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![in Duo with Mihkel Mälgand]( "in Duo with Mihkel Mälgand")
Kadri Voorand
Kadri Voorand
in Duo with Mihkel Mälgand
VÖ: 28.02.2020
Genre: Tipps für den Sommer, Vocal Jazz
“A great voice, that hits people’s body and soul“-London Jazz News
Kadri Voorand / vocals, piano, chromatic kalimba, violin, glockenspiel & electronic effects
Mihkel Mälgand / double bass, bass guitar, bass drum, cello & percussion
Guest: NOËP / vocals on What If I Did Kill You
Recorded by Kadri Voorand and Kaur Kenk in Kasispea (Estonia), February 14 - April 30, 2019 Mixed by Miikka Huttunen Mastered by Svante Forsbäck Lacquer Disc Cutting by Sidney Claire Meyer at Emil Berliner Studios Berlin Produced by Kadri Voorand Co-produced by Mihkel Mälgand
The small Baltic nation of Estonia is internationally renowned for its singing traditions. Though originally a defiant celebration of its own identity in the face of past adversity, it’s also a reflec-tion of a country that’s been looking to the future with a new freewheeling assertiveness.
A boldly unique, roots-based yet forward-thinking approach is exactly what comes to mind when listening to one of the country’s brightest vocal stars, the charismatic 33-year-old sin-ger, composer, pianist and improviser Kadri Voorand. On In Duo with Mihkel Mälgand Kadri engages passionately with a wide-screen musical soundscape that encompasses anything from acoustic folk-pop, classical, R&B through to jazz vocal and wor-dless improv.
Kadri has already received much acclaim in her home country, including recent Estonian Music awards for both Best Female Artist and Jazz Album as well as accolades in a Producer role, something that points to her sensibility towards contemporary vocal aesthetics, in particular her subtle use of electronic effects, looping and layering. The new recording highlights all her attri-butes as a singersongwriter: a vocalist who’s highly expressive, energetic, imaginative, and tonally/rhythmically supple, and a lyricist (all songs are in English aside from two in her native language) with a transparent, mischievously witty and original style.
From a very early age Kadri was singing in her mother’s folk music ensemble and learning classical piano, going on later to study jazz at academies in both Tallinn and Stockholm. But on In Duo with Mihkel Mälgand, Kadri never once leans on her formi-dable technique, though the immaculate quality and virtuosity of her vocal is undeniable.
Instead she sustains a delicate balance between resonating with a wide audience and opening up the imagination of her listeners. Her diversity is reflected in her background working with artists such as Estonian composer Tõnu Kõrvits on his album Mirror, starring in a capella vocal sextet Estonian Voices as well as writing compositions for film, chamber choir and contemporary classical orchestra.
The choice of album title signifies a long, fertile artistic relationship with compatriot and award-winning bassist Mihkel Mälgand - who’s also an arranger and occasional co-writer here – that has seen the duo appear at many International jazz festivals. Kadri’s vocal is one-of-a-kind but listen closely and you hear the influence of experimental Nordic vocalist Sidsel Endresen through to Joni Mitchell as well as the theatrical art-pop of Kate Bush, the latter especially noticeable on ‘What If I Did Kill You’ a song that boasts a humorously acerbic lyric sung alongside homegrown guest singer NOËP. ‘I’m Not In Love’ is a playfully subversive, alternative take on the feeling of being in love, or perhaps not. While an effervescent cover of Michael Jackson’s ‘They Don’t Really Care About Us’ reveals a singer also partial to a bit of earthy, soulful R&B. ‘Like Yoko And John’ embraces pop culture while at the same time showcasing her highly syncopated, infectious scat vocals while the acoustic strains of ‘I Drove A 1,000 Miles’ recall the sublime yearning vocal of the late singer-songwriter Jeff Buckley in full flight. ‘I Must Stop Eating Chocola-te’ is a droll parody of a retro R&B number while closing ballad ‘I Stopped Time’ follows its own unique path while echoing Joni Mitchell’s phraseology with Mihkel Mälgand’s supportive bass occasionally reminiscent of Jaco Pastorius.
On In Duo with Mihkel Mälgand Kadri Voorand gives her all in pursuit of an authentic 21st century vocal art.
Kadri Voorand / vocals, piano, chromatic kalimba, violin, glockenspiel & electronic effects
Mihkel Mälgand / double bass, bass guitar, bass drum, cello & percussion
Guest: NOËP / vocals on What If I Did Kill You
Recorded by Kadri Voorand and Kaur Kenk in Kasispea (Estonia), February 14 - April 30, 2019 Mixed by Miikka Huttunen Mastered by Svante Forsbäck Lacquer Disc Cutting by Sidney Claire Meyer at Emil Berliner Studios Berlin Produced by Kadri Voorand Co-produced by Mihkel Mälgand
The small Baltic nation of Estonia is internationally renowned for its singing traditions. Though originally a defiant celebration of its own identity in the face of past adversity, it’s also a reflec-tion of a country that’s been looking to the future with a new freewheeling assertiveness.
