"Noa's words about Blue
Touches blue" provided by www.noasmusic…
"Ahhhh…
I know this sounds dumb but I am so so happy with this album, so
proud of it. It took a long time to make- there was a record
company merger to deal with and the journey was intense and
emotional but eventually very enlightening. We had the honor of
working with Mike Hedges( see photo), an amazing producer, famous
for bands like "The Cure", "The Beautiful South'',
"Siouxie and the Banshees" and "Manic Street
Preachers". Mike is a real phenomenon - a big, tall, red-headed
Irishman with a heart to match - one of the sweetest, funniest
people I’ve ever met. He loved the "demos", took on
the project and gave us wings. Mike used a combination of analogue
recording and "Pro-Tools" manipulation, plus tons of the
positive energy he’s so good at generating to make this album
what it is. Dave Anderson and Ian Grimble did most of the
engineering, James Sanger did some baaaad programming, and Sally
Herbert added cool string arrngements. The album was recorded and
mixed in Tel-Aviv, London and Domfront, France. Mike lives out in
Domfront and has a studio in his house- a very funky chateau full
of strange objects, mirror balls and amazing food and wine (ooooh,
lotsa wine!). every night at the "Motte Rouge" we would
stuff our faces and laugh and bla bla about everything from
royalty and peanuts to politics and hallucinatury substances. A
great way to unwind. In the morning, I would get up early and run
around the castle ruins at the top of the hill - the view was
always breathtaking. Mike also has a beautiful family, Jane,
Michael, Ethan and Aengus, that I fell in love with immediately.
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The musicians on this album,
together with Gil and myself,are Yaaki Levi on drums, Yorai Oron
on bass, Gil Zohar on piano, Zohar Fresco on percussion and "The
Brilliant Strings" ensemble . There are special guests on
"Boker" (see "Achinoam Nini"), and "Beautiful
That Way" (long list- please see album credits- you might
have to buy the album- oh nooo! J). We also did special stuff for
the Spanish and French markets (you might have to fly to Madrid
and Paris to get those versions! Ooooooh!..just kidding..).
We have a lot to share with you about the poetic content of this
album, but we’ve decided to do it through the songs.
‘If I Give You Everything’
We live with the constant burden of trying to be worthy of
love, as if love is a reward for being "good", for doing
the "right" thing. but what if we sing our inside out?
"Would your feelings grow the more you know, would they
disappear?" This is a cry for unconditional love. This is my
song, as a human being and an artist, an emotion I believe is
shared by many.
"Wrap It Up With Love"
I have a good friend, Flor, who spent some time in India and came
back full of light.His experience there had been very intense and
we had long talks about his newly discovered inner peace and love.
I was fascinated by the changes he had undergone but at the same
time couldn’t help thinking: wow, love peace, kindness,serenity…yeah,
those are wonderful things that can help you find happiness…but
don’t we all know that? Isn’t it obvious? And the answer I
gave myself was, no, I guess it’s not . We may know the answers
deep inside but sometimes it’s really hard bringing them to the
surface. We need little reminders. That’s what "Wrap It Up
With Love" is all about.
"Explain the Night"
My father is a scientist who loved explaining things to me. As a
child, the notion that everything could be explained was my
security blanket . Then I grew up and realized that rationality is
only a thin protective shield against the "‘truth" and
the truth is that we have very limited answers. There’s so much
we just have to learn to accept. I think in seeking answers, we
are so often simply asking for love.
"Can I Reach You"
"Can I Reach You" is all about communication. We spend
so much time trying to reach out, on all levels. we strive for
love and understanding, for acceptance. We take planes and trains
and satellites, we weave intricate "webs", we go as fast
as we can and faster still. Where is all this all leading to? What
is the great hunger inside that leads us to crave for
communication? How many times must we change and re-change
ourselves to reach our goal? Can I reach you if I do this or that,
if I wear this or that, if Iam something different? And then the
key question: will I be happy? If I reach you -or myself- will
that make me happy? What distance must we travel to find joy? I
don’t have any answers, but I do have a wish: I do want to reach
me, and you, but not by doing, not by changing. I want to reach by
simply being.
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"Long Coat In Winter"
This is a song for my husband, whose soul has grown into mine. I
want him to love me, believe in me and encourage me, yet trust me
to lead. I want him to stay with me, and at the same time let me
go.This is a lot to ask, when all I can offer is a long coat in
winter. "Will you stay with me on thinning ice?" , the
song asks. There is no answer, but the overwhelming emotion I feel
whenever I sing this song is all the answer I need.
