Transfixed by the blazing beauty of a Light Blue Sun
Written: Nov 25 '03 (Updated Dec 30 '04)
Product Rating:
Pros: intriguing blend of violin and voice with alternative dance/pop
Cons: stops just short of being really edgy in some places
The Bottom Line: Expand your musical horizons - stretch yourself with this mind-bending performance from the highly talented violinist/vocalist Lili Haydn
bob_tomato's Full Review: Light Blue Sun by Lili Haydn
Stop me if you’ve heard this one before –
Picture an attractive brunette with a sultry, breathy voice performing catchy alternative melodies in studio crafted dance tracks. She wears a tight white skirt, her midriff bare beneath a long sleeved, beaded white shirt, and – oh, you’ve heard this one already, have you? Well, let me finish and then we’ll see if you still feel that way…
She performs her own material and has worked with seemingly everyone in the music business. She’s performed with Robert Plant and Jimmy Page, the Rolling Stones, B.B. King, Sting, No Doubt, Tom Petty, Porno For Pyros, Hootie and the Blowfish, Chaka Khan, Christina Aguilera, Jewel, Spinal Tap, Josh Groban, Tracy Chapman, Vonda Shepherd, Victoria Williams, Ziggy Marley, George Clinton and The P-Funk All Stars, and the list goes ON for quite a while… not so sure about this now, are you? Here’s some facts to bend your brain some more…
She was a child actor. She has studied the Kabalah. She has a degree in political science. She studied singing with Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan, the legendary Pakistani Qawwali singer. For a year, she had a weekly performance at Hollywood’s Viper Room, where she crafted her unique blending of styles from Stevie Wonder to Soundgarden to Brahms and Tchaikovsky. She is one of the premier violinists in the world, a pioneer in the use of the violin in jazz, rock, pop and in her own alternative styles. She is Lili Haydn and you really need to get your eyes of her belly and wrap your ears around her music. As attractive a package as Miss Haydn is, her music is all that and more…
It is difficult to slap a label on the type of music on Light Blue Sun - how about “atmospheric world trance fusion”, or “altjazztripbeats”… Lili’s music is all about rhythm and mood, sensuality expressed with strings, percussion and electronica. This is music to get lost in, music you can feel – the sounds are universal and intimate. Lili’s goal is to make music that connects with the spirit…
Lili uses her violin as a featured instrument, playing counter-melodies much like a sax or guitar player would, and does this while she sings in her sultry, Kate Bush like breathy soprano. She blends diverse musical elements together to create her unique sounds, and makes these elements work together seamlessly. An excellent example is the track Denied - the song starts with a famous violin solo from Dvorak’s New World Symphony which turns into an invention on the theme midway through the song; this sound is grafted on top of a jazz/gospel piano and a wide open, Copeland-like strings section, and the vocals are a plaintive confession to God about denial and belief.
Most of the songs feature elements of trance percussion and synthesizer effects for atmosphere, and Lili blends in the violin, vocals and other sounds to get the right flavor for the song. My only complaint is that she could take some of these tracks into a much edgier sound (I could invoke the name of a certain vaporous group here) – I think it would add even more variety to the album. But perhaps, she is going for a certain sound on this album, as it is definitely pop-friendly throughout. You may have heard the song Anything at your favorite clubs – the song recently hit #23 on the Billboard dance charts. Some of the more extreme variety is found in The Chinese Song, a fast percussion heavy song performed in Chinese modes, and sung with Chinese lyrics. Another interesting tune is Seek, a Middle Eastern flavored instrumental that will get anyone out onto the dance floor, and features some absolutely incredible violin work – Lili’s fingers can fly! About the most extreme track is the final piece The Promised Land, which is a jazz invention for violin, sax and various other atmospheric sounds, and I have to say that this one is probably waaaay out there for most listeners, BUT it is completely new and different from anything else you will hear on the radio today.
So, do you want more of the same old, same old? If so, you can get more bare tummies, half-whispered promises and danceable studio tracks from Brittina Jessispears Aguimoore, or whoever else may have decided to jump on that top-heavy bandwagon. I’ll stick with Lili Haydn who pioneers new musical territory, crafts intriguing blends of seemingly divergent music, and does all of this with a bare tummy, half-whispered promises and danceable tracks. Who says really great music can’t come in a really attractive package?
Song List
Light Blue Sun
Come Here
Anything
Wounded Dove
The Longing
Denied
The Chinese Song
Sweetness
Seek
Home
The Promised Land
Anything – Radio Edit
Special Guests
Alice Coltrane
Pharoah Sanders
George Clinton
Official Web Site
www.lilihaydn.com
- you can stream the entire album from Lili's site
Other places to see Lili
Check out Lili's video "Stranger" from her first album Lili at Yahoo! Launch...just look up Lili Haydn and check out her video page.
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