A boldly unique, roots-based yet forward-thinking approach is exactly what comes to mind when listening to one of the country’s brightest vocal stars, the charismatic 33-year-old sin-ger, composer, pianist and improviser Kadri Voorand. On In Duo with Mihkel Mälgand Kadri engages passionately with a wide-screen musical soundscape that encompasses anything from acoustic folk-pop, classical, R&B through to jazz vocal and wor-dless improv.
Kadri has already received much acclaim in her home country, including recent Estonian Music awards for both Best Female Artist and Jazz Album as well as accolades in a Producer role, something that points to her sensibility towards contemporary vocal aesthetics, in particular her subtle use of electronic effects, looping and layering. The new recording highlights all her attri-butes as a singersongwriter: a vocalist who’s highly expressive, energetic, imaginative, and tonally/rhythmically supple, and a lyricist (all songs are in English aside from two in her native language) with a transparent, mischievously witty and original style.
From a very early age Kadri was singing in her mother’s folk music ensemble and learning classical piano, going on later to study jazz at academies in both Tallinn and Stockholm. But on In Duo with Mihkel Mälgand, Kadri never once leans on her formi-dable technique, though the immaculate quality and virtuosity of her vocal is undeniable.
Instead she sustains a delicate balance between resonating with a wide audience and opening up the imagination of her listeners. Her diversity is reflected in her background working with artists such as Estonian composer Tõnu Kõrvits on his album Mirror, starring in a capella vocal sextet Estonian Voices as well as writing compositions for film, chamber choir and contemporary classical orchestra.
The choice of album title signifies a long, fertile artistic relationship with compatriot and award-winning bassist Mihkel Mälgand - who’s also an arranger and occasional co-writer here – that has seen the duo appear at many International jazz festivals. Kadri’s vocal is one-of-a-kind but listen closely and you hear the influence of experimental Nordic vocalist Sidsel Endresen through to Joni Mitchell as well as the theatrical art-pop of Kate Bush, the latter especially noticeable on ‘What If I Did Kill You’ a song that boasts a humorously acerbic lyric sung alongside homegrown guest singer NOËP. ‘I’m Not In Love’ is a playfully subversive, alternative take on the feeling of being in love, or perhaps not. While an effervescent cover of Michael Jackson’s ‘They Don’t Really Care About Us’ reveals a singer also partial to a bit of earthy, soulful R&B. ‘Like Yoko And John’ embraces pop culture while at the same time showcasing her highly syncopated, infectious scat vocals while the acoustic strains of ‘I Drove A 1,000 Miles’ recall the sublime yearning vocal of the late singer-songwriter Jeff Buckley in full flight. ‘I Must Stop Eating Chocola-te’ is a droll parody of a retro R&B number while closing ballad ‘I Stopped Time’ follows its own unique path while echoing Joni Mitchell’s phraseology with Mihkel Mälgand’s supportive bass occasionally reminiscent of Jaco Pastorius.
On In Duo with Mihkel Mälgand Kadri Voorand gives her all in pursuit of an authentic 21st century vocal art.
Kadri Voorand
The music of Estonian singer and composer Kadri Voorand
operates at the intersection of jazz, pop, and folk.
In her home country, she is a national star and regularly
performs in major concert halls. She was named the "Young Cultural
Personality of the Year" by Estonian President Kersti Kaljulaid, just one
of the numerous awards she has received in her homeland, including the
"Estonian Music Award."
Furthermore, beyond the borders of Estonia, the young artist
is gaining increasing attention in clubs and at festivals in the Baltic States,
Scandinavia, Germany, and Southern and Eastern Europe.
Kadri Voorand started her musical journey at an early age,
playing the violin in her mother's folk ensemble. She began studying classical
piano at the age of five and was already writing her own songs at six. As a
teenager, she formed an a cappella band for which she also wrote and arranged
music, marking her first foray into improvised music. She studied at the
Estonian Academy of Music and Theatre and the Royal College of Music in
Stockholm. Her talent quickly gained recognition, leading to various projects
with some of Europe's finest jazz musicians, including the EBU European Jazz
Orchestra and the vocal ensemble "Estonian Voices." However, Kadri
Voorand soon shifted her focus entirely to concerts and recordings of her own
highly diverse and virtuosically performed songs.
In 2019, she signed with the ACT Label, where her third
album as a leader was released in the spring of 2020—a duo recording with
bassist and guitarist Mihkel Mälgand.
Kadri Voorand
