Filter
–
Inger Marie
Mainstream Jazz
Format:
CD
Inger Marie hat eine unverwechselbare Stimme und sie hatte schon immer ein grosses Gespür für das richtige Material, oft bekannte Pop- oder Rock-Songs, die sie in ihrem einzigartigen, heissen, jazzigen Universum in ihre eigenen verwandelt.
Inger Marie Gundersen
Vocal Jazz
Format:
LP
Norwegian singer Inger Marie Gundersen (known throughout much of the world just as “Inger Marie”) is ready with FIVE MINUTES - her first album in 5 years (and a pandemic).
The new album was produced by Espen Lind, the Norwegian legend who, in addition to careers as a multi-instrumentalist, composer, and television personality in his native Norway, has worked with artists including Taylor Swift and Beyonce.
Inger Marie and Espen Lind collaborated to select the material for the recording and agreed on nine songs, or as Inger Marie describes them: “nine small stories about big things.” As always, the songs were selected to fit her singular sound and vision, which has become hugely popular in her home region of Scandinavia and across the globe - especially in Asia, over the last 15+ years, where she has managed to recruit fan bases with each release.
Her breathtaking voice is part of her appeal - Gundersen has her own distinct sound. It’s warm, dark, and sincere, and she can bring new meaning to even the most familiar songs and lyrics through her empathetic approach and imaginative arrangements. Her voice also made it an easy and enthusiastic ‘yes’ for producer and musician Espen Lind when he was approached to work with her.
But Inger Marie is far more than just a voice. Her sustained success can be attributed to her celebrated vocal gifts and the ability to pick the right songs and play them with the right people. The production process for the new album was also a collaboration and a dream come true for Inger Marie:
“Lots of warm thanks to my producer, Espen Lind, for his dedicated and excellent work on this project! It’s been a real pleasure to make this album together. I thank him for pushing me in just the right ways to try out something new, while still giving me the freedom I need to do my things. An exciting, fun, and wonderful experience that I am so grateful for.”
Gundersen was born in 1957 in the small town of Arendal on the southern coast of Norway. She was an only child and her formative years were peaceful as she was surrounded by nature. Her fascination with music would begin early on, as her home was regularly filled with the sounds of her father playing guitar and singing. As a young woman, Inger Marie received a Bachelor’s Degree in Health and Social Work from the University of Agder, but even then, she knew she was on another path.
Still, it would be many years before Inger Marie embarked on a solo career. For nearly four decades, she was active in several bands - from youth-injected rock groups to a six-year stint as the featured vocalist with a jazz big-band. She’s led a jazz quintet (My Favorite Strings), and she has collaborated with several top-tier jazz musicians, including Swedish guitarists Ulf Wakenius and Georg Wadenius, pianist Lars Jansson, Norwegian trumpeters Mathias Eick and Per Willy Aaserud, Danish bassist Jesper Bodilsen, and Danish drummer Morten Lund, among many others.
FIVE MINUTES is Inger Marie’s sixth recording in her own name, following her 2004 debut,
MAKE THIS MOMENT; 2006’s BY MYSELF; MY HEART WOULD HAVE A REASON (2009), FOR YOU (2011); and FEELS LIKE HOME (2018). Despite making her recording debut relatively late in life, Inger Marie has rocketed up the jazz charts in Europe, North America, and Asia, where her albums sell by the thousands in Japan, Korea, Hong Kong, Taiwan, Singapore, and Indonesia. During the era of streaming and digital downloads, she has become a playlist darling and a household name in many parts of the world.
Among the selections on FIVE MINUTES is Mark Knophler’s Why Worry - the Dire Straits classic. Inger Marie shares some thoughts on why she chose to include the slightly under-the-radar gem by one of the great bands of the 80s:
"The song is straightforward in its beauty, its simplicity, and delivery, like a great poem. Or like a song you’d sing to comfort a child - or anyone - when life gets tough, and the world looks dark. Musically, it's like a simple handwritten letter from a good friend, and it has a depth to it that makes it especially moving.”
In addition to her dreamlike interpretation of Why Worry, there are plenty of other magical treatments of familiar fare, including Sailing - the Sutherland Brothers song Rod Stewart had a hit with in 1975; We Kiss in a Shadow from Rogers and Hammerstein’s THE KING AND I; and Paul McCartney’s My Valentine. More recent songs include Jon Brion’s Little Person (from 2008’s SYNECDOCHE, NEW YORK film soundtrack); a dark and folky, almost trip-hopped out version of Bill Fay’s Thank You Lord; and Diana Krall and Elvis Costello’s Narrow Daylight.
Inger Marie also interprets the Rolling Stones’ timeless hit Wild Horses on the new album:
“For me, it’s one of their most beautiful ballads. The song has a strong emotional impact and a dark melancholic mood. I think the lyrics contain a very personal, evocative message about heaviness, weariness, and frustration. It’s also a testament to the extreme powers of love, which can potentially extend to an unhealthy degree. The song exposes the struggles of love as a result of an everlasting deep commitment. The theme expressed in its lyrics is timeless and for a good reason. It glows with both strength and fragility.”
The title track, Five Minutes, is from Gretchen Peters’s 2012 release HELLO CRUEL WORLD and might as well have been written for Inger Marie’s deliciously dusty pipes.
FIVE MINUTES marks Inger Marie’s much-awaited return to the recording arena and will delight her loyal fans worldwide. In classic Inger Marie fashion, listeners are welcomed into the heartfelt and almost hallucinogenic haze of the singer’s vision, with all its enchanting humility. And with internationally acclaimed super-producer Espen Lind tastefully putting his sound on the whole thing, this new album will surely pull new listeners in.
On the new album, Inger Marie Gundersen is joined by Espen Lind on guitar, keyboards, and backing vocals; Torjus Vierli on piano, organ, and keyboards; Tom Frode Tveita on bass; Martin Windstad on drums and percussion; Kristian Frostad on pedal steel, lap steel, and guitar; Erlend Viken on fiddle; and Tore Johansen on trumpet.
Variants from €18.99*
Reference Sound Edition
Pop International
Format:
HQCD
Welcome to the world of impeccable sound, the IN-AKUSTIK REFERENCE SOUND EDITION.
This remarkable sound carrier from in-akustik has been assembled with a love of musical detail. 16 tracks featuring Great Cover Versions are forming a seamless and exceptional sound and listening experience.
Listen to marvelous versions of well-known songs and hits like Hey Joe, Vincent, One, Wicked Game, Nothing Else Matters, Because You Loved Me, or probably the best cover version of Leonard Cohen's Hallelujah, sung by Jeff Buckley a.o.
RESO Mastering, the high definition mastering procedure, provides significant acoustic improvements in transparency, dynamics, bass reproduction and depth differentiation. The music is gaining more atmosphere and emotion.
To best transmit this musical experience, a HQCD (HiQualityCD) is used as sound carrier. Utilization of higher-quality polycarbonate in addition of adaptation of silver alloy as the reflective layer, Compact Disc with superior sound quality is realized. HQCDs are fully compatible with all standard CD players.
The package consists of a complex media book. The 8-page booklet includes a description to each of the tracks.