News

Corinne Bailey Rae Brand New Album & Show

• 22nd Oct 2009

Almost four years after the release of Corinne Bailey Rae’s four million-selling debut album, Virgin Records are proud to announce the release of ‘The Sea’. Corinne’s second album, it showcases a remarkable step forwards in the musical evolution of one of the most acclaimed artists of recent times.

Corinne started work on the songs for her second album at the end of 2007, following a whirlwind two years which saw her go from unknown singer-songwriter to worldwide multi-platinum, award-winning artist with a string of Grammy and Brits nominations to her name.

However the tragic loss of her husband in early 2008 lead to Corinne taking a complete break. It was well over a year before she eventually revisited her work. These songs, along with the music she has subsequently written and recorded, have found a new expression through Corinne’s singular talent.
Recorded mainly in Leeds and Manchester and co-produced by Corinne Bailey Rae with two separate producers, Steve Brown and Steve Chrisanthou, ‘The Sea’ is a career-defining album, the moment in an artist’s life where expectations are exceeded, boundaries are broken and a new musical language emerges, one rich in meaning and imbued with a passion that sets the work apart.

Written in Corinne's own universe, away from influence and distraction, ‘The Sea’ is a creative leap that propels Corinne into a completely different musical realm. Early listeners have suggested a wide array of musical forebears including Curtis Mayfield, Jeff Buckley, Stevie Wonder, Björk, Marvin Gaye, Radiohead, Nina Simone and Pink Floyd, yet Corinne has crafted something entirely her own.

Her voice, always an expressive and soulful instrument, resonates with a poignant and new-found depth. Soaring and intimate, delicate and warm, there is power, grace and passion flowing through her vocals. Corinne sounds unlike anyone else; a genuine artist of our age and yet uniquely transcendent.

Working with a new band of musicians, most of whom she has known for many years, she has produced an extraordinarily intimate album, full of a lyrical potency that is wonderfully descriptive yet honest, open and deeply evocative of her personal journey. ‘The Sea’ is an album where washes of colour and emotion draw you deep into a contrasting world of beauty and sadness, from which you emerge with hope and understanding.
It is also an album that will linger long in the listener’s memory and imagination, a direct opposite to the disposable, fast-paced consumption of modern music. Dark, seductive, emotional, honest and yet full of hope it offers total immersion in its world.

As Corinne recently told the Observer Music Monthly, “There is something miraculous that pushes you along, makes you keep going, makes you carry on. It’s really about the mystery of that. In fact, the whole album is about that in a way; it’s about loss but it’s also about hope, about keeping going and trying to find that beauty”.

To read the full cover feature with Corinne Bailey Rae in Observer Music Monthly click here: link

‘The Sea’ will be released on February 1st, 2010.

Corinne Bailey Rae will be playing an exclusive UK headline show on November 23rd at The Tabernacle, London. This will be in aid of the charity Pump Aid, which ties in with the charity’s 10th Anniversary celebrations.
Tickets will be on sale exclusively through Corinne Bailey Rae’s website from next week.