Nine Beats to the Bar

Description

Nine Beats to the Bar is an album by the British indie project Nine Beats Collective, released in the UK on Plankton Records in June 2017. The album is “an eclectic soundscape of R&B, soul, rock, pop, acoustic threads, jazz, funk, African vibes and a hint of gospel.” The title track was written by the Danish singer and songwriter Mikael R. Andreasen of Kloster fame and features Andreasen on lead vocals as well.

The range and styles of the music included on the album is staggering – so much so that we decided to release a single a week (all featuring a different style/genre of music) on all digital formats Worldwide for the last four weeks up until the album release on Friday June 16th. I’m delighted to say that all of the singles have been enthusiastically received and the first wave of critical reviews and features on the whole album have been totally positive – across all sectors of the music press. We even made it into the Daily Mirror!

As the accompanying press release from Plankton Records states, ‘Nine Beats To The Bar’ is an eclectic soundscape of R&B, soul, rock, pop, acoustic threads, jazz, funk, African vibes and a hint of gospel. Drawing on the talents of an eclectic pool of world class musicians, artists and songwriters including Rev Vince Anderson, Mikael R Andraesen, Caleb Quaye, Eric Leroy Wilson and the project’s producer Tony Bean, this exemplary release takes the beatitudes as spoken by Jesus as its muse and suggests that they might offer up the secret to healing this broken world. With the aim of offering up what the sleevenotes class as a “counter-cultural narrative for our times,” the sheer variety of styles from all over the world ensures that proceedings never fail to enthral with the likes of the conscience-pricking blues of «#blessed» and the gentle African rhythms of «Kosi» sitting effortlessly next to theme-expanding rapped numbers like «Farther» and «9/8». Elsewhere, the simply stunning «Serenity» – performed by Martin Trotman who sounds uncannily like the late George Michael – and the smouldering Heatherlyn-sung «Blessed Are The Undead» stand out in an album full of highlights. With a track count totalling an impressive 26 songs, a number of short spoken word and string trio interludes are included which help flesh out the mood of the album whilst providing stylistic stepping stones between songs of differing genres to good effect. Straightforward numbers such as «The Beatitudes» and «The Way Of Peace» make sure that a literal representation of the Beatitudes are on offer amidst more abstract pieces – all of which help give us an immersive and exquisite listening experience. [Lins Honeyman, Cross Rhythms, July 2017]

> iTunes (https://music.apple.com/us/album/nine-beats-to-the-bar/1237397865)

CD tracklist:

01. Awakening – 1:06
02. Call ‘Em Out – 2:10
03. Blessed Are The Undead – 5:10
04. Flame – 0:37
05. #blessed – 4:13
06. Wild World – 4:31
07. Purgation – 0:22
08. 9/8 – 4:05
09. Child 613 – 0:50
10. Kosi – 3:01
11. Tread Softly – 1:52
12. Lament – 4:06
13. Songs For The Earth – 2:22
14. Illumined – 0:33
15. The Beatitudes – 4:18
16. What Can Love Create? – 3:24
17. Towards The Sun – 1:31
18. Letting It Go – 3:45
19. Serenity – 6:54
20. Nine Beats To The Bar Theme – 1:19
21. Union – 0:47
22. The Way Of Peace – 3:58
23. In Recovery – 5:06
24. Nine Beats To The Bar – 2:47
25. Farther – 1:58
26. Give In To The Love – 4:40

Note: Released both on CD and as a 180g heavyweight 12-inch double LP.

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