And the beat goes on with Marie Danielle

Happy New Year everyone and I hope that it will be a joyous 2016 for all of you!

What’s in a date really – what changes? But there is a light that never goes out and for me as for most of you (else you would not be reading this) it is music.

If we concentrate on just the musical side of life, we may say that in retrospect, 2015 has been a good year in music and I would like to thank all artists for giving us the gift of their art and will try to continue to support them as much as I can.

With two radio jobs on the side in my leisure time (what leisure time?), this wee blog is sometimes hard to keep up but I will do my very best. My good intentions for the new year are made surprisingly easy with the upcoming releases of some truly great musicians, one of which is Marie Danielle.

Have a look at her great website. I will give you a short recap here:

Marie Danielle hails from LA and her music encompasses all that is great in American music. Ballads, folk pop, some rockers. Marie has a beautiful voice. Just like for instance Sharon van Etten she employed songwriting and singing as a cathartic method to overcome an abusive relationship. Thankfully for us, Marie contacted Simone Felice of Felice Brothers and sent him demos.

To cut a long story short: We are now looking at the result – a collaboration between Marie, Simone, Christian Wargo of Fleet Foxes and David Baron (Simone Felice’s production partner) and an album called “Hustler”.

On “Hustler” we find the first single “Soldier” (with The Felice Brothers), a cover version of a Bright Eyes song and many more goodies.

I was kindly given the opportunity to listen to the songs before their official release by Marie. Still working my way through (which is a very good sign, meaning that there is a lot to discover on this album and the songs are growing on you, getting addicted to a different one each phase of time and mood and then starting all over again), I am getting struck at present at the beautifully sparse, elegiac “White Shoes”.

“Hustler” will be released in February on Mighty Hudson Records in the US and on Tonetoaster Records in Europe. And then, Marie Danielle will come to tour in Germany and the UK!!! Keep your eyes peeled for the gigs!

Here are some soundbites:

Thank you Marie and you made the start into 2016 a lovely one!