https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0020N2EBI/?tag=imwan-20The Bossa Nova rhythms on Los Angeles singer/songwriter Julianna Raye’s inspired new album, Dominoes, are so gentle and relaxing you almost take the heart-aching beauty of these songs for granted. The songs have a cinematic allure, drawing you in without overwhelming the music’s sensual mood. Raye has managed to capture the essence of this classic Brazilian style while maintaining her unique identity; recalling a bygone era while sounding absolutely current. Her tales of love are intimate yet universal, taking listeners hungry for true romance on an evocative and sublime journey. In a stressful time, Dominoes is a deep sigh of relief.
The inspiration for Dominoes came when Julianna fell in love with 60s guitarist Baden Powell’s CD, 3 Originals. "I knew I wanted to capture the way my imagination and emotions were stirred by this music," Raye said. "The CD is entirely instrumental which gave me room to re-interpret the spirit of what I was hearing in my own voice."
Leaves Before Autumn was the first song to emerge but it was when she met one of her songwriting collaborators, Bill Demain of the duo Swan Dive, that the record’s character really began to take shape. "Bill and I spoke the same musical and lyrical language, so writing together was an effortless, joyful process." Regarding another of her co-writers, Joe Pisapia of the band Guster, she says "Joe and I had a deep connection instantly and I knew we’d write something very special.
There’s this great Billy Barnes song Something Cool that June Christy sang. I feel like Summer On My Mind is my Something Cool." The most bittersweet of the album’s collaborations is I Carry You With Me, written with her cousin, composer Michael Kamen, who sadly passed away not long after it was written. Says Raye "That song is so poignant - I know he would be really proud to hear it."
The recording process was equally dynamic. "This record could not have been made without all the players’ incredible focus and intuitive understanding of the songs. There was just something in the air." The session included Bill Demain on guitar, Dave Palmer on piano, Reggie Hamilton on bass and Jay Bellerose on drums, with Ethan Johns (Ray LaMontagne, Kings of Leon, Ryan Adams) producing. Raye describes the experience as both exhilarating and exhausting.
"We had so little time to work out the kinks and get a great take we really were on the edge of our seats the entire session. By the end of it, our brains were completely fried!" The pace left no time to hesitate, requiring everyone’s full commitment and Raye found it "magical to sing in the soundscape these amazing players created on the spot."
Dominoes is the latest chapter in a career marked by extraordinary alliances and deeply authentic artistry. Julianna’s critically acclaimed debut album, Something Peculiar, was produced by Jeff Lynne (Travelling Wilburys, ELO), whom Raye met through her cousin, Kamen. It took over eight years for her to release the next album, but in one of those rare, defining moments in an artist’s career she re-emerged from a process of self-discovery and a string of dissatisfying major label flirtations with the brilliant independent release, Restless Night.
Working for the first time with Johns as producer, she crafted an enticing foray into the wearisome search for love amidst the creeping vapours of Los Angeles nightlife.
Julianna Raye has toured Europe as a member of Rufus Wainwright’s band and sang on many of his releases. Her songwriting credits include collaborations with Rufus Wainwright, Ryan Adams, Ross Godfrey (Morcheeba) and composers Michael Kamen and Paul Halinger. She can be heard on Ryan Adams’ CDs, Gold, Demolition and 48 Hours (all produced by Johns) and is featured on Van Dyke Parks’ tribute to Haruomi Hosono, Yellow Magic, Robin Danar’s Altered States, and singer/songwriter AM’s Side by Side. Raye’s music has been featured in numerous films and television shows. Her wide range of collaborators proves that her talent transcends terms like independent or mainstream.
Julianna on the individual tracks:
Slowly
I wrote this song with Bill Demain. I’ve spent too long in the murky waters of love so I found his genuinely romantic point of view optimistic and refreshing! Naturally, I added some clouds to the bridge but I believe and hope that if I sing it long enough and true enough this kind of love will come to me one day.
Dewberry Wine
This is more in character with how I usually relate to love: fleeting and uncertain and yet timeless, poignant, passionate, hopeful, tender and lusciously sweet.
I Carry You With Me
I wrote this with my cousin, the late great composer Michael Kamen. The lyrics were painfully prescient and I had a hard time singing this in the studio. Ethan’s production approach also left nowhere to hide (bless him!). For me, this song is a beautiful reminder of a dear, dear human being.
Dominoes
This song came to me in my hotel room in Nashville. I had just encountered a handsome young Austrian buck in the elevator, which triggered fond and forlorn memories of my extended love affair with a confirmed bachelor (set in much nicer hotel rooms)! Things went awry with the Austrian when he showed up at my door to share an unrepeatably awful poem he’d written for me. Cute. Not sexy.
Summer on My Mind
Joe Pisapia and I got together one afternoon and wrote this beautiful tale of contrasts. This is me as a fabulous New York socialite, circa 1964. I’m on my way to a first date on the first snowfall of winter. Feeling vulnerable to more than just the elements, I lose myself in the memory of my torrid summer romance on the Cote d’Azure.
White Bicycle
Bill sent me these lyrics and they were so evocative I suddenly found myself in Amsterdam on cobblestones, in some Technicolor foreign musical from the 60s. I came up with the melody instantly. We were very selective about the motorcycle for the breakdown section of this song. We wanted to make sure it sounded European.
Until
Bill again! I came to him with the music and he had the brilliant title and concept of Until. We developed the lyrics around a longing that never resolves. In this song I imagine myself as a famous French actress. This is the soundtrack that plays during a montage revealing my love affair with my leading man who is away on location somewhere exotic. Awaiting his return, I’m trapped in a Parisian suburb in a desperately unhappy marriage to a bourgeois real estate mogul.
Leaves Before Autumn
This song has a spiritual message as well as a green message about recognizing ourselves in nature. It’s about our participation in the cycle of life and our fear of passing away, like leaves falling from the tree. So we build walls and become a fortress, but for just one moment when we give ourselves fully to the experience of a kiss, the whole cycle is infinitely suspended and we are renewed.
Lost
I wrote this song when someone close to me disappeared. Luckily she resurfaced unharmed. I related to her deep desire to escape this mortal coil. In the bridge I explore making peace with the mysteriousness of life, which is a different kind of lost.
