Song of the Week
Song Of The Week
Thursday 16 July 2015
Rise Up - Andra Day
Now, this girl has a voice! Just came across her on Spotify, and her debut album will be out in August. I have a feeling it will be a hit
www.andraday.com
Now, this girl has a voice! Just came across her on Spotify, and her debut album will be out in August. I have a feeling it will be a hit
www.andraday.com
Song of the Week
Friday 26 June 2015
Please Come Home - Gary Clark Jr.
The next Hendrix? Perhaps...
The solos in this live version of the slow, deep blues are intense journeys... you can’t have the volume loud enough!
But he doesn’t just play like a true master, his voice’s sumptuous vibrato and blissful falsetto rubs like silk against the grit of his raw guitar. And he keeps you hooked right until the last final, soulful, lingering lone tone.
The next Hendrix? Perhaps...
The solos in this live version of the slow, deep blues are intense journeys... you can’t have the volume loud enough!
But he doesn’t just play like a true master, his voice’s sumptuous vibrato and blissful falsetto rubs like silk against the grit of his raw guitar. And he keeps you hooked right until the last final, soulful, lingering lone tone.
Song of the Week
Saturday 13 June 2015
Neverending Fountain - S. Carey
Driving through the changing landscapes of this beautiful country, my song of the week this week reflects both the subtlety with which the nature around me is changing, and the layers upon layers of matter that are pouring into me.
Neverending Fountain is rich, layers of sumptuous sounds; strings that are plucked, strummed, teased and shimmering, Carey builds bricks of sound that create a fortress of light.
Driving through the changing landscapes of this beautiful country, my song of the week this week reflects both the subtlety with which the nature around me is changing, and the layers upon layers of matter that are pouring into me.
Neverending Fountain is rich, layers of sumptuous sounds; strings that are plucked, strummed, teased and shimmering, Carey builds bricks of sound that create a fortress of light.
Song of the Week
Tuesday 02 June 2015
Plastic - Moses Sumney
Moses’ EP seems to be a beautiful concoction of all things mysterious. His voice is rich yet raspy. His songs minimal yet bursting.
Plastic’s lyrics resonate incredibly with where I am at: “I know what it is to be broke and to be bold”. Isn’t it so true that our boldness has to come from being broken? If we are not broken and stripped down to our cores, knowing who we truly are, our boldness will always be fickle and fleeting.
www.mosessumney.com
Moses’ EP seems to be a beautiful concoction of all things mysterious. His voice is rich yet raspy. His songs minimal yet bursting.
Plastic’s lyrics resonate incredibly with where I am at: “I know what it is to be broke and to be bold”. Isn’t it so true that our boldness has to come from being broken? If we are not broken and stripped down to our cores, knowing who we truly are, our boldness will always be fickle and fleeting.
www.mosessumney.com
Song of the Week
Sunday 03 May 2015
Sugar Man - Rodriguez
We’re road tripping, and this song by the “long lost” Rodriguez is the perfect driving song.
For anyone who hasn’t heard of Rodriguez, watch the film Searching for Sugarman! A humbling, inspiring and almost unbelievable story!
We’re road tripping, and this song by the “long lost” Rodriguez is the perfect driving song.
For anyone who hasn’t heard of Rodriguez, watch the film Searching for Sugarman! A humbling, inspiring and almost unbelievable story!
Song of the Week
Tuesday 28 April 2015
Stay Gold - First Aid Kit
This song is a little bit of an oxymoron. I have another favourite song by Sting that is this kind of oxymoron - it’s one of the saddest songs about failing as a father, but set to a deceptively uptempo country lilt.
Stay Gold is also wonderfully uplifting and upbeat. But it is about that one of the hardest questions that artists often face:
“What if our hard work ends in despair,
What if the road won’t take me there?”
The challenge is to stay gold. Stay true.
www.thisisfirstaidkit.com
This song is a little bit of an oxymoron. I have another favourite song by Sting that is this kind of oxymoron - it’s one of the saddest songs about failing as a father, but set to a deceptively uptempo country lilt.
Stay Gold is also wonderfully uplifting and upbeat. But it is about that one of the hardest questions that artists often face:
“What if our hard work ends in despair,
What if the road won’t take me there?”
The challenge is to stay gold. Stay true.
www.thisisfirstaidkit.com
Song of the Week
Saturday 18 April 2015
If You Wait - London Grammar
Well, this is a little bit of a leaving song since it has been a week of leaving. Amazing, yearning vocals, longing lyrics.
“And if you wait, if you wait
I will trust in time that we will meet again
If you wait”
I won’t lie... it made me a little teary as I was thinking of all the goodbyes.
Well, this is a little bit of a leaving song since it has been a week of leaving. Amazing, yearning vocals, longing lyrics.
“And if you wait, if you wait
I will trust in time that we will meet again
If you wait”
I won’t lie... it made me a little teary as I was thinking of all the goodbyes.
Song of the Week
Saturday 11 April 2015
Jolene - Ray Lamontange
I often talk about exploring issues through songwriting, and Jolene does that in a soul-searchingly honest way. This song contains some of my favourite ever melodies; I could listen over and over. His voice is both powerful and broken at the same time.
I often talk about exploring issues through songwriting, and Jolene does that in a soul-searchingly honest way. This song contains some of my favourite ever melodies; I could listen over and over. His voice is both powerful and broken at the same time.
Song of The Week
Sunday 05 April 2015
Metronomic - Emily Saunders
I have just discovered Emily Saunders, and her vocal versatility is just astounding! We are having a lazy Easter weekend, and Emily’s Metronomic from her new album Outsiders Insiders is the perfect soundtrack as the sun streams through our window and we sip our tea. Her voice has both strength and vulnerability, her use of latin-rhythms and playful melodies are Easter’s new life in song.
