discerned. With a mish-mash of rock, soul, blues and folk music, Sweet HayaH’s songs sound like the self-reflective work of songwriters like Tori Amos and Alanis Morisette at their core but flushed out into more diverse musical settings—almost like No Doubt, but with more passion.
As far as their penchant for the international, they not only sing songs in English, but in French and in Spanish as well—not to mention the second half of their name, HayaH, which is Arabic for “life.” But where their worldliness really reveals itself is in the stripped down, bare-bones, acoustic versions of the songs. (They have been known to play electric and acoustic sets.) The rhythms have a slight Latin and African bent to them. Meanwhile, the vocals evince a poetic timing and intonation that tie in smoothly with the music. This isn’t to say that Sweet HayaH aren’t a rock/soul band. They are. Lead vocalist Nehal Abuelata combines the soul of Aretha Franklin and the heart-on-the-sleeve cries of Janis Joplin.

Amy Dabalos
9pm, Hedley Club at Hotel De Anza
Young jazz/R&B vocalist Amy Dabalos is noted for her song interpretations. Beginning her musical journey in the jazz world, Amy was inspired by the improvisational freedom of the music. Her style and approach to singing are greatly influenced by vocal jazz legends, as well as her undergraduate training in classical voice.
Amy takes standards, and some songs not so familiar, and makes them all her own—new harmonies, different rhythms and a modern take on beloved numbers. Most recently, she has performed at City Lights Theater, Left Coast Live, the San Pedro Square Market and the San Jose Jazz Winter and Summer Festivals.

The Silicon Valley Sound eXperience highlights more than 20 local bands at nine venues in downtown San Jose starting at 3pm on September 22. Purchase tickets HERE.

Metro Newspaper’s Best of 2012 issue hit new stands today, highlighting a variety of local talent selected online by readers. From cutting-edge DJs, to old-school blues and cover bands, this is the best of Silicon Valley.

READER’S PICKS

Best Local Cover Band
The Peelers
Considering how long it’s been automatic for DJs, it’s remarkable how long it took cover bands to catch on to the mash-up concept. The Peelers were, in fact, the first ones we heard doing it, and according to our readers, they’re still the best. Whether it’s layering T.I. raps over Tim McGraw or sliding from ’80s pop to hip-hop, the Peelers are monster mashers.
Runners-up:
Joe Sharino
Sage

Best Local Original Band
JC Smith Band
It’s about time one of the South Bay’s most talented bluesmen got his due. What’s led to his jump in popularity all of a sudden? We’d be willing to bet it’s Smith’s profile-raising stint as leader of the all-star blues band that grew out of the Metro Fountain Blues Festival. Whether it is his fellow blues artists who sign on to play with him or the fans who vaulted him to the top of this category, the South Bay loves the group.
Runners-up:
Whiskey Avengers
Anya & the Get Down

Best Singer/Songwriter
Anya
Anya Kvitka’s rise in the South Bay scene has been a perfect storm. Her vocal gifts went fully operational at the same time she came into her own as a songwriter, brought together a killer band for Anya and the Get Down, and found the support of some of the most influential people in the hip-hop scene. The songs she has been working on for her album show her new level of confidence, projecting her voice across genre boundaries and creating a sound that’s both classic and electro-futuro.
Runners-up:
Ben Henderson
Justin Morales