30 Oct Essex based composer attracts heavyweight talent for album
Collaborative albums are often fraught affairs: posturing for lead billing; misunderstandings and, that legendary line – “musical differences” lurk around every corner. Not so here.
Essex based Composer Michaela Polakova and singer/lyricist Natalie Kocab have united as a formidable musical force, transcending genres and cultural differences to construct a genuinely breath-taking album, one, which though shrouded in shadow, is staggeringly beautiful and affecting.
Ellis Island’s creeping, lustrous sound is based on Michaela’s intricately-weaved piano and string quartet compositions, with Natalie’s Patti Smith-esque vocals adding even deeper pools of intrigue and tension. The sound they create is reminiscent to Nick Cave’s explorations of the mind and the human spirit: dark and emotionally involving certainly, but also inspiring and defiant.
This led to them collaborating “Ellis Island”, demonstrating their eve-maturing sound and leading to other notable artists contributing, namely The Verve’s guitarist, Nick McCabe and long-time Lou Reed bassist, Fernando Saunders.
You can stream ‘Ellis Island’ here – https://soundcloud.com/nataliekocabmichaelapolakova/sets/ellis-island-1
