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August 22- August 29,2004 |
Summery style of Rasky
Toronto songstress explores her eclectic side on new CD
By Kerry Doole
Originally Published: 2004-08-08
She may have entitled her second album Your Love's Like Spring, but Michelle Rasky acknowledges that there's a different seasonal feel to this lovely new disc. "People have written to me saying they really enjoy playing it at their cottage. It is a very summery album."
That vibe is projected by Michelle's oft upbeat melodic touch and light and breezy vocals. It is fitting then that she has just begun a summer residency upstairs at The Rivoli, appearing there every Wednesday in August as part of the Maple Lounge series.
Downstairs at The Riv, Rasky tells Tandem that those gigs "will be solo, though my bassist, Ed Roman, may join in on a few songs. I love both solo and band gigs for different reasons. Solo, there is more opportunity to chat with the audience and be flexible musically. With a band, there is a different dynamic and energy. With many of the singer/songwriters I love I prefer to see them solo. It seems the songs have more weight then."
Along with band mates Roman and drummer Ilios Steryannis, some of this city's very best players are featured on Your Love's Like Spring. The cast list includes Kurt Swinghammer, Luke Doucet (Veal), Paul Neufeld (NOJO), Kevin Fox and Anne Lindsay, and their tasty contributions add to the diversity of the sound.
"This is my eclectic period," Michelle notes. "There is so much music I love to listen to [she is even an electronica fan], and all kinds of other influences began to filter into what I was writing. It felt like something really opened up, and this is much more reflective of my diverse influences."
She terms her style "organic hybrid-pop," and it draws upon jazz, folk, swing and country elements. It has a different feel than her 2000 debut, What I Meant To Say, as she explains. "That one was half solo, and half with musicians I hadn't worked with on an ongoing basis. The arrangements were quite different. It was more of a funky-folk fusion, with lots of open tunings and rhythmic guitar playing. It was not as melodically oriented as this one."
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