"Hearing Brilliant Midnight for the first time is like reading the first pages of an unexpectedly great novel. From three songs in I was hooked and well before the end I had the urge to recommend it to every one of my friends - even the ones who who only listen to NPR and long since gave up on pop music's capacity to inspire them"
Lets define eclectic ....
Brilliant Midnight 2.0 - the second album from Caroline Lavelle the British cellist who gets to sing and write with MASSIVE ATTACK, VANGELIS, WILLIAM ORBIT, HECTOR ZAZOU and BT & play cello for THE CHIEFTAINS, MUSE, RADIOHEAD, LOREENA McKENNITT and the INDIGO GIRLS.
Caroline has the rare honour of being dropped twice by the same major label. Their a&r guys were so thrilled thinking they'd signed Disco Enya that four years later they did it all over again! You'd think they would listen to the records before they sign these deals ........
Fortunately the critics got it and now you can get it too -
""As a singer she recalls folk greats Kate and Anna McGarrigle, or Dead Can Dance's Lisa Gerrard; an
acquired taste, but a taste worth acquiring. It is Lavelle's classic songwriting, affecting vocals and lush cello arrangements that put the stamp on an impressive album" - Daily Telegraph
"The closest you'll get to genuine classical chill" - BBC Radio
"Surely one of the most distinctive and thrilling vocalists to appear in the last decade, her's is that rare voice that once heard, cannot be forgotten." - Musical Discoveries
"Pulls a mass of emotions and ideas from her songwriting and sings with elegant intensity" - Q
"A powerful statement about her attributes as a singer, songwriter and instrumentalist" - Music Week
UPDATE!!! - NEW ALBUM COMING JUNE 2004 - UPDATE !!!
****** Web Site Exclusives******
Hear Caroline talk about the new album, listen to Caroline and her band live on tour in Germany, see in-studio video footage and download exclusive out takes, lyrics and artwork at www.carolinelavelle.com from June 2004
NOW AVAILABLE! LIVE PERFORMANCES OF SONGS FROM THIS ALBUM ON WWW.CAROLINELAVELLE.COM
****** Web Site Exclusives******
From All Music Guide - ****1/2
Improbably, U.K. singer/songwriter Caroline LaVelle's dreamy classical/electronica album Brilliant Midnight was released by Elektra in 2001. Remixed, resequenced, and re-released (with three bonus tracks including a ghostly rendition of Ewan MacColl's "The First Time Ever I Saw Your Face") as Brilliant Midnight 2.0 a year later, it is clear that this is not an album a major label would know what to do with. Pitched somewhere between the post-minimalist music of Virginia Astley or Andrew Poppy (Michael Nyman and Hector Zazou are among the contributors, furthering that connection) and the more accessible art rock of Kate Bush and Peter Gabriel - with just a hint of Enya's lush prettiness - these 16 lengthy songs unfold slowly, with LaVelle's quiet, sighing vocals supported by piano, cello, and subtle electronics. Both coolly artsy and downtempo groovy, Brilliant Midnight 2.0 is a record that deserves a second chance. - Stewart Mason
Amazon.co.uk Review
As a session musician, cellist and singer Caroline Lavelle has a seriously classy track record, and this pedigree shows through on Brilliant Midnight 2.0, her second solo album. Mixing classical arrangements with contemporary programming, Lavelle here delivers a quite exquisite set of songs, each wildly varying in style, but all held together by her surprisingly powerful voice and richly poetic lyrics (some of them seemingly based on a bad relationship with a music-biz type). Opening with the dramatic "Lost Voices", the album moves into "Karma" (a less tortured Portishead), the breathy, Celtic "Anima Rising" and the layered, trip-hop folk of "Firefly Night". Then, it just keeps getting better, through the pained, piano-led "The Fall" and the Middle Eastern gothic of "Anxiety", to "Le Pourquoi", a kind of French classical-vaudeville hybrid, and the closing, cello-powered "Twisted Ends", ending with a wicked chuckle deflecting any accusations of pomposity. The only drawbacks are the bland pop of "All I Have" and a poor version of "The First Time Ever I Saw Your Face", where an inappropriate electro backing overruns the vocal. Nevertheless, it's a superb album. --Dominic Wills
From Musical Discoveries
Caroline Lavelle has returned after a six-year absence with her new solo album, Brilliant Midnight, the follow-up to 1995's Spirit. This time around, Caroline has taken on the multiple roles of producer, songwriter, vocalist, and musician, showing herself to be extremely adept in each of these roles. Although considerably less 'electronic' in sound than Spirit, Brilliant Midnight is nevertheless a superbly crafted album and possibly an even more intelligent recording than her first.
One might begin by praising Caroline's rich, seductive, and instantly recognizable voice. Like fellow female vocalists Máire Brennan and Sarah McLachlan--who also share her Celtic heritage--Caroline Lavelle possesses a resonant and highly aspirated voice that immediately bespeaks intimacy and longing. Her husky, British-tinged intonations are both elegant and lush. Surely one of the most distinctive and thrilling vocalists to appear in the last decade, her's is that rare voice that once heard, cannot be forgotten.
As a cellist, Caroline demonstrates that she is indeed a master of her craft. The complex and striking string arrangements and classical-influenced melodies on Brilliant Midnight allow Caroline to display her passionate playing from every angle. Caroline's revealing, honest, and beautifully crafted lyrics perfectly compliment her exquisite voice and music. Avoiding the predictable and trite, she instead produces striking images with the skill of a poet.
Check out the artist's website:
http://www.carolinelavelle.comTrack List:
1. Lost Voices
2. Karma
3. Anima Rising
4. Firefly Night
5. The Fall
6. Siamant'o
7. Anxiety
8. Farther Than The Sun
9. She Said
10. Le Pourquoi
11. All I Have
12. Mangoes
13. Home Of The Whale
14. Universal
15. The First Time Ever I Saw Your Face
16. Twisted Ends
Other Genres:
