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Love & Death: The Songs of Jacques Brel

by Dead Belgian

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  • Compact Disc (CD) + Digital Album

    MOJO ****
    "And in Fionnuala Dorrity singing in both French and English, they have their very own Piaf delivering passion and intensity in bundles over loose arrangements that seem to hit exactly the right levels of throwaway charm, joy, sorrow, frenzy, waywardness and fraught desperation."
    Colin Irwin

    Fatea Records
    "There's been a switch of gender at the front, with Fionnuala bringing a touch of the Edith Piaf to the proceedings and performing the songs with as much intensity, no easy feat considering the complexities of the arrangements. You may not fully understand the words, but there is no doubting a sense of debauchery contained in the musical narrative and there's a set of crib notes contained in the sleeve. Love & Death: The Songs of Jacques Brel is an excellent experience."
    Neil King

    UNCUT
    "The only way to perform Brel - as everyone from Scott Walker to John Denver have shown - is to throw yourself at it, and the dramatic Dead Belgian do just that, with aplomb on the opening salvo 'Madeleine' and 'Au Suivant'. The band are best when playing with gusto, as with the romping 'Les Bourgeois' and perpetually delicious 'Amsterdam'."
    Peter Watts

    Liverpool Confidential
    "Gone are the strings, replaced by a four-piece band that seem born for the word ramshackle, despite their obvious professionalism. It's a street band sound, earthy and vital and reconnecting the words of Brel with a modern audience. Floating over it all is the voice of Fionnuala Dorrity, switching from French to English with ease as she covers all the favourites. Favourites that is for those who know their Brel - and for those who don't this is the perfect introduction."
    Bill Leece

    The Financial Times
    "Four live Liverpudlians tackle the most familiar highlights of Jacques Brel’s songbook, creating settings dense with mandolin and ukulele . The disdain of 'La Haine' and 'Les Bourgeois' and the seedy 'Amsterdam' give way to the closing “My Death”, as histrionic as Bowie."
    David Honigmann

    Vanguard Online
    "This is an impressive and welcome debut. If you don’t know Brel, start here then get a compilation of his."

    Fold Radio UK
    "'Love & Death' weaves between playful abandon, a delicate sparseness and compelling theatre. Despite the inevitable comparisons to the vocals of Edith Piaf and Nico, Dead Belgian have created a sound that is all their own, while remaining true to the spirit of Brel’s music and poetry."
    Neil McFadyen

    Maverick
    "If you want to ease memories of Westlife and Terry Jacks then 'Le Moribond' will inveigle itself, the faster delivery and quickening mandolin, Dorrity's superb delivery pours acid on the treacle that is 'Seasons in the Sun'."

    Americana UK
    "Fascinating and oddly bewitching... a montage of eccentric and bizarre tracks on this wildly outlandish CD."
    David Cowling
    Ross McGibbon

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1.
Madeleine 03:48
2.
Au Suivant 03:14
3.
4.
La Haine 03:05
5.
Amsterdam 04:16
6.
7.
Le Moribond 03:41
8.
Jacky 05:06
9.
Jaurés 07:01
10.
My Death 05:05

about

Fionnuala co-founded Dead Belgian with drummer Andy Delamere (Wizards of Twiddly) in 2007 after he introduced her to the unique and extraordinary Jacques Brel. The band became renowned for their inventive and honest interpretations of Brel's songs. Lead vocalist, guitarist and ukulele player, Fionnuala was suspected of channeling Brel himself with her explosive performances of intense drama, passion, humour and frailty, her vocals drawing comparisons to Nico, Antony Hegarty and Edith Piaf. She made one album with the band, their highly commended debut, LOVE & DEATH: THE SONGS OF JACQUES BREL. The album was recorded and mixed at Limefield Studios, Manchester, by John Ellis and legendary British folk music engineer and producer, Bill Leader. It has received rave reviews since its release in 2012.

MOJO ****
"And in Fionnuala Dorrity singing in both French and English, they have their very own Piaf delivering passion and intensity in bundles over loose arrangements that seem to hit exactly the right levels of throwaway charm, joy, sorrow, frenzy, waywardness and fraught desperation."
Colin Irwin

credits

released July 9, 2012

Andy Delamere - percussion, vocals
Fionnuala Dorrity - vocals, ukulele, guitar, toy piano
Simon James - sax, flute, clarinet, mandolin, vocals
Matthew Wood - accordion, piano, toy piano, vocals

Recorded at Limefield Studios, Manchester by John Ellis & Bill Leader

Photography by Iain Kirkcaldy
CD artwork design by Iain Kirkcaldy & Andy Delamere

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about

Fionnuala Dorrity UK

Fionnuala is an award-winning singer, musician, movement artist, actor, theatre-maker and pyrotechnician. Originally from Northern Ireland and currently based in the North West of England, she performs all over the UK and internationally in music, theatre, outdoor arts, dance, puppetry, radio and recording projects. ... more

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