INEZ NOW
INEZ (CH/USA)
Mystic-Americana, Latin Avantgarde, Desertpop
Ines Brodbeck Vocal, Guitar, Mandolin, Composition/ Gabriel Sullivan Vocals, Guitar, Mandolin, Bass, Producer/ Ryan Alfred, Bass,Synth/ Winston Watson , Drums.
Label: Czar of Crickets
«Music like a roadmovie, poetic and beautiful, epic and mystic like a Wim Wenders and earthy and uncompromising like a Morricone. A true delight for our ears and worn out souls – «NOW»!
A deep-sounding, swirling guitar starts to play, drums and bass are setting a smooth rhythmic basis and one can literally feel the hot sun burning the skin and the air vibrating above the desert. The bright sound of a mandoline joins in and a woman’s voice is singing «Verano …». And suddenly you’re right there. Right in the middle of the Arizona desert, where the sheer power of the Swiss mountains meets endless wide landscapes of hot earth, here INEZ aka Ines Brodbeck found the sound for her first solo-album. For many years now the professional percussionist, singer and guitarist is working and touring the Swiss music scene.
For her debut, which was written, recorded and produced by Gabriel Sullivan (XIXA, Giant Sand) in Tucson Arizona, the multi-instrumentalist sincerely did „go the extra mile“. The results of what she found on her journey are impressive and beautiful to the ears. The album’s title «NOW» fits perfectly, as in the course of the ten songs it describes precisely this special moment. The first song in the album, at the same time the résumé, will make you take-off and arrive at the essence of becoming one with your own creativity. INEZ introduces a cineastic, melancholic and psycheledic americana folk with latin vibes that is very much in the present and absolutely timeless at the same time: «NOW»!
For many years now Ines Brodbeck aka INEZ has been touring Swiss music clubs and theaters as a professional percussionist, singer and guitarist, working as a solo artist, with her own band projects, or as a side artist. Whether it’s world-jazz with «For my friends», folky jazz with «Inez Project» or Balkan-Cumbia with «Jaro Milko & The Cubalcanics»: cuban blood runs in the veins of this powerhouse of a woman! The world’s sounds ring in her ears and she won’t let any stylistic boarders shorten her sights. INEZ is eager to explore all kinds of stylistic worlds and her songs somehow naturally sound like the soundtrack to an imaginary movie.
Also the „making of“ of INEZ’s debut «NOW» sounds just like a movie’s storyboard with her supporting XIXA and meeting Gabriel Sullivan in spring 2017 as a turning point. In retrospective their encounter is definitely the ultimate meeting of two souls alike and the beginning of a beautiful creative liaison.
In November 2017, after a short but promising jam (described in the song «In a minute») INEZ travelled to Arizona to record her first solo-album with Gabriel Sullivan, owner of the «Dust&Stone Recording Studio». The XIXA-guitarist and singer complements INEZ in her creative work just perfectly: She’s passionate about writing songs – he’s able to arrange and refine them with a sense of deeper understanding. Within short time ten songs emerged that render audible her cuban & his mexican roots as well as the power of the Swiss mountains and
the endless vastnesses of the desert. Ryan Alfred (Calexico) on bass and Winston Watson (Bob Dylan, XIXA) on drums beautifully complement the elaborately arranged tracks of the two multi-instrumentalists with an earthy-elegant sound, and Connor Gallaher (one of the most important protagonists of Tucson’s music scene) alongside producer and musician Craig Schumacher (Calexico, Devotcha, Neko Case, Giant Sand) add pedalsteel and harp-delights. For the first time INEZ is recording acoustic guitars, mandolin and violin herself and has reached another level with her vocals as well: Her voice sounds velvety and dreamy while simultaneously bringing powerful precision into the performance. All the while her voice floats translucently in the overall music and unites with the deep, raspy voice of Sullivan („Prophet“).
Isobel Campbell and Mark Lanegan come to mind, Calexico of course and Danger Mouse & Daniele Luppi’s great album «Rome» with Jack White and Norah Jones, Neko Case and … The Doors. Chills run down your spine, wenn you let yourself go to the melancholic lightness of «Verano» or go west «Guajiro Negro» with the mystic latino «Guajiro Negro». In «Hoy» and «Nothing to do with you» INEZ invites us to follow her to her world of fantasy with cumbia at its best, easy grooving with a touch of sadness, while Connor Gallaher (Calexico) adds his beautiful solos. «Man from far», a laid-back and sexy ballade, sends us to the desert of desire and with «Rising Sun» the desert spreads in its full magnitude.
Mystic-americana? Folky-desertpop? Latin-avantgarde? INEZ presents beautiful music of cinematic virtue that casts it’s spell over you at once.
With Gabriel Sullivan she’s written her own personal roadmovie, poetic and beautiful, mystic and stunning and uncompromisingly earthy at once.
Great delight for our ears and rushed souls – «NOW»!
[Steffi Klär, promoter and artist, Basel]
ALBUM REVIEW
INEZ – “Now”: A Sensual Poetry that Will Last in Time
Posted onThursday May 23rd, 2019AuthorBaldovin Nicolae "Baldo"Leave a comment
INEZ (Ines Brodbeck) presents a new material called “Now” and it seems, at a first audition, that it’s full of a certain poetry shrouded in folk guitars, but “Prophet” somehow overcome the boundaries and you’ll eventually find yourself dusted with dark pop. This Hispanic air comes and puts something unique, at least for me, there’s a specific heat, a melancholic atmosphere, but just the right amount. Every note feels combined from different genres and perfectly completes a powerful music.
INEZ is a full-grown project, so to speak, considering that the artist is joined by members of XIXA, Ex-Calexico and Giant Sand. It’s intriguing, right? Then we should see how it all first started. So, “since her graduation from her master degree in 2010 she has been working as a self-employed musician and composer. During the last few years she has gained a plethora of experiences with a number of different bands and theater productions. The women trio (INEZ project) together with two other singers led her into using her voice more. It also inspired an increased usage of the guitar as an additional instrument on stage, as well as a tool to aid in composition. One day after the release on the 1st April 2017, through a wonderful coincidence, she met the singer, guitarist and producer Gabriel Sulliva. He appeared on stage with his band XIXA at the Kaserne, Basel and participated as the support-band with ‘Jaro Milko & the Cubalkanics’. Gabriel and Ines immediately noticed that there was a wonderful resonance between the souls of their music. Shortly after, Ines decided to journey to Tucson, Arizona to record her third album “NOW” in his studio, with Gabriel as the producer. After two weeks of intensive cooperation the production was more or less in hand. Also, on the album are Winston Watson (XIXA, Bob Dylan), Ryan Alfred (Calexico), Connor Gallaher (Calexico) and Craig Schumacher (Calexico).” (Source)
Going back to music, I have to say, as a black-metal listener and not quite an enthusiast of folk music, I was surprised by what I’ve heard. These modern compositions, jazz-like vocal interpretations made me think of a stylish pop I actually enjoy very much. There is no such thing as boredom when listening to this album; the atmosphere changes beautifully, stirred by this dreamy game and will eventually get you. You’ll start imagining sequences from classic pubs, wild west, gunmen counting steps, to modern, dangerous cities, that’ll start strange emotions; and all of these are caught into the sensual poetry I was talking in the first place.
“Now” is a material of, how should I say it?!, of the present, a music that talks about normal feelings and places these dreamy songs in the current time. When you get from the powerful “Rising Sun” to the childlike simplicity and playfulness of “Nothing to do with you”, you’ll finally understand what I mean about the “now” moment that will last in time.
Release Date: May 24th
Label: Czar Of Crickets Productions
Artwork by Daniel Martin Diaz