By Geoffrey Rowlands
Comparisons are already being made between Dutch vocalist Caro Emerald and British superstar Adele. “I think this is only because we both have a fuller figure than the average female pop star,” laughed 32-year-old Caro, real name Caroline Esmeralda van der Leeuw.
“Neither of us fit the physical mould of typical girl singers but you can’t really find anything else to compare. Adele has had so much more success than me.”
While Caro’s words might be true for the moment, the Amsterdam-born chanteuse has certainly enjoyed a good deal of success in her own right. Her eagerly anticipated second album, The Shocking Miss Emerald, shot straight to top spot on Britain’s LP chart. This followed the number four peak for her 2010 debut album, Deleted Scenes From The Cutting Room Floor.
“I was so excited to hit number one. My first album had been so popular that it was very important for me to create new material which I hoped the people who bought Deleted Scenes ... would enjoy even more.”
Caro’s debut album made chart history in her native Netherlands. It spent 30 weeks in pole position surpassing the previous record of 26 weeks held by Michael Jackson’s Thriller.
“That was so amazing. Thriller is one of the all-time best albums. I found it difficult to imagine how I could possibly even approach Michael’s mark, let alone beat it.”
Her album was released on Grandmono Records, a label founded by Caro along with her producers David Schreurs and Jan van Wieringen. This was because no established labels were particularly interested in signing Caro.
“We were making a different kind of music. It was a mixture of jazz, easy listening, orchestral Latin and hip hop beats. Publishers and labels all seemed to think it sounded good but didn’t believe it had strong enough chart potential.
“There were a couple of pretty poor offers but we decided to self-release the first single, Back It Up. This went well so we thought we should release the entire album ourselves.”
A trained jazz vocalist, Caro almost gave up her vocation to study law.
“I’d taken singing lessons from the age of 12 but music is such an uncertain career, the complete opposite of being a lawyer. I studied law for a year but accepted I just had to be a singer so I studied jazz at the Amsterdam Conservatory. I knew I might always struggle financially but music was the love of my life.”
Her performances in Amsterdam jazz clubs caught the attention of Jan van Wieringen who knew Caro would provide the perfect vocals for Back It Up.
“That was the first song we did together. We have this amazing mutual understanding of the sound we want to create. It was 2007 when I first sung for Jan and David so it took some time to get the right songs. But the response to my first album was incredible and the new one has been even better.”
One thing missing so far is chart success in America.
“It’s far from easy and very expensive for an independent label to launch a new artist in America. But we’ve already started the process so bringing my music to the American public is my main objective for 2013.”
Concert DVD from Garbage
Garbage fans should enjoy the band’s newly released concert DVD / Blu-ray, One Mile High... Live. It is a recording of their performance last October at the Ogden Theatre in Denver, Colorado, which was originally broadcast live on AXS TV. The gig was part of the band’s year-long world tour in support of their fifth studio album, Not Your Kind of People. Despite this, the show features a career-spanning set list which contains all seven of their Billboard Hot 100 singles.
Bonus content includes two music videos, short documentaries on some songs from Not Your Kind of People, and behind-the-scenes footage incorporating the band’s pre-show warm up routine.
Also available is Garbage and Screaming Females’ cover of Patti Smith’s 1978 hit, Because The Night. Originally recorded for the recent Record Store Day, the song can now be purchased internationally on iTunes. The official video, which features behind-the-scenes shots, can be seen at www.youtube.com/watch?v=tOmKGjy-Ct0
Five Finger Death Punch’s offering
American heavy metal quintet Five Finger Death Punch will issue two albums during 2013. The Wrong Side of Heaven and the Righteous Side of Hell, Volume 1,” is scheduled for release on July 23 with Volume 2 following later in the year.
“We came off the road after two great years of touring and were really amped up to write our fourth album,” explained guitarist Zoltan Bathory. “We quickly wrote 12 or 13 songs but kept coming up with even better material.
“We were on a roll so there was no point in stopping. Once we passed the 24th song, we knew we had to make a double album. We could have held back the second album for a year or more but the songs were all written during the same period so we decided to release both albums within a few months of each other.”
A lyric video for lead single, Lift Me Up, which features a guest appearance by Judas Priest singer Rob Halford, can be seen at www.youtube.com/watch?v=X-2yuGgp_U8 Links to more Five Finger Death Punch songs are also posted on this webpage.
A selection of the band’s most popular tracks can be heard at www.myspace.com/ffdp while their entire 2011 LP, American Capitalist, is posted in the website ‘albums’ section.
Videos from MO
Emmelie de Forest won the Eurovision Song Contest for Denmark. But it was another Danish artist, 23-year-old singer, musician and songwriter Karen Marie Orsted, who had previously been attracting international attention.
Performing as MO, her soulfully sung brand of electro-pop has gained considerable critical acclaim over the past year. The video for her first single, Maiden, can be viewed at www.youtube.com/watch?v=LG3fD7ONSJY
This was followed by Pilgrim, which reached number 11 on the Danish singles chart. The video is posted at www.youtube.com/watch?v=M5uIVBxWZVU A remix of the song is offered for free download at (no www.) mo.pushexp.com/welcome/.
Having now finished recording her debut album, MO has issued two more singles. The video for Glass is at www.youtube.com/watch?v=pB5RfOwrmWQ while the promo for her latest release, Waste of Time, can be seen at www.youtube.com/watch?v=lddHsCBdQu8
Album from Airbourne
Australian hard rockers Airbourne have just released their third studio album, Black Dog Barking. It can be heard in full at www.youtube.com/watch?v=uH7i3C8Lqy4
Much more of their music is available on YouTube. The band’s self-released eight-song debut EP, Ready To Rock, is posted at www.youtube.com/watch?v=i0_aPk0dXN8
Their 2007 debut album, Runnin’ Wild, is at www.youtube.com/watch?v=JB7IRAeaSsU while Airbourne’s 2010 sophomore album, No Guts. No Glory., can be found at www.youtube.com/watch?v=AOHu5PcT3jc.