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artist · beady belle
release · moderation
year · 2001
genre · lo-fi
label · jazzland recordings
catalogue · 158 895-1
website · www.jazzlandrec.com
date · 30-dec-2004
quality · 208kbps/44,1khz
source · vinyl
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a1 moderation (extended version) 8:32
b1 ghosts (radio edit) 4:07
b2 moderation (radio edit) 3:51
playtime · 00h 16m 30s
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beady belle - a result of collaboration between singer beate s.
lech and bassist marius reksj° who are working together since they
were music students in oslo - is one of the freshest new sounds to
come out of the left-of-field music underground of norway.
beate's voice and dynamic live performances have long been one of
the sensations of the norwegian underground. after graduating from
the norwegian state academy of music, she sung with the trip-hop
band "folk & rovere" recording for universal in norway, performed
with "insert coin" and was lead singer in the jazz project
'metropolitan' (sony). she has also collaborated with bugge
wesseltoft, the famous norvegian guitarist jon eberson ("dreams
that went astray") and the brazz brothers.
marius studied music at the university in oslo and was bassist for
"insert coin" before joining eivind aarset's "╔lectronique noir"
band ("light extracts", 2001). he has also performed and recorded
with bugge wesseltoft ("moving", 2001), the savage rose, the
norwegian songwriter/singer jan eggum and bobby hughes combination
("nhu golden era", 2002).
in 1999 beate was asked by bugge wesseltoft to make a record for
jazzland rec. he gave her freedom to make the record she wanted.
beate ment that the best way to really make a record of her own,
was to make it completely by her self; composing, arranging, text
writing, programming, recording and producing. since she had a
studio at home, she would do as much as possible there, on her own
macintosh computer.
after a while marius contributed more to the creation of the
record. dividing up the labour, marius took care of the groove
elements and beate was in charge of the melodies, harmonies and
lyrics, with some exceptions both ways. since the work was done in
private surroundings, the record was entitled "home". most of the
recordings were done in beate's 6 meters flat in oslo except for
the strings, vibraphone and drums, which were done in 'bugge's
room'.
because of the co-operation between beate and marius, the project
name "beate s. lech" was abandoned and they decided to give it
another name. "i came up with beady belle", says beate, "i think
it sounds like the name of something beautiful, it's feminine
which is why it has now become my stage name as well as the name
of the duo project."
the transparent quality of beate's lyrics and the architecture of
the songs driven by her haunting voice dovetail neatly with
marius' unique rhythmic grooves and harmonic shading. home" is a
sensuous mosaic of sound that draws on the vast libraries of jazz,
pop, techno, d&b and ambient. like all the best music, "home" has
a spaciousness that opens doors in the mind for audiences to find
something new. "to get an idea of what the record is about try
'loose and win' and 'mobile bubble'", says beate. "they've got
this cool feeling, soulful and funky with a kind of melancholic
atmosphere i like."
'ghosts' - the first track on "home" - was released as an advance
promotional single for the album, and was instantly playlisted by
norway's nrk p3 radio for several weeks. "home" was released all
over europe and also in japan, korea and canada during the summer
2001. later it was also released in australia. beady belle got
"european priority" by universal international.
"i try and lift songs to an ecstatic maximum," says beate, "so
that when the beat is pumping neither the band nor the audience
can stand still, they just have to move to the music, dance. then
i just fly over the top with the melody. when i perform live we
loosen up the songs, more jazzy perhaps, decide on the spot when
to play the verse or the chorus, we feel free to lift the songs or
moderate the songs where it feels natural. my role is more than
that of a vocalist, i like to participate in the progress of the
songs."
in april 2003, beady belle will be featured in the new concert
series "visons of jazz". beady belle's next album is scheduled for
springtime 2003 distributed by universal.
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