Hotel Café- Los Angeles, CA Live Review: 10/30/08 *** It's certainly no secret that people love to hear vocal harmonies in songs. The same feeling applies to performers when they are onstage. There's something really special about singing with one or more close friends. Swedish singer/songwriters Ane Brun and Tobias Froberg proved that there is power behind friendships and collaborative efforts that enhances each artist to deeper, more soulful heights.

Froberg started the set solo. He played through some folk-influenced songs with simple, but nice flat-picking. Towards the end of his set, his silly side came out as he decided to skip across musical genres. His playful antics included: facetiously referencing musical ideas like Celine Dion's Titanic theme song, playing a blues turnaround after a non-bluesy song, or also the moment when he jauntily played the piano and abruptly stopped as though it surprised himself to still be playing the instrument at all.

But clearly the strongest part of his set was when Brun joined him for a duet. When he played with her, his guitar strumming and melodies became more focused. Instead of just singing along to his own thoughts, he played more colorful chords that provided ample space for Brun's striking voice and complementary harmonic deviations. He even looked and sounded more at ease and natural when she occupied the stage with him. I honestly felt that collaborating with Brun really brought out a more sophisticated side of Froberg.

By the end of his set, the audience transformed the Hotel Café into a homely, living room environment. People sat in close comfort on the floor, cross-legged, intimate and without a worry.

His set was immediately followed by Brun's, which I found to be delightfully effortless. The interaction between her instrument and voice was very organic.; everything melded nicely and had a purpose. At one point she asked the soundman to turn up her guitar in the monitor so that she could "feel the guitar" and though she said this in a joking tone, it made perfect sense.

The songs that really stood out were the ones inspired by her friends. One of them called "Lullaby For Grown-Ups" was written when she resided in a building built in the 1600s. It had walls that spanned both her arm lengths. A friend who was having a rough day went to visit her there and fell asleep. As her friend slept, Brun was inspired to write this song. The dark quality of the song, long drawn out reverb-ed vocal lines, and the lyrical preface magically brought the audience back in time to that cave-like writing room. And it dawned on me that in all the solitude of her claustrophobic fortress, a dear friend became a strong source of inspiration.

During her set, many songs were played in open tuning. It made for smoother transitions into extended jazz chords. Brun sang in a distinctively higher tone with a light raspy timbre. Her vocal prowess displayed great range and would occasionally flip into soaring acrobatics. The combination of these qualities made me think of Joni Mitchell, especially when Brun performed her wonderful number, "The Treehouse Song".

Near the end of her set, she sought out her then-missing friend by inquiring innocently into the mic, "Tobias? Tobias?" and Froberg rushed back on stage to sing background vocals. She also invited the audience to hum a specific melody during the end of the song. Genuinely optimistic about the crowd participation, she rhetorically asked, "You guys are all artists, right?" There was no hesitation on the humming--she had the audience spellbound. The entire room sang along as Brun jumped down crowd level and sang and played without a mic. It was a rousing celebration of music and friendship.

*** Photo credit: Megan Finley For more info on Ane Brun, visit: http://www.anebrun.com/

For more info on Tobias Froberg, visit: http://www.tobiasfroberg.com/

Jamie Lidell Warp Records (2008) *** On his third album, "Jim," Jamie Lidell's jet set recording sessions in Berlin, Los Angeles, and Paris touched off a cosmopolitan atmosphere in his latest release. Once again, he revisits the soulful aesthetics of earlier Motown R&B and gives it his trademark modern twist. Much more than a mere nod to Otis Redding and Marvyn Gaye, his production skills on the album have updated the genre of Soul and R&B to smoothly polished, acoustics-heavy productions. Many know Lidell for his honey-coated voice and on-the-fly stylistic maneuverings during live performances. Yet the beauty of his latest work is in the way the record manages to translate much of that energy in the recordings. From the first tracks, “Another Day” and “Wait For Me,” the album begins with a light, casual interplay between the piano and pervasive Motown beats with traditional snares on all the downbeats. As relatively subdued as he is in his third album, it is still clear how aggressively he has approached the tried and true Stax aesthetic by adding in panning swoops and rapid EQ-ing along with other flashy electronic effects.

His flair for experimentation is also apparent when he uses bells, fuzzy guitars, and a myriad of sound effects that respond effectively to his vocal line. Yet one is always aware that aside from all layers there are to listen to, Lidell’s sweet voice always takes center stage. He never lets the listeners forget it. Then in the last 30 seconds of “Out Of My System,” the auxiliary percussion tracks take over the song, echoing a familiar stylistic move in the beginning of Michael Jackson’s “Workin’ Day and Night”.

Another noted track on the album is the ballad, “All I Wanna Do”, which boasts a strong melody and memorable hook. Unlike the other tracks, this one starts off with very sparse instrumentation, providing a perfect complement to Lidell’s warm and powerful vocals. His voice is the most engaging aspect of the album and hearing a quiet song that features its dynamic, expressive tonal qualities is a veritable treat. The song gradually unfolds and builds with the additions of a full drum set, extended chords and harmonies, and a distanced background vocal section, and finally ends with a sweet reprise played on harmonica, cellos, and banjo. Towards the end, the other tracks on the album, “Little Bit of Feel Good” and “Figured Me Out”, sound very much like 70's funk&soul with just a touch of disco, instantly touching a deep chord of nostalgia. Take his track, “Green Light,” which readily lends itself to the familiar feel of an Al Green song, complete with a catchy hook, reminiscent of Jimmy Ruffin’s “What Becomes Of The Brokenhearted”. Aside from how literal his musical references may be, the real strengths of the album clearly lie in his amazing vocal prowess and air-tight productions. It may not be a radical fusion of older soul music, but the innovations of his productions keep this genre fresh and relevant for the new generation of soul listeners. *** http://www.jamielidell.com/