Further Reading
16th February 2024
Our selections this week include some Brighton-based future-soul, Swedish trip-hop vocal jazz, Bulgarian folk dances that call back to the days of classic prog rock and an eerie rendition of Thelonious Monk, performed on theremin.
In 2020, poet and singer Julia Werup (b.1987) broke new musical ground on THE THRILL OF LOVING YOU, her official debut as a jazz vocalist. Now, for the first time, a new album of original music is ready to share with the world. Her new release, DEAR FRANCES, showcases songs written by Julia and producer, drummer (and husband) Thomas Blachman.
DEAR FRANCES features the same lineup from Werup’s previous release but pivots away from well-known jazz classics, instead presenting original material penned by Julia and Thomas - a multi-talented creative power couple. The dark sound her previous albums embraced is now to some extend replaced with something lighter, brighter, and more optimistic. Werup attributes the change in energy to the circumstances under which the album was conceived. The concept of ‘conception’ is relevant throughout the album, on multiple levels, as she was pregnant during the creation of the music and album. This life experience changed her both personally and musically.
Sampled elements dance with acoustic instruments as they weave in and out of Thomas Blachman's expressive, bass-focused arrangements and production, supporting the tonal elasticity of Julia's voice which can at times be reminiscent of Miles Davis shaping his notes with his Harmon mute. “Some people who have a voice - a certain physiology of the pharynx - that makes them what I call natural singers,” says Thomas Blachman, who produced the album and plays drums, among other instruments. “Julia is in complete control, and her singing inspired me to start producing again,” he continues.
The songs on the new album swing elegantly between experimental vehicles like Rain and Time Of Life and more accessible modern jazz tunes like Together and Just Let Him Know You Love Him. Time of Life finds Julia and Thomas in collaboration with Swedish star producer and musician Andreas Kleerup. And Werup, with permission from Leonard Cohen’s family, has beautifully set music to Cohen's text, Just Let Him Know You Love Him.
Three singles were released in advance of the DEAR FRANCES. No More Fuss is a romantic, nostalgic, and jazzy modern pop song that points to the past and the future. Broken Mind is a song about friendships falling apart and disappearing into music as a spirit-capturing vessel. An accompanying music video for Broken Mind was also released, produced by Daniel Buchwald. Thomas Blachman describes Bird, the third single: “Bird is an original song by Julia. It’s cool, it’s cross-over, but don’t try to categorize it - just feel it. Bird is a blend of jazz and pop about flying high into the unknown. Love is no bird. Music is a bitch, and it’s hard work.”
