a r t i s t : The Cinematic Orchestra
t i t l e : Ma Fleur
d a t e : 2007
l a b e l : Ninja Tune
g e n r e : Electronic
r l s. d a t e : Apr/2007
t r a c k s : 01
b i t r a t e : VBRkbps
s i z e : 64,6 MB
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May 7th sees the release of the first full studio album by
Jason Swinscoe's Cinematic Orchestra since 2002's "Everyday".
Entitled "Ma Fleur," the record was written as the soundtrack
to a specially commissioned screenplay for an imagined film
(which may or may not yet be made).
Shortly after finishing "Everyday," a piece of music which
achieved great critical and commercial success (selling over
100,000 units) Jason Swinscoe relocated from East London to
Paris. Here he began work on the instrumentals which would
form the basis of his new record - more moods than finished
tracks, a series of sketches or diagrams of directions to
follow. Having completed a rough version by early 2005, he
gave this to a friend who disappeared for 3 weeks and came
back with short story scripts in which each track represented
a scene. Jason then took this and worked some more on the
tracks, and in turn gave this back to his scriptwriter, the
two aspects of the project developing alongside one another.
Gradually, Swinscoe recruited suitable vocalists for the
atmospheres and themes he wanted to deal with. The remarkable
Fontella Bass (the woman behind both legendary soul number
"Rescue Me" as well as some of the Art Ensemble of Chicago's
finest moments) had worked on "Everyday" and was an obvious
choice to voice the parts of the elderly protagonist that
Swinscoe envisaged. Mercury-nominated Lou Rhodes is not only a
fantastic singer but a young mother and so perfect for the
"mid-life" singer. The as-yet unheralded Patrick Watson, a
remarkable vocalist from Montreal, became the youngest of the
trio.
Swinscoe, now based in New York, then filled out the
arrangments with the band and assistance from his old
collaborator, bassist Phil France. As a final part of the
process, renowned New York photographer Maya Hayuk was
commissioned to take pictures to represent each of the
scenes/tracks. These pictures, scenes where the characters are
missing or abstracted or metaphoric, would once again feed
back into world of the soundtrack for a missing film.
Dealing with themes of loss and love - and in itself
representing a kind of absence - "Ma Fleur" is fertile ground
for Swinscoe's brand of music-making, for while people have
talked about what he does in terms of jazz, the truth is that
the basis of his music has always been in raw emotion. From
the achingly beautiful opener "To Build A Home" to the finale,
"Time And Space," this is an album which reaches for and finds
a truth and honesty far beyond what we would normally expect
from such a record, but without losing any of the
accessibility which made TCO popular in the first place. If
the mood is melancholy, Swinscoe and the musicians he works
with manage to make it an ultimately uplifting experience,
perhaps in the end more about the love you find than the love
you loseà
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* 11 Track Album, 99 track markers on this promo.
Since the track markers dont match the tracks this was ripped as
single mp3 and cue, I guess we'll wait for a retail rip aswell.
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01. To Build A Home feat Patrick Watson
02. Familiar Ground feat Fontella Bass
03. Child Song
04. Music Box feat Patrick Watson/Lou Rhodes
05. Prelude
06. As The Stars Fall
07. Into You
08. Ma Fleur
09. Breathe feat Fontella Bass
10. That Home feat Patrick Watson
11. Time And Space feat Lou Rhodes
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54:17 min