Album Review
Karen Ruimy – Come With Me
Karen Ruimy is a multi-talented artist who has had success as an author and a dancer, as well as having had a high flying career in the world of Paris finance. Born in Casablanca, she brings Arabic and French influences to this fine debut album, as well as a sprinkle of Latin rhythms.
Produced by Youth (whose credits include Beth Orton, The Verve and Paul McCartney), and recorded at Peter Gabriel’s Realworld Studios, this is basically a very interesting pop album – but with a lot of twists. Ruimy’s diverse influences can all be heard on these twelve tracks where she sings in Arabic, English, Spanish and French. Eclectic really doesn’t begin to describe the vast variety of sounds on the album, all backing a lovely expressive voice that has power and passion aplenty.
The album opens with the flamenco-infused Sangré, a love song full of desire that even non Spanish speakers will have no trouble in picking up. The song is also the title track to a dance show that Ruimy has written and will be touring this year. Her previous five shows have played in several cities, including Paris and London. Told you that she is talented!
Title track Come With Me is a lovely fusion of Moroccan rhythms and western pop music, while Fragile is already something of a dance anthem and Ibiza favourite. Khamsa is another track that uses both Arabic and English, a real mix of sounds that includes a rap section. Sans Cesse and Les Oiseaux see Ruimy singing in French, her native language, while she returns to English for the lovely slower track My Love Is Waiting.
Sultana is perhaps the pick of the album, its flamenco guitar opening giving way to a pop song that is sung in English, but has its roots in Morocco. And the closing Whisper is another fine slower song, telling of wanderlust and a desire for a new life in an emotional and quite enchanting fashion.
This is a very unusual album, bringing such a range of disparate influences together. It is a measure of Karen Ruimy’s talents that the end result is such a fine set of songs that may have great variety in sound but are all produced to a very high quality.
Venue: Come With Me
Support Band: Karais