Ember Swift’s New Album 2016

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I am so happy to report that we are in the final stages of the new album for 2016! It’s a full album with three themes: Songs For Adults / Songs For Kids / Songs For Adults w/ Kids. There will be 16 songs, only 2 of which are re-makes of older material that I couldn’t resist re-recording to capture their new audio image for posterity, (not to mention the prowess of this amazing band I’m working with! You already know that I’m the guitarist and vocalist, but here are the details about the other players I’ve been so fortunate to work with:

On the drums, is Anthony Vanacore of the US. He’s a fantastic drummer and truly impresses us all with his chops. Anthony performed drums or percussion on 13 of the 16 tracks, so he’s all over this thing. A “salt of the earth” kind of guy, he’s a solid band member and I feel very lucky to have met him.

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On the bass is the equally talented Jack Lecomber from the UK. A gifted bass player, Jack can feel through a song in minutes and always impresses me with his creative ideas and locked groove. What’s more, he’s got a stage presence that makes everyone smile. I have loved working with him!

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Finally, Wang Ya Qi on erhu has been working with me for 8 years now. She is a strong supporter and solid band member and has become like a little sister to me. She loaned her amazing skills to the record again, making this her second album with me (first being 11:11 five years ago). Her spunk and energy dance in the melodies of her parts. She’s got it!

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And last but certainly not least, Tim Rideout of Fibiimedia in Montreal, Canada is once again behind the desk as co-producer and mastermind behind the cohesion and mixing and arrangement tweaks of this massive project. Having worked with Tim in 2009 for the LENTIC project, I was thrilled when he agreed to work with me again. His talents always surprise me, not with their existence but their range. He is a brilliant musician, and everytime we work together this fact is further reinforced.

I feel very lucky to have met all of these amazing people. As the record release draws near (aiming for September 2016), I will continue to update you all on its progress. Stay tuned!

DETAILS ABOUT THE ALBUM:

SONGS for Adults

It’s been five years since my last recording and I have amasses a big collection of new songs. This spring, 2016, the band and I went into a studio in Beijing to capture these tracks. There are 8 new songs in this collection, 2 re-makes of older tracks:

  1. Mannequin
  2. Elba
  3. Said What You Said
  4. Nanshou 难受
  5. Such Lengths
  6. Love Needs No Dictionary

The re-makes are the following:

  1. I Wish I May (from my 11:11 album, but a song that has undergone a fairly significant facelift)
  2. Cheap Drunk (originally on my 1999 album, Permanent Marker)

SONGS for Kids

It’s the inevitable conclusion for a mom who writes music to eventually start writing songs for her kids. In this case, however, my kids (especially Echo, my daughter) insisted I write a few of these songs. She is the inspiration for Dog & Monkey and Balloon, specifically demanding that a song be created about these topics.

  1. Dog & Monkey
  2. Balloon
  3. Lowly Worm
  4. Tired
  5. You, My Love

SONGS for Adults with Kids

And the final category of new songs in the collection is this one. They are songs that other adults who have children will understand. The themes are specific to parenting. Any weariness you might hear in the performance is also a result of parenting… Ha!

  1. Sleep
  2. Stars Are Many
  3. (I Don’t Know) What I’d Do Without You
Whiteboard Video Drawing - New Album 2016
Catherine Swift's Children's Album

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Support the Music-Making

Donations help music continue to be made. Your donations support the music-maker who then continues to make music. Any donation of $20 or more will get you any full album of your choice in both digital and physical versions. What’s more, Ember will arrange everything with you personally.

The Philosophy

Before 1910, with the production of the first vinyl record, music was a live experience, not a physical product sold as a commodity. But then, everything changed. Music became something that could be bought and sold.

Over a century, fans who formerly were pure supporters of the artist whose visits to their towns brought them an experience of joy, slowly began to value the songs and the albums more so than the people who made them. To possess the object—the record, cassette, CD, mp3—was the main goal, not to support the making of that magic in the first place.

So, it makes sense that when music first became free via online downloads, most people didn’t think twice about downloading it; it had long ceased to be about the people who made the art. Free stuff is fun! We had become consumers of music, not patrons of its production.

But what is music really worth? To me, besides family, it’s worth more than anything else in the world. I would give up on almost everything else in my life before I would give up music. Music is magic. It’s priceless. Money is just money.

And as a fan, if I love an artist, I can’t assign a price either. Their songs are worth so much more to me than $0.99 or $1.29. Their songs are inside of me, rattling my spirit. Music keeps my cells awake.

So now you know what music is worth to me.

The question is, what’s it worth to *YOU*?