Eva & Manu

I’ve posted twice on this blog-there is a third post coming in October-about Eva & Manu and their self-titled long-player. As one of my purchases this cycle, I was excited to get my copy of their debut CD from Helsinki and placed it in the player almost immediately. Now I don’t want you to get the wrong impression, the CD is absolutely stunning; a folk-pop musical masterpiece.  That said, there were some questionable omissions and some subtle changes from the original releases of Feet in the Water and In Montreal. These changes were not nasty-they were arrangement tweaks I guess, but they served to somewhat diminish the soul of their original counterparts. Omitted was the lovely Forgive Me, available on the original Creative Commons release on Jamendo.com (sorry folks-it’s been pulled now). That omission is just a big oversight in my book. It is a beautiful plea, steeped in the emotions of a hard-fought relationship issue.

While there may be good reasons for the changes and omission, I’m waiting to hear back from the artists themselves as to the “whys.”  Please, though, if you have not picked up this CD or digital (i-Tunes/Spotify) release, do so.  You will not be disappointed. My questions and feelings above are largely due to the fact that I’ve been following their music religiously for two years.  

Purchases This Cycle

 Other than Eva & Manu, I also picked up Delta Rae’s Carry The Fire from my Musikfest (Bethlehem, PA) buddies, Rose & Bob. Thanks to both of you for sending me the CD. From bandcamp.com, picked up Meg Myers’ Daughter in the Choir. There are so many wonderful and deserving artists with great music that it is tough to take my limited budget and choose just one or two.  

Feedback Central

I heard from Jen, a member of Kristen Errett Fan blog which you can take a look at here. I’m now following that blog in the hopes of a studio-quality video from Kristen Errett.  She’s a fine and talented singer-songwriter-but the videos are badly recorded live options or living room samples with the sound quality not what it should be. If you are a musician, singer, songwriter, band, remember that the video market is your friend. If you don’t do those things on your own, partner with fans or artistic friends to get some videos out of your music. It is tough to market your music to a world so full of options. You need to use every tool at your disposal.

Have something to say?  Want to say it in long-form? Send me an email at sspencerwire (at) gmail.com or ask a question on the Tumblr site. I’ll respond to you in kind.  

Until next month…Thank you!