This is yet another shout-out to one of my favorite musicians of all time: Tori Amos. She is virtuosic piano player and incredible songwriter with a voice made of honey – although she herself describes it as the sound of a fairy on crack. Last week she published her 196th studio album (okay I exaggerated, it’s the 14th, but still!) and tomorrow she will be playing live here in Berlin at Tempodrom. I realize that probably many of you, especially the younger ones, are not familiar with her. But I’m telling you, if you like magical piano sounds and fairy voices, you will love Tori. Her concerts are always very moving and often strike a nerve and reduce me to tears, in a good way.
The new album titled Unrepentant Geraldines has chosen a quite poppy and easily approachable style compared to the previous two that were very classical in sound with orchestras and all that jazz. From all her records this could very well be the least confusing one with friendly melodies and gentle arragements. For me as a die-hard fan it’s actually a little bit to smooth, I like it more crazy. But I have some dear favorites on the record already such as Selkie which she already performed here in Berlin at a press preview a few weeks ago where I also had the chance to shake her hand, as well as Oysters which is a total Tori classic that could easily be on one of her early records, and the amazing duett Promise with her daughter Tash who has such a brilliant jazz voice with so much soul in it. Can’t wait for the concert tomorrow!
After the jump a few samples from the new album Unrepentant Geraldines, a photo of my meet and great with Tori as well as some interview snippets that I really liked. If you want to educate yourself a bit more about her music you have to check this older article of mine with some of her best music videos. Read on…
by Frank | Music
Nail Art by The Illustrated Nail
This week you can turn your nails into art with Fingerbang, celebrate the goodbye of Neukölln perl Locht43 and have a delicious brunch with Artconnet Berlin. This and so much more after the jump.
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by Frank | Art, Fashion, Music, Party
With the release of the new album Night of Hunters and tonight’s concert at Tempodrom I have been talking about Tori Amos quite a lot recently. Many times I got the following comment of people: “Yeah, heard of her, but what does she actually do?” This was then followed by me with an offended look and an awkward moment of screeching silence. Well, what do you reckon does one of the greatest songwriters, singers and piano players of the last 25 years do? Huh? Just guess!
Tori has never been a very commercial musician, but with THAT many albums and THAT many songs she wrote there must have been at least ONE that you came across at some point, no? Ok. Well, if you still can’t think of a single melody you definately need a bit of education here. I have collected some of her more popular songs for you to have a listen. At this occasion I noticed that she actually made some pretty damn cool music videos back in the day. Have a look! And then see you at the concert later tonight…
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by Frank | Music
photo: Norman Konrad for Sleek
We are still in the middle of the Kunstherbst with more major art events going on. This week we have the big STROKE urban art fair, some knitting action, la grand dame Tori Amos live, la dame bizarre Planningtorock, another Blitz rival, a Weekday event, the big Kunstnacht party and much more… after the jump.
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by Frank | Art, Fashion, Movies, Music, Party
photos: Victor de Mello
Wow. I am sitting here still speachless after hearing the brand new Tori Amos record Night of Hunters that will be released through Deutsche Grammophon on September 16th 2011. With a cover so commercially looking I totally didn’t expect this. I think it’s the most impressive album she has done in a long time. Not that her other records are bad. I have love for every single one of them. But there are the ones that I love a little less such as The Beekeeper or Abnormally Attracted To Sin and the ones I love a little more like From The Choirgirl Hotel or Scarlett’s Walk. But Night of Hunters has quickly made it to the top of my list! Some more details of the album and more cheasy press photos after the jump.
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by Frank | Music
Tori Amos has been a constant part of my life for over 10 years now. Over time her voice has grown so familiar that it somehow became a second mother to me. With all her releases since my first album of her she has never let me down. I loved every one of them – some of them more, some of them less. Her new record Abnormally Attracted To Sin will probably be filed under the later category. I’ve been listening to it for a while now, but although I generally enjoy the songs none of them really managed to stand out so far. The album seems to lack a bit of a concept and for me all the songs on it sound like they each belong to some of her previous records. So in a way this one is like time traveling to the past.
But along with this album I did find something else that really stood out: A comic anthology called Comic Book Tattoo with stories from many different artists based on the songs of Tori Amos. This way I can finally make sense of some of her crazy lyrics. This really is a beautiful book. And I’m someone who is generally not so much into comics. More images after the jump.
UPDATE: Tori finally announced tour dates for Germany. She will play in Berlin on October 7th at Tempodrom.
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by Frank | Entertainment, Events, Music
