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Unravel

by Serafin LaRiviere

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Charon66
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Charon66 A remake of Aha's "take on me" must be an ambitious choice for any artist. The song was an iconic landmark in 1985 and still is technically difficult, but not for Mrs LaRiviere, she hunts Mr Harket through all the highs and lows of this tune so effortless, it is a pleasure. Besides that she gives this song a complete new meaning with so much depth as it never had before. It's like meeting an old pal who got serious. And this is only one of 11 more great songs on this brilliant album. Thanks Favorite track: Unravel.
alintime
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alintime An album to eagerly share with the jazz scene here in Liverpool.
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1.
2.
It's You 03:02
3.
Good Boy 04:09
Understand, there wasn't much of a plan Just a watery smile and you stayed for awhile And I saw the signs I knew you could be mine And I could be yours, and we'd get along just fine And we'll make it up as we go along Just keep in mind that things can go wrong And you're a good boy You're a sweet boy And you're complicated And I celebrate it I love you when you're sad And we get mad More than the moon and all her stars It's everything we are Understand we've got to make our plan And I'll stand here and fight for the right to kiss you goodnight So I'll hold your hand We'll be a 3-piece band A special harmony in any key we please And I know we might look different to some But I don't give a damn, I've got my son And you're a good boy You're a sweet boy And you're complicated And I celebrate it I love you when you're sad And we get mad More than the moon and all her stars It's everything we are
4.
5.
Mom 04:02
6.
Zephyr 04:45
7.
8.
9.
Blue Skies 03:58
10.
Take On Me 04:01
11.
12.
Unravel 05:24

about

Serafin LaRiviere’s new album, Unravel, was born in an idyllic setting of quiet woods, wandering deer and several feet of snow – though it wasn’t planned that way.

Unravel was meant to be mark the 10-year anniversary of Serafin’s third album, Love’s Worst Crime – an event that shortly preceded the adoption of a son. The decade in between had centered more on diapers and schooling than sheet music and microphones (with a sprinkling of gigs in Toronto, Montreal and Quebec). So, 2020 seemed the ideal time to create something new: There were new songs, new arrangements for Jazz standards, and a new digital age to explore.

Well, we all know what happened to even the best-laid-plans of 2020: Coronavirus.

Suddenly the country was in lockdown, isolated from friends and family, hiding out in our homes while something frightening and unknown changed the landscape of our lives.

“I was in the Eastern Townships of Quebec when Covid-19 hit,” Serafin says. “I was quite fortunate, really, though it was terrifically isolating. But I was with my wee family in the middle of nowhere, and blessed with an awful lot of time to figure out what to do with the new album.”

This peaceful environment offered an ideal opportunity to create new arrangements for several Jazz standards and for writing songs that would take the album in a very different direction than originally planned.

Unravel is an album that moves through several genres. Classic Torch songs like Cry Me a River and I Put a Spell on You are given an electronic kiss, while original songs like It’s You and I Couldn’t Be Your Girl have elements of Pop, Funk, Soul and even Country. The track Good Boy is the most personal for the artist.

“We have a mantra in our family about loving each other no matter what we’re going through, good or bad,” says Serafin. “So I took many of those words and put them to music. I wanted to celebrate all the wonderful, complicated things that make him such a great kid.”

Recorded at Number 9 studios in Toronto, Unravel features a stellar band that includes bass player George Koller (Holly Cole, Laila Biali), horn genius Christopher Plock (Jeff Healy and the Jazz Wizards), pianist Clement Robichaud and Great Bob Scott on drums. It was engineered by Aaron Fund Salem and produced by Juno award-winner Jono Grant.

The first single from Unravel is a slow, intimate version of the 1980s Pop classic Take On Me, from the band Ah-ha. Where the original is up-tempo and exhilarating, Serafin’s offering features just voice and piano. It’s quiet, pensive and heart-breaking.

“I always saw the lyrics as the perfect Torch song,” Serafin says. “There’s such a sense of love and longing in the words, and I wanted to try to reinterpret that in a way that was respectful to the amazing original version.”

Unravel will be released in February 2021 on the Arte Boreal record label, in the midst of perhaps the most isolated winter we’ve experienced in our collective lifetimes. But with the hope of a vaccine in sight, Serafin hopes that this new collection of songs will bring a little light into the long nights.

“I just keep telling myself that, even if life feels like it’s unraveling abit, the day is coming when we’ll be looking back on this time and marveling that we came through it. We don’t need to unravel.”

credits

released February 5, 2021

Vocals: Serafin LaRiviere
Piano: Clément Robichaud
Bass : George Koller
Flute, Sax, Clarinet: Christopher Plock
Guitar, drums and keyboards: Jono Grant
Drums: Great Bob Scott

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Serafin LaRiviere Toronto, Ontario

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