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 Jade Ell may be under the radar on the music scene, but listening to Methods you just know that she is a creative force to be listened to and appreciated.
Jade Ell - Methods (of a hostage negotiator)
Methods. Almost Invaded, Truce, Bittersweet Dreams, Borderline People, Ain’t No Way Around It, Empty Hall, Perfect Me, Save The Luck, I’m Your Cure, In A Blink Of An Eye, nothing On My Mind, Sincere Apologies
Personnel: Jade Ell: vocals, all of the instruments – this is all Jade Ell!; Angu: duet on “Ain’t No Way Around It”
Methods (www.jadeell.com) was produced by Mats Hedström, and may be purchased from Jade Ell’s website. I met Jade Ell two years ago in Stockholm, Sweden during a live performance held as part of the Taste of Stockholm Festival. I was drawn to her sound immediately, and a few weeks after I returned to the USA, I received a pleasant surprise in the mail, Jade Ell’s “sampler” CD of 7 songs, which I covered in Music Scene under Swedish Artists.
Methods for me, and for other Jade Ell fans, is a long-awaited release. She has collaborated with many other fine musicians from around the world, but this is her first full-length release, and it was worth the wait. For those of you who have attempted a major project, you know how difficult it is to cover all the pieces by yourself, and when you have a project that is as musically involved as Methods, a full-length music release, with the different instruments, tempo changes, lead, backing, and harmony vocals, as well as other musical intricacies, you come to appreciate Jade Ell’s understanding of the elements essential to constructing a winning sound, while doing it solo. Many times you will hear an echo when the same person performs a track as lead vocal as well as background vocal, but with Jade she has adjusted the pitch between her lead and background vocals to create a nice complementary sound. I could praise her for doing this release solo, but the true praise is for creating an entertaining release, which is what making music is all about.
I first heard the tracks “Bittersweet Dreams”, “Borderline People” and “Sincere Apologies” on Jade Ell’s “sampler” CD so I was familiar with the songs, but I heard a maturity in the sound on the three tracks, which I really liked, with “Bittersweet Dreams” being one of my favorite songs. Jade also shows her understanding of creating a complete package in how she has set the order of the tracks within the release, with the lead track “Almost Invaded” setting a soft tempo, followed by “Truce” and its up-tempo pace and the rapid delivery of the lyrics, “Bittersweet Dreams” follows with its full sound and Jade delivering a crisp tight vocal line. Following “Bittersweet Dreams” Jade slows it down a bit with “Borderline People” that shows off Jade’s great voice. Though I had heard a few of the tracks prior to this release, of the “new” tracks, I fell in love with “Nothing on My Mind”, where Jade’s lyrics really shine.
Methods ebbs and flows as Jade takes you on a journey through her musical statement, and her punctuation is perfect.
Note – Music Scene is not sponsored by any third party. All music that is written about in Music Scene are the views and experiences of the writer, and reflects a compilation of music, sent to us by musicians, producers, acquired during travel to unique destinations, recommended by our country host or a local resident, just happening upon a music event, searching out a Jazz club, or other live music venue.
© April 2006. Luxury Experience www.LuxuryExperience.com. All rights reserved.
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