singer / songwriter / soul
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In my opinion, there's two different kinds of music: music that irritates me and good music. I really do not care about genres, techniques or other points of discussion. When the music doesn't annoy me, it has the potential to be played often in this household. Besides, usually I look beyond the music, I listen to the heart, mind and soul of the artist and try to capture the story he or she is trying to tell me.
Today I found a gem that will probably find the way to the media player a lot from now on. It's way different from most things you can find on this website but it has a lot of heart and certainly a lot of soul. The artist's is named Angéline. She hails from France but studied music in England. This record was initially composed from sounds from everyday activities, like tapping on desks and such. From their she recorded the demos and eventually the e.p. was gradually being born.
The e.p. opens with the beautiful song 'Black Butterflies'. This song fits perfectly in the current wave of female electronic artists like Banks, Austra or Emika. However, as I mentioned before, there's a lot of soul in here and names like Lauren Hill or Mary J. Blige aren't far away. 'Si J'avais La Choix' repeats that quality, be it in a darker, eighties electronic fashion. Mainly because of the French vocals in this song, I'm reminded of Lara Fabian.
'Aama' is a beautiful song, seemingly borrowing from trip-hop or at least perfectly fitting in that genre. The song was initially recorded for a Nepal relieve charity fund and features a lengthy ocarina solo. Well, I think it's an ocarina, it reminds me of an ancient tape I bought for my father decades ago. 'Ghost Dance' then takes things down to a calm, intimate level and quickly becomes one of my favorite electronic ballads in a while. 'Kohly' is a strange intermission, consisting of recorded bird sounds.
Closer 'While I Was Away' returns the earlier soul-feeling with very strong vocals and a dubby bass line. It feels even more organic than the previous songs and shows hints of traditional African and Caribbean music along with the droning electronics. This is the stuff heard on world music festivals around the world and I'll be sure to keep an eye out for when Angéline appears on one of those places. This is beautiful music with the heart in the right place. Respect!
Serge
Today I found a gem that will probably find the way to the media player a lot from now on. It's way different from most things you can find on this website but it has a lot of heart and certainly a lot of soul. The artist's is named Angéline. She hails from France but studied music in England. This record was initially composed from sounds from everyday activities, like tapping on desks and such. From their she recorded the demos and eventually the e.p. was gradually being born.
The e.p. opens with the beautiful song 'Black Butterflies'. This song fits perfectly in the current wave of female electronic artists like Banks, Austra or Emika. However, as I mentioned before, there's a lot of soul in here and names like Lauren Hill or Mary J. Blige aren't far away. 'Si J'avais La Choix' repeats that quality, be it in a darker, eighties electronic fashion. Mainly because of the French vocals in this song, I'm reminded of Lara Fabian.
'Aama' is a beautiful song, seemingly borrowing from trip-hop or at least perfectly fitting in that genre. The song was initially recorded for a Nepal relieve charity fund and features a lengthy ocarina solo. Well, I think it's an ocarina, it reminds me of an ancient tape I bought for my father decades ago. 'Ghost Dance' then takes things down to a calm, intimate level and quickly becomes one of my favorite electronic ballads in a while. 'Kohly' is a strange intermission, consisting of recorded bird sounds.
Closer 'While I Was Away' returns the earlier soul-feeling with very strong vocals and a dubby bass line. It feels even more organic than the previous songs and shows hints of traditional African and Caribbean music along with the droning electronics. This is the stuff heard on world music festivals around the world and I'll be sure to keep an eye out for when Angéline appears on one of those places. This is beautiful music with the heart in the right place. Respect!
Serge
