Beth Orton: "Conceived" Video
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Natalie Walker. Urban Angel. Biography. Born and raised in Indiana, vocalist Natalie Walker is an artist whose lilting, melodic voice and lyrical reveries reflect a life journey of determination and self-discovery. With musical influences ranging from Alison Krauss to Portishead, Jewel to Lauryn Hill, Beth Orton to Bjork, the former lead singer of downtempo electronic group Daughter Darling now delivers her own unique, haunting sonic landscape that is at once organic, ethereal, elegant and entrancing. ?Creating music is my outlet,? says Natalie. ?I was born to sing. When I don?t, I feel empty. When I do, I feel fulfilled. It?s that simple.? Urban Angel, her solo album debut, was co-written by Natalie and two-man production team Stuhr. ?I worked with two really great producers out of Brooklyn, Dan Chen and Nate Greenberg. They?d send me the rough copy of a song and the music would just evoke emotion,? she explains. ?Its like fitting pieces of a puzzle together. When you?re in the studio recording its all very raw and real. I try to make a song new each time I sing it. I want it to be unforgettable. My producers are amazing. They forced me to develop my real voice. I?ve improved my vibrato and my tone. Stuhr delivered exactly what I asked of them. It couldn?t have happened more perfectly.?
"It's Never Been Like That," was conceived with a live mentality, in a straight line, summing up a lot of the band's emotions and past experiences, sometimes conflicting, often disrupting. All the songs are autobiographic and set down emotional equations where disillusion and exaltation try to find a common language. This is a romantic album although very rigorously made. Rhythms are hard, arrangements straightforward, violently simple and close to the bone.
"Leonard Cohen: I'm Your Man" trailer
Songwriter. Poet. Counter-culture icon. Consummate ladies' man. Since bursting onto the scene in 1967, Leonard Cohen has inspired generations with his unique personality and haunting music, becoming one of the most original and enduring artists to emerge from the 1960s. Now, Lions Gate is proud to celebrate Cohen's legacy with director Lian Lunson's "Leonard Cohen: I'm Your Man," an intimate look at the songs, poetry, and life of one of music's most celebrated and influential troubadours. In January, 2005, Lunson traveled to Sydney to film the historic "Came So Far For Beauty" show, a tribute to Leonard Cohen at the Sydney Opera House organized by famed music producer Hal Willner. "Leonard Cohen I'm Your Man" includes behind-the-scenes interviews and live performances from this event by Nick Cave, Rufus Wainwright, Kate & Anna McGarrigle, Martha Wainwright, Beth Orton, Linda Thompson, Teddy Thompson, Jarvis Cocker, The Handsome Family, Julie Christensen and Perla Battala, as well as a special performance of "Tower of Song" by Cohen and U2. And in a series of candid interviews, Cohen himself reveals his trademark wry humor and soulful intensity, using his own artwork, poetry and personal collection of photographs to reflect upon his colorful past and his creative process.
The National: "Mistaken For Strangers"
Video for The National's first single "Mistaken For Strangers" off the upcoming album Boxer. Directed by Thread-Count.
Does Gnarls Barkley's album "St. Elsewhere" shed light on his mysterious personage, or does it further obscure him? It's a complex record, to be sure. It employs the full spectra of pop music and human emotion. The warm, breezy single "Crazy" and the spry finger-snapper "Smiley Faces" recall "Songs In The Key Of Life" and "Good Vibrations" in equal measure. "On Line," a lament for the lonely and ambitious, could be a tricked-out G-funk holdover. Often dark and unpredictable, "St. Elsewhere" nevertheless retains its sense of joy throughout. Even Cee-Lo's darker moments, his introspection on "Necromancer," and the chilling "Just A Thought," on which our hero fights off suicidal ideation, flourish in their lush, funky surroundings. It constantly shifts its shape and never sacrifices momentum. And it contains a mess of contradictory clues about just who Gnarls Barkley actually is. Perhaps Gnarls Barkley will never fully reveal himself. But if "St. Elsewhere" is any indication, his music bears Marvin Gaye's depth of feeling, Jeff Buckley's emotive theatrics, and wild courage not seen since Prince's prime. Behold the most exciting debut of 2006. A psychedelic soul masterpiece.
Scenes of devastation and tragedy
CNN's Beth Nissen brings us photos of widespread devastation and loss in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina. (August 30)
Hurricane Katrina victims need your help. Donate to the Red Cross today.
Filmed on location in Asbury Park, New Jersey, and directed by Beth Lasch of F-Sharp TV, comes the video debut of St. Christopher's "Realize" from the "Art of Dreaming" on AERIA Records.
The Somnambulants: "Take It On"
Stylistically, The Somnambulants are even more driven by cinematic influence, as evidenced in their lyrical imagery and spacious production. Joseph White built the first Somnambulants songs from music soundtrack pieces composed during his tenure as a film student. In fact, their name was taken from the somnambulist character Cesare - in the 1920 German film The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari. Its fitting, therefore, that the title track from their previous album, Evacuation, appeared in the soundtrack for the Oscar-nominated film Half Nelson (Lakeshore Records).
Lavender Diamond: "Open Your Heart"
The debut album from Los Angeles-based Lavender Diamond is a tour-de-force of gorgeous melody and uplifting sentiment.
There are few professions that force one to so constantly face down the march of time as that of the gloriously precarious job of rock stardom. And it is exactly that which makes the title of Dave Gahan's second solo album, Hourglass (Mute/Virgin Records), all the more poignant.
