mystéfy
spark within
CPT 290
-
2
LC 02518
BC 673794229027
Release
d worldwide Summer 2008
A voice
–
mellow, unvarnished
and full of warmth. While pop music spins with
eve
r
greater glare and
über
-
sound effects,
Mystéfy
exudes
sensuality, soul and pure
sensibility
.
Accompanied simply by p
iano,
double bass and drums
,
the sparse arrangements allow
for
a
wonderful, relaxed yet
t
antalizing album:
S
park
W
ithin
Nine
of
the twelve
songs were self
-
penned by
Mystéfy
and
pianist
Roberto DiGioia
(
Klaus Doldinger‟s
Passport, Joe Lovano, Albert Mangelsdorff, and his very own project Marsmobil). The trio was completed
by world
class bassis
t
Dieter Ilg
(Rebekka Bakken, Charlie Mariano, Till Brönner...)
and drummer
Matteo Scrimali
(Freundeskreis, Max Herre).
Chris
tian
Pro
m
mer
(
currently highly acclaimed for his
„
Drumlessons
‟ project, but also know for
Fauna Flash, Trüby Trio
,
Voom Voom
) functio
ned as a producer.
Jimmy Somerville
,
the unmistakable, mega star singer of
Bronski Beat
and
The
Communards
fame,
appears as
a special guest on Spark Within
.
His
counter tenor voice is matchless to this day.
Somerville
duet
s
with
Mystéfy
on
“
I Will
”
–
a cl
assic love
song
from
Dean Martin
‟s repertoire
–
now revamped in a
highly romantic fashion
.
Jimmy &
Mystéfy
discovered,
much to their surprise, while i
n the studio
(there
was no rehearsal prior to recording the tune) that their voices, phrasing and
even
vib
rato harmonised in
an exceptional way.
“Lady Grinning Soul”
,
a
David Bowie
song
, was
carefully
selected
as the only other cover on the album
.
"I grew up listening to Bowie, I heard his early stuff when I was 8, was the biggest fan at 12
–
and so this
is
my tip of the hat to my former idol.
Also,
I’m really a rock chick with the voice of a jazz diva
...
”,
Says
Mystéfy
.
All
the
other tunes, too, are
personal;
some
are linked t
o an ex
-
lover such as 'Stardust I Keep'
or
'Bye Bye, Baby‟.
“
You can live through the
blues many times, and survive
–
but never lose humour or
faith in love. Hence why most of my lyrics are encouraging, rather than plain melancholic
.
”
The musical aim was to create modern jazz standards, as
Mystéfy
wasn‟t content with merely interpreting
t
he same old compositions. She expected creativity and innovation not just from herself but also from
the
musicians
who p
erformed
on this album:
“
Roberto DiGioia
felt precisely what I wanted to express and
carefully put my lyrics and melodies into a charmin
g context of harmonies
.
The
band
and I had a
wonderful chemistry going in the studio
–
and jazz thrives
on
spontaneity
!“
How did
Mystéfy
find
j
azz
music
?
"
It found me.
W
hether rock songs or arias in my
(classical) vocal
training years
:
when
singing
thes
e genres
I had a feeli
ng of observing myself
.
But when I sing
jazz I’m in
TRACKLISTING:
01. STARDUST I KEEP
(5:03)
02. HEADSTRONG
(4:48)
03. SPARK WITHIN
(5:06)
04. EYE CANDY
(4:35)
05. BEWARE
(3:00)
06. I DREAM OF YOU
(3:56)
07. I WILL (SOLO)
(2:26)
08. BYE BYE BABY
(4:52)
09. LADY GRINNING SOUL
(3:46)
10. BLACK AND WHITE WORLD
(5:22)
11. A GARDEN FOR TWO
(4:16)
12. I WILL (WITH JIMMY SOMERVILLE)
(2:25)
different spheres
–
and that’s what it must feel like for me...
the only other music I sing with conviction is
soul”
Born in ‚Bergisch Land‟ near Cologne
, Germany
and having lived in
Bremen
, Germany
for a long time,
the passionate painter now
resides
in Ottawa
, Canada
. Her background is that of a live singer, roaming
clubs and bars from London to Nashville and Germany,
performing ad
-
hoc
at
jazz
sessions
and
getting a
wealth
of positive
response
to
her vocal skills
.
Yet
,
it
was
a while before
Mystéfy
took her talent seriously.
Then
, o
ne evening in
2004
in a club in North London, the future revealed itself
.
Mystéfy
visited a club in
Highgate
with her
acquaintance
Ray Davies
,
rock legend
of
The Kinks
.
After
Mystéfy
had
the audience
worked up to
an
ecstatic
state by
a slick p
erformance
of some
Billie Holiday
classics, Ray took her by
the hand, looked deep into her eyes and stated dryly:
“Y
ou’re a star!“
That
Ray‟s
compliment wasn‟t mere
idle talk, is something
M
ystéfy
knows for sure
:
“
Whatever someone
tells me is not as important as what the person reveals through body language and aura.
Even as child I
strongly perceived people, I truly felt their emotions physically.”
Her talent for th
e
extrasensory perception
often reveals itself in nightly visions, in which she
already
uncovered lies, received warnings
-
or for
e
saw the future, for instance her current
and
happy life
in
C
anada.
However, there‟s others who also
predict
ed
Mystéfy
would
have
a
successful career as jazz diva.
The
(sadly) recently deceased
Grammy
-
nominated
jazz & blues
aficionado
Jeff Healey
also influenced
‚Stéf‟
–
they jammed
and
listened
to historic jazz tunes from Jeff‟s recordings collection
.
Roger Odell
(Shakatak)
lov
es Mystéfy‟s voice
-
ever since her first guest appearance at
his
“j
azz
ni
ght
s”
live music
series
–
and legendary producer
Bob Rose
(Beach Boys, George Harrison, Roy Orbison, Julian
Lennon
,...
)
noticeably states
:
“
With Spark Within a new voice finds its much
deserved place in the world
of soulful and sexy music. Mystéfy is not just another singer but another legend in the making. Her voice?
Sometimes sweet, sometimes not
,
but always pure sexy breathy brilliance. If talent is any basis for
success then she will
take her place alongside the best!”
Further info on
www.myspace.com/mystefy
o
r
http://www.mystefy.com
contact mystéfy
MANAGEMENT:
Regina Weber / RW
-
Man
agement
Tel. +49 (172)
-
8515497
regina.weber@rw
-
management.com