Songs for troubling times.

I can be a bit of a miserable git at times, and this is definitely one of those times. Music has always been my main go to for overcoming the melancholy. So what am I listening to as the world goes down the tubes?

Elbow/Sarah Brightman  - One Day Like This

I am a fan of Elbow, but this song always seemed tailor made for Sarah. A bit of a shame it appeared on the album where she ditched her regular producer making Dreamchaser her weakest album for a long time. Far better live, although too short. Elbow still do it best. Sarah tackles Barclay James Harvest's Hymn on her most recent album, and while I'm not the least bit religious that has all the uplifting qualities this could have done. 

Samantha James - Send It Out To The Universe

I have finally tracked down the 2CD editions of both of her albums and this still stands out as one of my favourite songs by one of my favourite singers. My friend Angela describes this as woo, woo stuff. Guilty as charged.

Over The Rhine  - Latter Days

This may sound like me wallowing in the gloom, and who's to say I'm not good at that. The words have always spoken to me, listen to them it is in fact one of the most uplifting songs I know. There are some great live versions on Archive.org with extended piano intros by Linford. It ends up sounding like a Chopin piano étude.

Van Morrison - Bright Side Of The Road

I bought Into The Music when it came out and this song can still raise mood and start a smile whenever I hear it. If it doesn't do the same for you perhaps check your pulse. The version of Philosophers Stone is also worth hearing but not a patch on this.

The other thing that I listen to a lot is the radio, but frankly I can't do too much news at the moment so podcasts and old comedy are what I'm listening to currently. Recommendations to follow.

Artist Choice Part One - Samantha James

In 2009 one of my discoveries was Samantha James. You can get the basic bio here. On the surface one of the stable of EDM artists that OM Records offer to the world, there is a certain something about the mix of her voice, the production, and the slightly hippy trippy lyrics that adds up to more than the sum of it's parts. So far her two albums Rise in 2007 & Subconscious from 2010 are at the top of my "played" count on the iPod. How come a fairly "traditional" fan took to something that seems a bit remote from my usual listening fare?

I think it is that "certain something" and the personal reaction to music I mentioned in "How Did I Miss This" previously. The arrangements often have an acoustic or slightly more organic element to them than run of  the mill Electronic Dance Music. There was an acoustic E.P. accompanying the Rise album where the songs stood up as well stripped back as they did with full "band". The lyrics on closer inspection are far deeper than they seem at first glance. The Subconscious album came out of the passing of her father from cancer, but it comes across as a very positive set of songs. Rise took a two years to complete and a couple of the songs have the feel of being worked over once too often, the acoustic version of 'Rain' is far superior to the album cut for instance. It does however contain two of her best songs, 'Rise' and 'Send It Out To The Universe'. So strong songwriting with thoughtful arrangements,  and a judicious use of collaborators, Brazilian singer/guitarist Celso Fonseca, and the Canadian J.B.Eckl who has collaborated with Carlos Santana in the past. Neither chosen for their big name pulling power but each adds to the songs they appear on. There are the inevitable remixes, Kaskade, & Eric Kupper, as well as others I have never heard of. The thoughtfulness in the process again comes through.

And after a single, 'Wings of Faith' in 2011 that was it, A couple of guest appearances on obscure albums crept out and her social media posts dwindled. I thought we may be left with two great albums as her legacy, but just recently the pace has picked up. A collaboration with Myon looks like bearing fruit in 2017 so this may be the time to investigate Samantha James.

Listening to her sent me off to other Downtempo and Nu-Jazz related artists like Late Night Alumni, Kyoto Jazz Massive and the Saint Germain Des Pres Cafe compilations. Try the playlist below as a starter and let me know what you think.

From Rise
Rise
I Found You
Enchanted Life
Send It Out To The Universe

From Rise Acoustic Sessions
Rain

Together As One (with Charles Webster)

From Subsconcious
Waves of Change
Veil
Subconscious
Illusions

Buy her music on Bandcamp
Twitter @samanthajames13
Online at Om Records There's another playlist and videos here