Jazz Archive - Nadine de Macedo

Re-Release of 20th Anniversary Remix Albums

Nadine — Fri, 07 Aug 2026 14:30:00 +0000

Both 20th anniversary remix albums are now available on all streaming platforms. Thank you so much to everyone who contributed their creativity, time, and talent to these releases. 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. You can find “20th Anniversary – The Club Remixes” here. The second volume, “The Radio Remixes” is a bouquet of lo-fi, pop, rock and jazz remixes, that will please your ears on good speakers in the living room. You can find “20th Anniversary – The Radio Remixes” here. Minor changes for technical reasons Some remixes were already included with the singles when we migrated the songs from Bandcamp to additional streaming platforms. Technically, we needed all the individual songs to be available before we could compile the albums. Now, we are proud to announce that both “20th Anniversary – The Club Remixes” and “20th Anniversary – The Radio Remixes” are officially on all streaming platforms. However, there are a few slight differences due to technical circumstances. A big thank you! Due to personal circumstances, there will be no Bandcamp listening party this time. We hope we can make up for it when the time is right. Maybe the release of the complete discography would be a good occasion to celebrate. A huge thank-you goes to all remixers, collaborators, labels and photographers who allowed us to publish this album. Without your support, creativity and trust, these releases would not have been possible. Twenty years of music is a long time, and these remix albums are a tribute to everybody who joined the ride.

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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.

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Hero – Be somebody special

Nadine — Fri, 21 Oct 2022 10:03:00 +0000

Today, our new song “Hero” is available on SoundCloud and YouTube. This time, I teamed up with Dirk Diamond to co-write a jazz song about leaving a legacy to those who mean something to us. “Hero” is both a love song and a song about wanting to leave a mark somewhere, perhaps a legacy, however indiscernible it might be. It’s about wanting to be something like a heroic presence for someone dear, at least in some way, at least for one person, to leave a special mark on them. Be a part of whatever world comes after us, even if unseen. There’s a lot more purpose to our story than what’s here for us in the here and now. In some way it reflects on that, towards not so readily undervaluing our presence in this world, however limited it might seem at the time. This song has been written in a ping-pong collaboration. Dirk started with a rough draft of lyrics, vocals and the chord progression of the verse. Right after listening, I wanted to try something jazzy with a shuffle beat, and it worked well. I didn’t expect to write some vintage swing with one of the most complex chord progressions I ever wrote. Following my heart, I didn’t notice how often we change the keys, modes or borrowed chords. The arrangement grew from a vocal e-piano draft into a big band with a ukulele. Dirk said, this song gave him an unexpected nostalgia, and I think his words capture it quite well. You can listen to our song on YouTube and SoundCloud. I hope you enjoy our collab the same way that we did.

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How many music genres have I tried?