I have just discovered Emily Saunders, and her vocal versatility is just astounding! We are having a lazy Easter weekend, and Emily’s Metronomic from her new album Outsiders Insiders is the perfect soundtrack as the sun streams through our window and we sip our tea. Her voice has both strength and vulnerability, her use of latin-rhythms and playful melodies are Easter’s new life in song.
Song of the Week
Tuesday 17 March 2015
Piece of Crap - Neil Young and Crazy Horse
I was talking with a friend this week about artists that we keep coming back to, and both of us said that it’s the ones who have stories to tell. Mine, of course, is Sting. One of his is Neil Young.
He told me about a song called “Piece of Crap”... a tongue-in-cheek poke at consumerism. The song itself is awful, literally a piece of crap... but it really does a good job at getting its point across. Ironic.
Take a listen...
I was talking with a friend this week about artists that we keep coming back to, and both of us said that it’s the ones who have stories to tell. Mine, of course, is Sting. One of his is Neil Young.
He told me about a song called “Piece of Crap”... a tongue-in-cheek poke at consumerism. The song itself is awful, literally a piece of crap... but it really does a good job at getting its point across. Ironic.
Take a listen...
Song of the Week
Sunday 08 March 2015
Fading Lights - Genesis
I grew up on progressive rock, thanks to my Dad’s taste, and I often wonder if it comes out in my songwriting style at all... Of course, I haven’t yet written a 12-minute song with an epic synth solo. But I think the deep, full sound and sweeping chord progressions are part of the harmonic fabric that I try to recreate.
I grew up on progressive rock, thanks to my Dad’s taste, and I often wonder if it comes out in my songwriting style at all... Of course, I haven’t yet written a 12-minute song with an epic synth solo. But I think the deep, full sound and sweeping chord progressions are part of the harmonic fabric that I try to recreate.
Song of the Week
Sunday 01 March 2015
Fall In - Esperanza Spalding
Quiet, tempting, full of fate and the spirit of letting go... Fall In’s melody, sumptuous chords and creeping tempo are the perfect soundtrack to our laid back week in the Philippines.
“They say if you die in a dream, you die in real life,
But I just died in your arms, hopelessly lost...”
Quiet, tempting, full of fate and the spirit of letting go... Fall In’s melody, sumptuous chords and creeping tempo are the perfect soundtrack to our laid back week in the Philippines.
“They say if you die in a dream, you die in real life,
But I just died in your arms, hopelessly lost...”
Song of the Week
Saturday 21 February 2015
Retrograde - James Blake
Retrograde is simple yet with layers of intricacy. I fell in love with just the first few bars, and then with every listen I am further hypnotised. That voice. That siren. That slow, steady thud... mmmmm...
Retrograde is simple yet with layers of intricacy. I fell in love with just the first few bars, and then with every listen I am further hypnotised. That voice. That siren. That slow, steady thud... mmmmm...
Song of the Week
Friday 13 February 2015
Like the Morning Dew - Laura Mvula
So incredibly surreal, catchy, intense and deep, Laura’s voice is all at once classic jazz and electronic engineered futuristic. Reminding me of a cross between Amy Winehouse and Imogen Heap, this song is a beautiful awakening.
So incredibly surreal, catchy, intense and deep, Laura’s voice is all at once classic jazz and electronic engineered futuristic. Reminding me of a cross between Amy Winehouse and Imogen Heap, this song is a beautiful awakening.
Song of the Week
Friday 30 January 2015
I Wanna Dance With Somebody - Whitney Houston
My brother is getting married this week, and I’m playing in the evening reception. My favourite song of the set has to be Wanna Dance With Somebody - it has been in my head all week and is one of the most infectiously happy songs of all time! Maybe my husband will even dance...
My brother is getting married this week, and I’m playing in the evening reception. My favourite song of the set has to be Wanna Dance With Somebody - it has been in my head all week and is one of the most infectiously happy songs of all time! Maybe my husband will even dance...
Song of the Week
Saturday 24 January 2015
Ancora Qui - Elisa Toffolli and Ennio Morricone
This is an incredibly powerful song from one of my favourite films, Django Unchained. Elisa’s raw, dark voice sings us through one of the most heart-stirring scenes of Tarantino’s tragic, romantic, yet comic, masterpiece.
This is an incredibly powerful song from one of my favourite films, Django Unchained. Elisa’s raw, dark voice sings us through one of the most heart-stirring scenes of Tarantino’s tragic, romantic, yet comic, masterpiece.
Song of the Week
Tuesday 13 January 2015
Lost and Found - Lianne La Havas
This whole album is beautifully moving, witty and soulful. Lost and Found is a deep, chilling song but with such a warm semblance that it catches me off guard every time. Lianne shows off her stunning slow vibrato, which I am trying ferociously to emulate! www.liannelahavas.com
This whole album is beautifully moving, witty and soulful. Lost and Found is a deep, chilling song but with such a warm semblance that it catches me off guard every time. Lianne shows off her stunning slow vibrato, which I am trying ferociously to emulate! www.liannelahavas.com
Song of the Week
Monday 05 January 2015
If I Could Change Your Mind - Haim
Este, Danielle and Alana’s fun, sunny tune is keeping me warm while it’s -9c in Poland! www.haimtheband.com
Este, Danielle and Alana’s fun, sunny tune is keeping me warm while it’s -9c in Poland! www.haimtheband.com