About Me
- Ira Blonder
- Franklin, TN, United States
- Ira Blonder is the Managing Partner of Sound Kitchen Studios (www.soundkitchen.com)and The Blonder Group, LLC (www.blondergroup.com)
NATALIE MERCHANT’S FIRST STUDIO ALBUM IN SEVEN YEARS
NATALIE MERCHANT’S FIRST STUDIO ALBUM IN SEVEN YEARS
LEAVE YOUR SLEEP
OUT APRIL 13 ON NONESUCH RECORDS
"One of the most successful and enduring alternative artists to emerge
from the eighties –- intact and uncompromised." —Vogue
Natalie Merchant is poised for the release of Leave Your Sleep, her first studio album since 2003’s The House Carpenter’s Daughter. Out April 13 on Nonesuch Records, this release is the culmination of six years’ research and collaboration and is, in Merchant’s words “The most elaborate project I have ever completed or even imagined.”
A two-disc set, Leave Your Sleep is a collection of songs adapted from poems selected by Merchant including pieces by both well-known and obscure writers. Featured are works by British Victorians, early- and mid-20th century Americans and contemporary writers as well as anonymous nursery rhymes and lullabies. Among the authors included are Ogden Nash, e.e. cummings, Robert Louis Stevenson, Christina Rossetti, Edward Lear, Gerard Manley Hopkins and Robert Graves. Please see attached for a complete track listing.
In addition to a new method of lyricism, Merchant stretches out musically on Leave Your Sleep by collaborating with a broad spectrum of artists—some old friends, some she has admired from afar—including the Wynton Marsalis Quartet, Medeski Martin & Wood, members of the New York Philharmonic, The Klezmatics, Lúnasa and Hazmat Modine. “The sessions were recorded in live ensemble settings to capture a fresh and spontaneous energy,” notes Merchant. “They were some of the most magical experiences I’ve ever had making music.”
Having sold millions of records worldwide over the course of her recording career, Merchant has remained busy in the time since her last studio album by curating compilations for both 10,000 Maniacs’ Campfire Songs and her own Retrospective. Additionally, Merchant performed live to the accompaniment of Philip Glass, Dr. John, Pete Seeger and Wynton Marsalis and collaborated with British composer Gavin Bryars as part of The Royal Shakespeare Company’s Complete Works series.
Steff Nevers' "Skypes" a Recording Session
Norwegian Country artist, Steff Nevers, "Skyped" a recording session in Studio E with engineer Matt Coles and session leader and percussionist Pete Abbott. A host of A-list session players; ie: Brent Mason, Michael Rhodes, Dan Dugmore, and Pete Abbott tracked Steff's project while Steff produced the session players from Norway. "The Skype tracking and mix sessions were flawless! So, it was like Steff was in room, all the while working from his home in Norway" commented Pete Abbott.
Steff Nevers was born in 1975 in the small Norwegian town of Drammen. He grew up in the similarly unknown town of Geithus in Modum. Still, the move was worthwhile for the toddler because it was here that he came into contact with music. He was already convinced at a young age that he would become a musician. Instead of a classic violinist, his original career goal, Steff Nevers became an outstanding guitarist. His speciality: finger picking. Soon the stocky virtuoso was a heavily booked session guitarist across all of Norway. KERRANG magazine said about the guitarist that he had a very promising career ahead of him.
Lonestar returns to The Big Boy
This will be the band's first studio album in four years. Party Heard Around The World, their 10th album, is a total ‘hands on’ creative effort, produced by the band with eight of the ten tracks written by the foursome. Noted lead guitarist and original member Michael Britt said in a recent interview: “We feel that this album is a complete reflection of the group, circa 2010. It’s personal and powerful music that reflects the core values of Lonestar through lyrics, performance and production.” The Sound Kitchen is very proud to be part of their continued success.
Musicartists4U Films at Sound Kitchen Studios
Little Texas
Little Texas
INFO ABOUT MusicArtists4U.com
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