"This invigorating album presents soulful indie pop at its best. A breath of fresh air that is rich on melody, its lyrics range from confessional to tongue-in-cheek with Kaleido’s sublime vocals to smoothen this pleasureful ride. A captivating offering!" ~ The Spill Magazine
"Upbeat, a joyous folk-rock affair... bedecked in kaleidoscopic sixties sparkle, a slight splash of psychedelia and a whole tsunami of charm and grace" ~ Big Takeover Magazine
"A hug of soulful indie pop with groove as infectious as its melodic breath and lyrical smile is poetic... seductive captivation" ~ Ringmaster Review
''A true work of beauty and professionalism, taking you to your very own ascension heights" ~ Amplify Music Magazine
UK indie pop-rock duo Karamelien present their debut album, 'Living With The Moon', a grounding 9-track offering that breaks from the typical songwriter mould, with sonic offerings that draw inspiration from fuzzy Lo-fi, storytelling, trip hop, and reverb-drenched 1960s film soundtracks, with a greater emphasis on beats and basslines.
Based in East Grinstead, Karamelien is singer-songwriter Léanie Kaleido and guitarist Mark Foster - two long-time friends, whose music has forged an even stronger bond between them. This Karamelien album follows the three albums that Léanie Kaleido released as a solo artist.
Léanie and Mark were joined by one of the UK's leading bass players, Lee Pomeroy (ELO, Take That, Rick Wakeman, Yes), on most of the album's tracks. However, the song 'Ascension Heights' features bassist Morris 'Mo' Pleasure (Earth, Wind & Fire, Michael Jackson, Janet Jackson, Ray Charles), who graced the track with his funkadelic bassline.
Karamelien also present the video for 'Digital Imogen', a feisty in tongue-in-cheek warning of the dangers of obsessing over own photos on social media, which was recorded and produced by Ian Caple (Massive Attack, Tricky, Mansun, Tindersticks, Vanessa Paradis), who was also EMI's in-house engineer back in the day.
Léanie Kaleido wrote the title track 'Living With the Moon' after a year of counselling for depression and anxiety, linked to menopause and not helped by Covid-enforced inactivity and unease. She says, "On our final session, my amazing counsellor Jude, who I have kept in touch with, described the acceptance of good and bad days as ‘like living with the moon’. I told her that would make a great song title and promised her I’d write it – and I did! So, the lyrics are a thank you to myself for getting the help I needed at the time, a finger to the armchair critics and the toxic people who didn’t help, and a willing surrender to the lunar power over us all. It’s about the feeling of freedom you get when you stop worrying so much about what everyone else thinks and learn to accept your weaknesses and discover your hidden strengths.”
Mark Foster says, "We wanted the guitars to sound pretty processed, and a little bit ugly - which I think we achieved! I was definitely channelling the spirit of Sonic Youth, J Mascis, and a host of other beautiful noise-niks on this one".
The duo earlier released the title track 'Living With The Moon' and 'Wait For Me'with piano, mixing and production by Chris Mars (A Flock of Seagulls, Damian Wilson). Two other tracks were produced by RIDE's Mark Gardener at OX4 Sound Studio - 'Lionhearts' and 'Ascension Heights', which features a guitar sample from Léanie's late father Top Topham (original founding guitarist of The Yardbirds) and also involved Paul Statham (Dido, Simple Minds, Kylie Minogue).
As of October 27, the 'Living With The Moon' album is available from fine digital platforms, including Spotify, Apple Music and Bandcamp.
CREDITS
All songs written by Léanie Kaleido except Track 6, written by Léanie Kaleido & Mark Foster
Mark Foster - artistic director
Léanie Kaleido – vocals, piano, keys, Rhodes, tenor electric guitar, guitaret, string arrangements, electronic bass
Mark Foster – guitars, theramin
Lee Pomeroy – bass on Tracks 1, 3, 6, 7, 8 and 9
Morris ‘Mo’ Pleasure - bass on 'Ascension Heights'
Top Topham – sample on 'Ascension Heights'
Chris Mars – piano on 'Wait for Me'
Joe Caple – drums on 'Sewing at Sea'
Tracks 1, 3, 6, 8 and 9 produced by Ian Caple Recording
Tracks 2, 4 and 7 produced by Mark Gardener at OX4 Sound
Track 5 produced by Chris Mars Music
Additional production on 'Ascension Heights' by Joolz Dunkley
Additional production on Track 7 by Ian Caple
Mastered by Jon Astley, except initial masters for Ascension Heights and Lionhearts singles mastered by Tim at Turan Audio
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