Artist.......: Liesa Norman
Album........: Liesa Norman
Label........: Koch
Genre........: Pop
Catnr........: n/a
source.......: CDDA
rip.date.....: Aug-24-2007
str.date.....: 000-00-0000
quality......: VBR/44,1Hz/Joint-Stereo
Url..........: http://www.liesanorman.com/
track title time
01. Days Go By 03:57
02. How Do I know 04:00
03. Fear and Loving 04:05
04. Hey Boy 03:12
05. Little Monsters 04:18
06. Listen 03:29
07. Fly Me 03:25
08. Diamond Haze 03:52
09. Hold Me Down 03:48
10. Surface Dwellers 03:20
11. How Do I Know(Accoustic) 04:31
Runtime 41:57 min
Size 59,8 MB
Release Notes:
On paper, Liesa Norman reads like a Darren Star
creation.
She is a former model and actress who once played a
Bond girl in the videogame 007: The World Is Not
Enough.
She has her Doctorate in flute performance.
SheÆs played with the Vancouver Symphony Orchestra.
SheÆs played with club DJs and in a side project
called Beatthief ù a cross between St. Germain and
Massive Attack.
She studied piano since 5, and flute since 10.
She scored the music for the award-winning BBC
feature, What If Drugs Were Legal?
She has her orange belt in karate.
And more recently, she has co-written and recorded
her debut album and discovered along the way that
she has a voice ù a really lovely voice ù flexible
enough to handle Madonna-style club tracks, sultry
jazz and ethereal pop, with funk, middle eastern
and hip hop flourishes thrown in.
SheÆs also discovered a songwriting ability to
marry the flute with her pop sensibility, which is
no small feat in this age of bubblegum style over
artistry.
On June 12, when her self-titled debut album is
released, the world will learn the story of how the
lovely symphony flutist became a pop singer.
And no, we are not making this stuff up.
Liesa Norman is the real thing, and judging from
the strengths of her debut album, she will be
demanding the worldÆs attention because she has
created a uniquely haunting yet propulsive work of
experimental pop. Fans who appreciate Tori AmosÆ
dramatic piano lines, FeistÆs offbeat bohemian
frankness, or even BjorkÆs sonic quirks, will find
a kinship with Liesa Norman, whoÆs also a bit of
the wacky banshee when it comes to lending her
vocals to tracks devoted to the adrenaline-fuelled
dance floor or dark, jazzy nuances.
In person, Liesa Norman is as amiable and easy
going as youÆd expect from a girl who grew up on
the West Coast and never let the modeling or acting
get in the way of her drive to make innovative,
eclectic music. Those glamour gigs merely paid the
bills so she could focus on a performing and
recording career. Even when working on the runway
or modeling for print ads, Norman never abandoned
her musical roots.
It was a gradual evolution to pop music that began
when she played flute alongside DJs in clubs.
ôThe freakiest thing you can do as a classical
musician is take away your music, and improvise,ö
she said, seated in a Vancouver coffee shop,
dressed casually in jeans and T-shirt, free of
make-up, diving into a giant cinnamon bun.
ôAnd it was so loud in there and everyone was so
drunk they couldnÆt hear what I was doing,ö she
adds, laughing. ôSo I literally experimented with
that and got more comfortable outside the classical
realm.ö
Norman has been surprised by the shocked reaction
to her use of flute in pop music, which, she
insists, is nothing revolutionary.
She points out that the use of flute in rock ænÆ
roll was already accomplished in the 70s by Ian
Anderson of Jethro Tull fame. And the flute has had
a long-standing role in the world of jazz fusion.
For Norman, itÆs simply a matter of using an
instrument for creative expression, whether it be
flute, piano or her vocals. These are the tools of
her trade.
They say that luck is really the moment when
preparation meets opportunity, and Norman can
relate. The years of sacrifice and devoted studying
and performing paid off. It was while working at
Canadian Music Week that she met Dave Thompson, an
Aussie whoÆd played in a series of rock bands. The
two struck up a friendship and Thompson became
NormanÆs producer and creative sparring partner for
the sessions that would become her self-titled
debut, released on Nevada Entertainment (a division
of Koch Records).
Norman had holed up in a North Bay cottage last
year, and in solitude, discovered that she had as
much faith in herself as a vocalist and songwriter
as a flutist.
Thompson would drop in when he wasnÆt on the road,
and over the course of a month, the duo wrote the
music, and Norman wrote the lyrics and sang her
heart out. The pair also played piano, keyboards,
bass, guitar, flute, drums, and Thompson added
programming and back-up vocals to the mix. When it
was done, they re-recorded the entire project in a
Vancouver studio, then sent it to New York to be
mixed by Grammy-award-winning engineer Ken Lewis.
The result is an eclectic blend of pop and dance
music infused with ThompsonÆs love of hip hop and
NormanÆs own diverse background studies in jazz
fusion, electronica and rock. As for her flute, it
plays a subtle role on the album, and in some
parts, even takes on the sound of an electric
guitar.
ôWhen I turn on the radio it all sounds the same ù
every song sounds exactly the same and that drives
me crazy,ö says Norman. ôAnd I do realize that I
come from a slightly different perspective. I love
to hear weird and wonderful things together.ö
ItÆs true that NormanÆs is not the standard radio
fare by any stretch. But sheÆs not building a
career on sonic clichΘs, either, which is good news
for any weary music fan.
ôI just know that you have to be honest musically
and emotionally,ö she says, ôbecause if itÆs not
you, nobodyÆs going to buy it.ö