Essie Jain's stunning new album, 'The Inbetween', attains a new highpoint for the songwriter, exploring the nuances of intimacy like she hasn't before.
The songs are direct and captivating in their honesty, and they serve to reflect the artful beauty that can result from periods of clarity.
After the release of last year's 'We Made This Ourselves' (soon to be issued in Europe by The Leaf Label), Essie Jain led her band around the country on tours before returning to New York and jumping back into writing and recording. Having solidified a fellow group of musicians, the British born Jain drew from current challenges in her life.
"I was in this space where things weren't ready to take their next shape yet - in some ways it was a really beautiful experience, because you can't force things and it nails you down, and in another, you can see the opening into the next chapter and you can't reach it," she says.
Music serves as a means towards making sense of a situation, and Jain chose to name her record 'The Inbetween' in order to highlight the ephemeral nature of the issues she addresses. Recording with a larger group of musicians, Essie Jain experimented with new ways of orchestrating songs. "The record had a personality that came about and evolved of its own accord, whereas the first record had a tighter lid on it, because I needed it to be a more internal piece."
'The Inbetween' features an array of instruments - French horn, clarinet, Rhodes, cello, trumpet - but none are more central to the songs than Jain's vocals, which remain the strident and captivating centerpiece of each composition.
Essie Jain will be touring throughout the states this summer and fall 2008.
Upcoming 2008 tour dates:
Dates could be added or changed!
28 May 2008 THE TIN ANGEL Coventry, UK
29 May 2008 Time Out London presents "On The Up" @ BAR ACADEMY ISLINGTON London, UK
31 May 2008 POINT EPHEMERE Paris, France
17 June 2008 LE POISSON ROUGE New York, New York
9 August 2008 SUMMER SUNDAE WEEKENDER FESTIVAL Leicester, UK
16 August 2008 The Green Man Festival @ GREEN MAN CAFE Glanusk Park, Wales, UK
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