Search - Kate Havnevik :: Melankton

Melankton
Kate Havnevik
Melankton
Genres: Dance & Electronic, Pop
 
  •  Track Listings (13) - Disc #1

"THE VOICE OF GREY'S ANATOMY," Kate Havnevik's music has had an unprecedented 5 songs placed on the show and several have made it to the Grey Anatomy's soundtrack albums. Kate's debut album is title "Melankton". Melank...  more »

     
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CD Details

All Artists: Kate Havnevik
Title: Melankton
Members Wishing: 1
Total Copies: 0
Label: Republic
Original Release Date: 3/27/2007
Release Date: 3/27/2007
Genres: Dance & Electronic, Pop
Styles: Electronica, Trip-Hop, Dance Pop
Number of Discs: 1
SwapaCD Credits: 1
UPC: 602517206687

Synopsis

Album Description
"THE VOICE OF GREY'S ANATOMY," Kate Havnevik's music has had an unprecedented 5 songs placed on the show and several have made it to the Grey Anatomy's soundtrack albums. Kate's debut album is title "Melankton". Melankton means "Black Rose" which describes Kate's idea of the album's sound-scape and production perfectly: dark, yet beautiful. The 12 songs on the album range from symphonic pop extravaganza to the most intimate of melodies. A truly beautiful body of work, Melankton is heady, intoxicating and evocative with its mix of wistful lyrics, mellifluous orchestration and cinematic electronica.

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Member CD Reviews

Renee B. (amazondotblonde) from MINNETONKA, MN
Reviewed on 3/26/2013...
Kate's voice is a gift, her music lush and moody. This CD is constantly being played in my car.

CD Reviews

Modern pop for the soul
Sakis | San Diego, originally Greece | 03/28/2007
(5 out of 5 stars)

"From the snow capped vistas of Norway comes Kate Havnevik, a modern day Nordic siren ready to enchant us with her imaginative debut and to make her mark in modern pop music.



Melankton, the album's title, comes from a book Kate read and it means dark rose -quite fitting for a darkly poetic piece of music that is often dramatic, very alluring and should appeal to a broad range of music listeners. As much as I hate comparisons I think if you are fans already of Bjork, Dido, Royksopp, Hooverphonic or Imogen Heap, I am pretty sure you will find lots of things to enjoy on Melankton.



Some listeners might be familiar with her background vocals. Kate sang on Royksopp's techno hits "Only This Moment" and "Circuit Breaker" from their last album The Understanding, she also worked on a couple of songs on Carmen Rizzo's electronic record called Lost Art Of The Idle Moment, one of them makes it here on the US version of the CD called "Travel in time" which was one of my favorite from Carmen's album. But fans might have even heard of her on television.



Beautifully mirroring life's tender and powerful moments some of the album tracks were featured on the hit TV drama Grey's Anatomy, generating a buzz & prompting lots of viewers to seek her out.



Creating the album Kate recorded the core string arrangements first. The vocals were recorded in her bedroom studio where she could capture the right feel and sound for each song. Voice (often supple and hushed), lyrics (intimate and warm) and melodies (leisurely drawn out) are the main elements with no strict formula writing for the album and no focus on having one or two big singles. Kate's goal was to have the album be a piece of music as a whole and it's evident when one listens how nicely bound the tracks are for the entirety of the record.



Several very talented collaborators from quite different backgrounds were enlisted to make Melankton. Guy Sigsworth (of Frou Frou fame) co-wrote 4 tracks in the album and helped Kate with his masterful electronic beats, Carmen Rizzo did some additional programming, Maria Huld Markan provided string arrangements (she has worked with Sigur Ros and Amina), Froydis Re Werke, an exceptional horn player lended her talents (she is the main teacher in horn at the Royal College of Music in Oslo), the talented contemporary jazz player Arve Henriksen provided some dazzling and very emotional trumpet sounds for a couple of the albums highlights and lastly there is the magnificent 16 piece string orchestra from Bratislava Slovakia adorning the dramatic background of most of these tracks. With all this marriage of lush sounds mixed together, one would think this is a schizophrenic piece of work, but the neat techno arrangements blend effortlessly with the organic orchestral sounds.



Kate's songs have various themes. Enjoying life's precious moments I think is the most resounding one. On "I don't know you" she knows the stars, the wind the sky and waves yet she would like to know her partner better so she pleads for him to show who he is to her. Isn't that always such a vulnerable state? To really get to know someone and to really show ourselves as we are to someone we love with all our little flaws? Equally emotional and romantic is "Kaleidoscope", where she abandons her worries and sees the world through a kaleidoscope of colors mesmerized by sincere love that is by far my favorite song on this album (my other favorite was found in the Norwegian import of this CD and it was a magnificent song called "Se Meg" which didn't make it on the US version but i highly recommend seeking it out since it had made me cry). On "Unlike Me" she sings about time not existing, living in the moment, with no guarantees in life we should live our lives intensely and love every minute of it, "every minute alive" as she insists. On "New Day" she is admiring a beautiful day starting up with her lover awaking with "morning stars" in his eyes, ready for what this new day will have to bring, it is one of the more upbeat tracks in the album, due to the energized electronic beats kicking in mid way through, the other songs are more moody, romantic, serene. Overall i think it's a solid effort and a great debut album by someone who is very talented and creative and someone who evokes so many beautiful images by her songs and music. She's also excellent Live, so if she tours around your town promoting this album do not miss her performance. You'll be enchanted."
Mysterious and Exquisite
Rebecca Johnson | Washington State | 09/26/2007
(5 out of 5 stars)

""There are no guarantees in life

Not for the present,

Nor for the future.

All I know is

That I'm here"

~Unlike Me



Norwegian singer and songwriter Kate Havnevik creates euphoric melodies within an exquisite world of electronica with classical appeal. "Not Fair" has darkly poetic lyrics where she shows the full range of her vocal expression. "Travel in Time" contains magical whispery sweet lyrics with hints of longing and ecstasy.



"Serpentine" has a classictronica appeal but what makes Kate Havnevik's songs ornate is the way she uses her voice. She makes the world seem more sensuous and like Björk, her voice becomes part of the musical landscape in a unique creative soul expression. Within the lyrics there seems to be a death and a rebirth, as if the petals of a black rose have been tossed across a sea of change.



"I go nowhere high

Go nowhere warm

Until you're by my side

Your hand in mine

And I've always known

You're like a feather

You go where wind and fire melt together"

~Nowhere Warm



"Kaleidoscope" has a similar appeal, but dives even deeper into delicate melancholy that suddenly awakens into more vivid revelation. From here, the album mellows sweetly into a deep relaxing contemplation. "New Day" is an awakening from the sleepy classical mood as electronica again takes the stage. Since Kate Havnevik is working on two more albums I can only imagine the directions she will take within possibility.



If you enjoy Zero 7, Balligomingo, Hooverphonic, Magnet and Imogen Heap, you will want this for your collection.



~The Rebecca Review

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