Blues Archive - Nadine de Macedo

Two remix compilations for the 20th anniversary!

Nadine — Fri, 31 May 2024 09:00:08 +0000

Today, I’m celebrating my 20th anniversary of music production with two remix albums on Bandcamp. 30 producers from all around the world remixed 30 songs from my discography. Please take a listen! As you may know, I’m a big fan of the remix culture. I love listening to songs and their remixes because I’m very curious about how other musicians understand them. I did many remixes for others, and I also receive many remix requests. This made me consider celebrating my 20th anniversary with a remix compilation instead of a best of album. Given a few restrictions, remixers were allowed to pick their own song and style. I just had to make sure that the original bands gave their consent and that all albums are evenly distributed. Another goal was to get all people into the boat, who supported me for 20 years, so I also added some older remixes. Now we have two albums with a total playing time of 2.5 hours. You can download the albums exclusively on Bandcamp. A few remixers will promote their remixes to their fans and other portals, but my Bandcamp site is the only place where you can get ALL in the best quality, with a booklet and information. The album will be available for free-pay-as-you like. We are always happy for tips and reviews. The Club Remixes The first volume, “The Club Remixes” contains over one hour of house, techno, trance, synthwave and darkwave remixes that could be played in underground clubs. 20th Anniversary – The Club Remixes by Nadine de Macedo The Radio Remixes The second volume, “The Radio Remixes” is a bouquet of dance pop, lo-fi, pop, rock and jazz remixes, that will please your ears on good speakers in the living room or car. 20th Anniversary – The Radio Remixes by Nadine de Macedo Big thanks go to all remixers, the involved bands, labels and photographers who allowed us to publish the album. There will be a Bandcamp listening party tomorrow and the day after, where you can have a little chit-chat with me and the remixers. You can find the links on Bandcamp. We hope that you enjoy the remix compilation and look forward to more years of fruitful collaborations!

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Blackout – Searching for enlightment

Nadine — Fri, 08 Sep 2023 10:05:00 +0000

I couldn’t resist the pun. Our song “Blackout” is not only about the absence of electricity but also about a search for self. As a matter of fact, this song has been composed during a blackout. Unfortunately, I could only record when the lights went back. Some of you may have listening to that song on my album “Quarterlife Blues”. If not, it’s time for YouTube. This song is special to me because I recorded the whole backing track on my own. You will never guess the guitar I played.

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No Time For Blues

Nadine — Fri, 25 Aug 2023 10:00:00 +0000

A blues song about being broke. Or a song about a blues musician, who literally has no time for blues? It’s up to you. I didn’t expect this one to grow into an international jam session, and it’s been fun. The song started as a jam session based on my piano track. I searched for a guitarist and vocalist to add some new elements. When I started this song I had no idea how to play boogie, so I just followed my intuition. I also have no idea, why this idea has been called “No Time For Blues”, but I am happy that Berni Armstrong took the title to witty sociocritical lyrics. The band literally found itself, because we got requests from guitarist Jussi Nykänen, multi-instrumentalist Andrew Russell (playing double bass) and saxophonist Alex Almirall. You may have heard some of these names from my songs “Dust” or “Good Morning Blues”. We are very proud how this song turned out. None of us expected it to be a mix in between rock’n’roll, boogie and blues, but we enjoyed the collaboration a lot. Right after comping the first recordings, we decided that “No Time For Blues” will not only be a single on SoundCloud and YouTube, but the opener of my album “Quarterlife Blues”. Freshly mastered, with additional songs and hidden tracks you can find our album on Bandcamp. We would be very happy if you take a deep listen and maybe purchase it.

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New album “Quarterlife Blues” available

Nadine — Fri, 04 Aug 2023 11:00:00 +0000

My new album “Quarterlife Blues” is now available on Bandcamp. It contains all the blues, jazz and soul songs of the last two years that were recorded in international collaborations. The album deals with quarterlife crisis and typical challenges of young people, especially millennials. Of course, rock is also a part of it. About the album “Quarterlife Blues” During the last months, plenty of songs were written in collaborations with musicians all over the world. I decided to compile them into stylistically consistent albums, so “Quarterlife Blues” will be the first one containing blues, rock’n’roll and jazz music. This album is about a crisis most young people in their 20s and 30s go through. In this age, you have to take important decisions and feel a bit insecure if things don’t turned out the way you imagined. You can easily find yourself in the quarter life crisis, when others may have a better job, a stable relationship or successful hobbies. Thus, most of the lyrics are about decisions, regrets and new beginning. Sometimes with a bit of dark humour. My focus on this album is composition and production, but I also played piano and guitar on a couple of songs. Please forgive me if not everything sounds perfect. I started to learn the guitar in 2021, and it raised my interest for blues and jazz music. Something I would have never tried if I stayed on my piano. This album could not exist with nearly 30 international musicians. Thanks a lot for your help, ideas and stems. You rock! The tracklist Compiling the tracklist of my album “Quarterlife Blues” has been the hardest part of the whole project. Though being more stylistically consistent than my previous album “Going My Way”, I had a hard time telling a convincing story over many different genres. We touched rock’n’roll, blues rock, blues, ballad, swing and acoustic jazz. The story starts with a long list of complaints and pushes the narrator into a severe crisis. In the end, they realize, that it’s better to take life not so serious and enjoy some aspects like a new relationship or watching the rain. It’s been important for me that the last song has a positive message. Quarterlife Blues by Nadine de Macedo What I learned There are many possibilities to collaborate with musicians, and you always have to think about the setting in that particular song. Working on “No Time For Blues”, “High Noon” and “Disco Blues” reminded of a jam session, where every musician had lots of freedom for improvisation. Even “Blackout” consists of plenty of licks, I would never play the same way as on the recording. In contrast, “How are you?” and “I’m not angry” are well-structured and arranged songs, that follow a pop music approach. Last but not least, “Fit Right In”, “Overjoyed”, “Love Lasts Forever” and “Rainy Sunny Afternoon” were a technical deep dive into sparse arrangements. Getting the maximum out of a handful of tracks has been very new to me, as I came from full band recordings with 30–50 tracks. Actually, only “Hero” and “Quarterlife Blues” have this huge amount of tracks. Same as I never worked with brass, harmonica and double bass recordings before. Where can I find the album? You can download the full album “Quarterlife Blues” with hidden tracks and booklet on Bandcamp. You can listen to some songs on YouTube and SoundCloud. As usual, we are happy for your donation, radio plays and comments. We haven’t planned to publish this album on commercial streaming platforms.

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I’m not angry – a stomping folk blues song

Nadine — Fri, 21 Jul 2023 10:00:00 +0000

With “I’m not angry”, I’d like to present a song that is completely different from my usual business. I had a lot of fun though! Angry stomping meets folk and blues music, and clever lyrics. Some months ago, we rolled the dice and teamed up for a random collaboration. This time, Geoff Matthews sent me lyrics and asked me to compose a song. The lyrics are about a bad breakup. After reading his lyrics, I immediately heard the angry stomping of a young woman and grabbed my acoustic guitar. Unfortunately, my performance chops are not good enough to do a proper take, so I am happy that Albert Luck jumped in and played it better than I could ever nail it on my own. Alyssa Womack had the perfect voice for the song. Her dark, emotional timbre gave the song that special something. We are proud to show you the fruits of our collaboration. As usual, “I’m not angry” can be listened on YouTube and SoundCloud. I will be a part of my upcoming album. I cannot tell you when and what exactly, but more information will drop shortly.

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