Nadine — Mon, 16 May 2022 15:00:00 +0000

I have been asked quite a couple of times, in how many music genres I have tried to write songs. I call myself a multi-genre songwriter and composer for a reason, but it has been very hard to give a number. I decided to start a list with different examples that will be maintained regularly. My comfort zone Being a multi-genre songwriter is hard. You find inspiration everywhere, that you’re constantly dropped out of your comfort zone. Let’s talk, what is easy for me in different roles. Please note that some genres are in brackets, because I cannot enjoy them for personal reasons. This list is from May 2024. As a producer / mixing engineer, I love moody, heavy and melancholic music. I enjoy hard drums, heavy guitar riffs and multiple styles of vocals. It’s easy for me to mix a dense arrangement with vocals, guitars, piano, bass and drums. I feel best doing:Alternative Rock, Pop Rock, Progressive Metal, Progressive Rock, Blues Rock, Punk Rock, (Electro House), (Hard Trance), (Epic Trance) As a composer, I have tons of fun with heavy melancholic and complex music. I’m a big fan of weird chord progressions and modulations, which is best in progressive genres. But I also do pop music, when I’m allowed to escape the usual 4 chord scheme. I’m still taking a break from electronic music. I feel best doing:Progressive Metal, Progressive Rock, Alternative Rock, Pop Rock, Pop Ballad, (Progressive Trance), (Epic Trance) As a lyricist, I enjoy writing heavy lyrics and diving into shady characters. I don’t mind strong language or complicated words. Storytelling ain’t my thing, so I have issues with country and singer-songwriter. My way to write is quite straight and direct – I am not a poet! I only write in English. I feel best doing:Alternative Rock, Alternative Metal, Nu Metal, Pop Rock, Progressive Metal, Progressive Rock My skills as an instrumentalist are inferior, so I have to rely on mid-tempo songs with easy progressions. I hope that I can catch up on that soon and try new genres. My playing is heavy, so don’t bother me with soft emotional songs. I feel best doing:Pop Rock, Alternative Rock, Blues Rock As a listener, I love heavy, fast, complex and melancholic music. This could be literally everything, but I don’t enjoy electronic dance music right now. I like listening to:Djent, Metalcore, Progressive Metal, Nu Metal, Symphonic Metal, Folk Metal, Melodic Death Metal, Industrial Metal, Grunge, Stoner Rock, Indie Rock, Swing, (Aggrotech), (Future Pop), (Electro House), (Epic Trance), (Hard Trance), (Dubstep), (Trip Hop) This is NOT for me – neither as listener, musician nor producer: Experimental, Ambient, New Age, Synthwave, Schlager, Humppa, Retrowave, Future Bass, Hardstyle, Rave, Gabber, Future House, Classical (especially baroque), Neoclassical (exept metal), Bossa Nova, Latin, Free Jazz, Neurofunk, Baile Funk, Contemporary R&B (stuff in the 90s is good though), Mumble Rap, Funk, Reggae, Reggaeton, Danceholl, Grindcore, Speed Metal – And I’m not a fan of the 70s! A brief overview My list is very long, because I tried many genres. So I decided to write it down as a table. The left column is filled with an emoji, how I feel about trying this genre again. The digit tells the number of finished songs or remixes. Some songs are not online yet, which is why I wrote the numbers in brackets. The links go to YouTube, Bandcamp or SoundCloud, where you can listen to a sample. How to interpret the emojis:😄 = I love it and want to do more.😊 = I will try again, when I have ideas.😥 = I keep on trying, but I haven’t succeeded yet.😔 = I gave up, because it doesn’t catch me (anymore)😕 = Never again. Electro I started writing electronic music in 1998 and producing in 2003. I have tried over 30 subgenres of electronic music and figured out that my home base is trance. Most trance related genre were easy for me, but I struggled really hard in genres that need sound design or rhythm. Electronic music is in hiatus, because I don’t have fun listening, writing nor producing. Fun Genre Amount Example Experience 😕 Acid Techno 2 Acid Orbit Techno made me shift my focus from melodies to sounddesign and automation. Though succeeding with two songs I don’t feel well in that genre. 😔 Acid Trance 4 Fruchtsäure However, combining acid techno with trance has been easier for me. Adding melodies is a game changer for me, but I won’t produce this genre on my own. 😊 Aggrotech 1 All Hallow’s Eve It has been fun to produce this genre, but it was harder than expected. Whenever I have a simple melody, I will try again. 😕 Ambient 1 Ambience I’m not calm and patient enough to enjoy ambient and chill out. That’s not for me. 😕 Ballearic Trance 1 Yesterday’s Past I never planned to write something in this genre, because I don’t like it. 😕 Big Room (1) tba Today’s edm music is full of festival and big room. You need simple melodies and heavy drops. Both is a challenge for me, and I don’t really like it. But I’m working on a remix. 😔 Chill Out 2 Deep Heart It took a while to produce a chill out song. Same as ambient, the focus lies on sounddesign. I love the result, but I cannot imagine doing this all the time. 😕 Classic Trance 14 World’s Future After producing trance with the sounds of he 90s and 00s for 15 years, it’s getting boring. It has been very simple for me, but not again, please! 😕 Dance 6 Hold Me Tight Starting with dance music, I realized, that I shift towards trance. So I gave up after 3 years. 😕 Deep House / / Major props for sounddesigners. It is very hard to make textures, blips and cuts sound harmonic and cool. I lost my patience. 😕 Dream House 1 Moonlight I often feel like dream house and classic trance a connected. I can produce this, but I don’t like to, because it’s closer to ambient. 😥 Drum & Bass / / Well, I was not able to program the charismatic beat with a simple bass. Maybe I try again someday, but not now. 😥 Dubstep 2 / I like the hard wobble in dubstep, but I didn’t expect the synths to be so hard to program. Rhythmic issues followed. I succeed remixing something, but I am not allowed to upload. 😊 Electro House 5 Neotokyo After leaving trance, electro house became my second home. I can go heavier and go crazy with the bassline. It’s a good style to remix, but songwriting is hard. 😥 Electro Industrial 1 Liminal Spaces Well, I tried it a couple of times, but I had issues in sounddesign. This song definitely has some influence but isn’t pure industrial. 😥 Electro Swing / / Electro swing uses plenty of old samples with house beats. I am not a big fan of sampling, so I want to write the swing arrangement by myself. This is what makes this genre hard. I am still trying! 😄 Epic Trance 11 Adagio of Life I was so glad when I found that niche in trance music. My only possibility to write weird chord progressions and gigantic arrangements in electronic music. It’s still hard for me to write the orchestral part. On hiatus. 😕 Goa Trance / / It’s been okay to program arpeggios and bass, but I don’t feel goa and psy. 😊 House 2 Lost Letter I never expected that house is connected to soul music. If you don’t feel it, you won’t create a cool groove. I need good vocals and loops to help me with the drums, otherwise it won’t groove. 😄 Hard Trance 7 Dream of You Oh yes, I enjoyed rocking out! A genre I like to continue when I have simple melodies. 😊 Indietronica 4 Dystopia It’s never been my aim to connect pop with idm and trance, but I did a couple of these. And it worked. It’s nothing I could do intentionally. 😊 Rock House 2 It Only Takes A Miracle I love rock – I love house – But getting a good riff is harder than expected. This may happen again whenever I have a cool riff – But only with real guitars, please. 😕 Uplifting Trance 25 Breathing Rush Instruments and melodies were just in my dna, but I cannot listen to this genre anymore. 😕 Progressive Trance 9 Lightyears Away Sidechain compression made me produce this genre more often than expected. And I loved it. And now I don’t like it anymore. 😕 Tech House 3 Promenade This has been very hard, because I have no idea of sounddesign. The songs I wrote here were just experimenting with knobs. 😕 Tech Trance 4 Transitional However, combining experimental techno with trance has been easier than house. But it’s nothing I’d do again. 😕 Trap 1 Weight Trap is full of sounddesign. I didn’t succeed in writing a song, and ended up with a hybrid. 😊 Trip Hop 10 Going Nowhere This seems to be my go to genre, when I try downtempo electronic music. Pop & Hip Hop I started composing and writing pop music in 2001, but only around 2005 I was able to collaborate and produce. I need vocalists and guitarists to realize these projects. This is why I see myself as composer, but I also produce and write lyrics. I love big arrangements and acoustic instruments. Fun Genre Amount Example Experience 😕 Art Pop / / What I like about art pop is the openess to weird scales and sounds. I tried it often, but I have trouble with sounddesign. 😊 Ballad Pop 6 A.L.E.X. I usually don’t listen to ballads, but they are easy to write. I have a knack for melodramatic melodies. 😥 Country / / It is very tricky to get the country sound without banjo. I haven’t succeeded yet. 😥 Contemporary RnB / / The modern version of rnb is not my favourite genre, but I just had to try it. I wrote a beat and a chorus… and now I’m stuck. 😕 Dance Pop 2 Dancing In the beginning of the 2000s, I listened to dance pop – but I don’t like to produce it. My melodies and harmonies are not happy enough. I enjoyed it more than pure dance. 😔 Folk 1 I’m not angry Practising fingerpicking on the guitar helped me to understand folk music. It’s not my favourite though. 😔 Future Pop 1 Perpetual Machine I succeeded in writing genre typical lyrics, but sounddesign is still too hard. 😊 Gothic Pop 1 Seven Days To Live Dark, soothing, melancholic pop music with a bit of electro. Just my thing. 😔 Hip-Hop 3 Darker Programming beats has been much harder than I expected. I wrote a couple of raps, but nobody was able to turn them into a song, so I trashed them. I won’t continue unless I have a great idea. 😊 Indie Pop 2 Going My Way I never intended to try this but I liked it. Even more than folk. 😄 Pop 5 Promises Writing pop music is quite easy for me, but my tendencies go to adding a touch of rock. Pop with synthesizers and synthetic beats is hard for me. 😄 Pop Punk 5 When I’m Gone I produced many songs in that direction, and also wrote lyrics, but I’m quite fresh to writing. More to come! 😄 Pop Rock 11 Don’t tell me if it hurts What I like about pop rock is the possibility to use simple hooklines in a rock arrangement. This genre is simple for me. 😊 Trance Pop 3 Daylight Means Endeavour I will continue on this when I have more ideas. Rock & Metal Since 2006, I love writing rock music. After a couple of years, the connection to metal has been given. My guitar playing and singing is not good...