"‘Angel"
Once, when we were playing a big arena, a girl waved
frantically to me from the bleachers as I was walking off stage.
When I approached, she threw down a small gift. It fell on the
floor and when I picked it up I realized it was a beautiful little
angel, but it’s wing had broken off. I said“Oh my God, an
angel with a broken wing!” That’s how the title was born. When
I was writing the lyrics, I found myself thinking about all those
people out there whom society has rejected, the poor and
unattractive, the unadjusted misfits. Who are we to judge these
people? I believe many of them have a light too bright for our
eyes to see, so we often mistreat them. They are my
"invisible angels" and this song is for them.
"Home-Made Religion"
I once invented a little ritual for myself. It has to do with
digital clocks and silent prayers, but it’s my little secret so
I can’t disclose it (.. it is hidden in the lyrics of the song,
though ). All I can say is that it’s a lovely mixture of order
and chaos. I realize we need symbols and rituals to help us stay
focused on what’s really important and iI respect all religions
for supplying those rituals but I think our daily lives supply us
with all the symbols we need in order to learn how to live. The
stones and trees and animals, the evening news, every little thing
is a lesson. All we need are opened eyes and hearts. That’s my
home-made religion.
"Again and Again"
This song always chokes me up. It says everything about my
journey through life. Again and again we strive for love, we try
to be "good", we do our best. We stumble and fall, make
fools of ourselves, look like idiots, but we keep trying. I’ve
made a lot of mistakes along the way, I’ve hurt and been hurt,
crashed and crumbled, but I get up again every time. Though the
road I’ve taken has not always lead me to where I thought it
would, I’ve followed it with a passion and a strong will. I
guess I will never change my way.
"Blue Touches Blue"
Everything I need, strength, love, answers, music, singing my
inside out, all these yearnings are concentrated in that point in
the horizon where blue touches blue. There, depth and height,
sadness and joy, hope and despair meet. This meeting point of sky
and sea where rational touches irrational is in my mind the
birthplace of all creativity.
"Haunted"
We all carry our ghosts with us. Sometimes looking them in the
eyes, diving fearlessly into the depth of emotion that gave them
life, is the best way to exorcise them. In my case, when they
finally give in, they leave a song in their wake.
"Carefully"
Can I be impulsive and careful at the same time? I tell myself,
for sadness’ sake, try to be, because things are so fragile. As
children we’re told - "Hold on tight, with both hands!".
As adults we tend to let go, and the results can be so painful.
When I think of what a mess we’ve made of our world, how cruel
we can be to each other, I feel a strong need to cry out for
awareness, for tenderness and caring. It starts close and
personal, my first cry is to myself. It streams outwards from
there.
"Dala Dala"
Funny that these songs come one after the other on the album…
The decision was musical but on deeper reflection, there is a
strong lyrical connection between "Carefully" and
"Dala Dala". The heroine of this song, a woman in Yemen
a hundred years ago, was dealing with the same conflict…impulsive
and careful at the same time, she has a lover, but warns him to
approach carefully. The difference is that here, we feel the
inevitable tragedy approaching. It is only the song itself, sung
by a descendant of that same brave woman, which is her final
victory, her ultimate freedom. This song is my tribute to my
Yemenite heritage, dedicated lovingly to Rachel Nini, my
grandmother.
"Morning" ("Boker")
This bright energetic song is full of modern Israeli vibe…traffic
jams in Tel-Aviv, chocolate milk in the desert, car stickers ,daily
news, darbukkah and "The Beatles".. J.
"The Beauty of That"
Look into the eyes of a stranger. Concentrate on the light
reflected in them and try to imagine that light as a doorway into
their universe. It is a strong and bonding experience. Look at the
beauty of that experience. I think of it as a way of freeing ones
self from prejudice, fear and apprehension, and there is great joy
in that freedom.
Bonus track: "Beautiful That Way"
The movie "La Vita e Bella" by Roberto Benigni is one of
the most beautiful movies I’ve ever seen. It made me laugh and
cry uncontrollably and it’s haunting beauty stayed with me
months after I’d seen it. I think Benigni’s great achievement
in this film is in showing that happiness, optimism and hope are
strong survival forces that even the horrors of the Holocaust
could not eradicate. Israel is living proof of that concept, and
that’s why the movie affected us so deeply. Needless to say,
when we were approached to write lyrics for one of Nicola Piovanni’s
beautiful melodies from the award winning soundtrack, we were
overjoyed and put our hearts lovingly into the task. the result is
this song. When Benigni himself called to say he was crazy about
it, we nearly had a heart-attack. It is a true honor for all of us
to have a small part in this great masterpiece |
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