Ma Fleur - Cinematic Orchestra (The)

I had never heard of Cinematic Orchestra before, but as an early birthday present I was given this by a friend. She also said that I should listen to this lying on my bed with my headphones on and no distractions, or I wouldn't 'get it'. I now understand why she would say that although still not sure if I 'get it'.

First thing I want to say, is that the album is very lovingly crafted. You feel that it has been painstakingly nurtured ...
...to delivery.
The second thing I want to say is that this is not really a 'nu-jazz' album. It has jazzy elements, with the support of, well, a mini Orchestra and also pop in the style of Radiohead/ColdPlay

Ok moving on to the music itself.

1).To Build a Home
This starts off with simple piano notes/chords before the nostalgic sounding vocals of Patrick Watson come in and then the music builds bringing in ... more

I had never heard of Cinematic Orchestra before, but as an early birthday present I was given this by a friend. She also said that I should listen to this lying on my bed with my headphones on and no distractions, or I wouldn't 'get it'. I now understand why she would say that although still not sure if I 'get it'.

First thing I want to say, is that the album is very lovingly crafted. You feel that it has been painstakingly nurtured and indeed been given a lot of love from conception to delivery.
The second thing I want to say is that this is not really a 'nu-jazz' album. It has jazzy elements, with the support of, well, a mini Orchestra and also pop in the style of Radiohead/ColdPlay

Ok moving on to the music itself.

1).To Build a Home
This starts off with simple piano notes/chords before the nostalgic sounding vocals of Patrick Watson come in and then the music builds bringing in the string section. The song is beautiful to listen to and the music paints a picture in your mind as the story unfolds. In one word the song is emotional. It is full of depth, love and longing. Longing for what? Well close your eyes and listen - it is for whatever you want it to be. Very strong opening to the album

2).Familiar Ground
There are only four words to this song How Near? How Far? However, it is the music that encapsulates you into your own dreamlike world and the voice of Fontella Bass gives you somethng to hold on to as you drift in your own world. This song reminded me of being at the cinema for the first time as a kid, and being overpowered by the sheer size and sounds when I was used to watching TV on a 24 inch screen.

3).Child Song
Instrumental with female harmonies. Sounds basic? Well far from it. It is a very intricate layered track, that allows you to dream but you can control where your dream takes you. The music conjures up images in your mind that are only restrained by your own imagination. This is a wonderful piece of music that removes the shackles of everyday life, allowing you to see life as you saw it when you were an innoncent child, well for a short while anyway :)

4).Music Box
Spine tingling!! The track starts with the sound of an acoustic guitar and then, slowly Patrick Watson comes in lightly with the vocals followed by Lou Rhodes, who sing in what I suppose is (very loosely) a duet, but a duet full of loss and longing.

5).Prelude
A short melancholic instrumental track that seems as if it is written as a soundtrack to a film regarding loss and love

6).As the Stars Fall
This track shakes you out of the past and brings you into the present, the here and now. Heavily layered at times with a cacophany of sound stimulating you, and for the first time I hear jazz drumming and a much deeper bass. This is an altogether more brooding and darker track than the previous ones and I feel that the story is moving on towards a a climax. The story? Well its your story, its whatever you want it to be

7).Into You
A beautiful laid back song that conjures up images of smoky intimate jazz clubs listening to some heartfelt deeply meaningful music yet not sure what it all means. This track brings you down with a bump but in a good way, and you find yourself contemplating about life, int he words of Pink Floyd - Comfortably Numb

8).Ma Fleur
The title track of the album but not the best. The track in itself is ok, with nice flows and ebbs, but it doesn't seem to fit the rest of the album. It felt a bit out of place, disjointed and the only thing my imagination was conjuring up was having a coffee in Starbucks watching the world go by with this playing in the background.

9).Breathe
The stand out song on the album. I had not heard of Fontella Bass before but this song alone makes me want to search ot her other recordings as her vocals are so heartfelt and indeed full of pain that if she has sung a better song than this then I want to hear it. The song is so lovingly structured, so meticulously crafted, the music and vocals intertwining with each other in a slow intimate dance - it's very easy to forget the song is about dying

10).That Home
I love Patrick Watson's voice, it is so suited to this music. This short piano laden song is beautiful, enchanting, expansive and above all emotional.

11).Time & Space
Another beautiful and uplifting piano based song. For some reason it reminded me of Portishead. Lou Rhodes voice cuts through you but doesn't leave, just settles in your mind making it all nice and comfortable.

Now you may wonder why I have given this album four rather than five stars. The one problem with the album, is you need to be in the right frame of mind. I listened to it twice in my bedroom with no distractions and let myself get lost in the music and my thoughts and loved it. However, on the third listen I was also surfing the net and the album sounded run of the mill background music. The album has been lovingly created and is very intricate which requires careful listening, which in turn means your environment will affect your enjoyment of this album.

It is a beautiful album to play on a lazy sunday morning, lying in bed with your loved one.

One last point, you can actually hear the whole album for free from their label Ninja Tunes:
http://www.ninjatune.net/mafleur/mafleur.php 

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