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Good Morning Blues – A fresh start

Nadine — Wed, 02 Mar 2022 14:02:42 +0000

After writing many songs in different styles, I realize the big weight I carried on my shoulders trying to fit into a system I wasn’t made for. I’m back with a brand-new collaboration in a genre I haven’t tried yet. Jazz. Yes, you listened right: Jazz. It’s been a parallel universe, because the emotion, culture, music theory and instrumentation of various genre of jazz have been completely unknown for me. I often thought I had to learn 15 years of music theory to understand the magic of 7b5 chords and modal shifts, so I shied away. I never ever expected to work on something jazzy, but some days ago, I came up with a melody I was not able to harmonize with every technique I learned from pop, rock and electro. It’s on a scale I never heard before, major and minor chords didn’t work, a blues progression didn’t work and when I tried to understand the music theory behind harmonization of that weird scale, my head just burst. I’m happy that I found people, who tried to find a practical way how to approach and solve my problem without digging too deep into theory. Andrew Russell took my melody and created an awesome jazz piano trio arrangement around it. After listening, I found myself on the piano and added more tracks without thinking about scale and chords. Our result it on YouTube now: Am I a jazzer? Definitely not. There is too much to learn, but I have a start. I may listen to musicians I never heard before, I may try to understand the nomenclature of chords I never used before, do something with swing and shuffle beats, and more importantly: Improvisation and Jam. I will never be a good pianist, but I think that extending your knowledge and musical background can help a lot in any genre. I’m taking a short social media hiatus to focus on songwriting and organizing my projects. 2022 will be another year full of great music. I’m still not able to produce and listen to electronic dance music, but I’m opening myself up for whatever. Be prepared for completely different songs every month. I’ll respond to your requests on SoundCloud, YouTube and Instagram as soon as possible.

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