Product Description

The stunning new album from The Cinematic Orchestra.

Featuring "To Build A Home" (w/ Patrick Watson). As heard on ABC's
Grey's Anatomy.

A "stellar piece of work . . . Just try to make it through the
closing "To Build a Home" without losing your breath." SF Chronicle

"Yet another brilliant release . . .Solid beats, lush arrangements,
great vocals - what more can you ask for?" **** URB

Soul Power at its deepest and most profound. Capable of real
wonder. **** Mojo

A Remarkable album. **** Uncut

Track Listing

1. That Home
2. Familiar Ground
3. Ma Fleur
4. Music Box
5. Time & Space
6. Prelude
7. As The Stars Fall
8. Into You
9. Breathe
10. To Build A Home

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #9269 in Music
• Brand: Dig
• Released on: 2007-06-05
• Number of discs: 1

Amazon.com
Cinematic Orchestra's fourth studio album, Ma Fleur soars from start to finish. The disc opens with the all-too-brief "That Home" which showcases a new guest vocalist brought into the Orchestra clan, Montreal native Patrick Watson whose Coldplay-meets-Jeff-Buckley fragility fits inside the folds of the sparse melody perfectly; his contribution to the sweeping soundscape of closer "To Build a Home" proves equally spectacular, adding an increased vulnerability and richness to the music. "Time and Space," featuring enigmatic Lamb frontwoman Lou Rhodes, offers the perfect combination of vocal ache with the lushness of cello and violin, eventually expanding into a full contemporary-classical-meets-downtempo vibe. Former contributing vocalist Fontella Bass once again brings her timeless soul to the mix ("Breathe" and "Familiar Ground") which will delight longtime fans of the U.K. band. Fans of Cinematic Orchestra's more upbeat hip-hop and jazz numbers from previous releases will discover that there is nothing especially uptempo on this disc; in certain respects, the evenness of Zero 7 discs may provide a more apt comparison, contextually. While that may frustrate some, the power of Ma Fleur from beginning to end is a holistic package of sensuality and softness that makes for a nearly perfect, perfectly timeless release. --Denise Sheppard

Customer Reviews

Exquisite pleasures and many kinds of emotions.
It took five years for the follow up to 2002's highly acclaimed Every Day.
"Ma Fleur" once again sees Jason Swincoe draw on the talents of a disparate group of performers, often from jazz backgrounds, to create the subtle, swelling orchestral sounds that reference the constructive forms of film soundtracks and prove devilishly difficult to describe.As mentioned, there are quite a few jazz influences in here, but they also owe a debt to trip-hop pioneers like The Orb and indeed to Drum and Bass in places. Small wonder that Swincoe's loose band of performers also include turntablists like Patrick Carpenter.
"Ma Fleur" is billed as the soundtrack for a film that hasn't yet been made, which would clearly be a weepie if it ever were. Themes of lost love and mourning run through "Ma Fleur" in thick stripes.
Because Swincoe is interested in creating moods and conveying emotions, he structures his albums, as you might expect, to tell a story.
He employs a wide range of singing talent who represent the viewpoints of characters in his tales.
The opening track, "To Build a Home", a grand, billowing piano ballad which could draw admiring sighs from Antony Hegarty or Chris Martin, is as immediate as it gets.
Elsewhere, moonlighting vocalists, including Lou Rhodes and Fontella Bass, are like shapes in the twilight, softly merging with nuanced arrangements which evoke the maverick work of David Axelrod, Charles Stepney and Talk Talk's Mark Hollis.
As said before, the veteran singer Fontella Bass (best known for the vocals on "Rescue Me"), who also appeared on "Every Day", returns to lend her cracked gospel vocals to the slow and elegiac "Breathe", and "Familiar Ground".
There's a sense of space; an absence of clutter; an enrapturing hush.
Neither jazz nor trip-hop nor any other label you might care to slap on it, "Ma Fleur" delineates an immensely moving, utterly distinct night-time world which is a pleasure to inhabit. There is the odd moment when things do flirt with pretentiousness, or merely sound like soundtrack fillers (the title track, in particular), but Jason Swinscoe has otherwise created an absolutely breathtaking experience that really does quietly move you through a number of exquisite emotions.

Mixed feelings
There have been plenty of professional reviews of this album that have either loved the new direction that TCO has taken or lamented the passing of a torch-bearer of new jazz. I have to say that I feel both ways. I must pre-condition my review by stating that I am a huge fan of TCO. I own Horizon (a little known release) and have multiple copies of live performances through the years, including their Solid Steel works that are excellent. My interest in them stems from a love of the symbiosis of jazz and downbeats that they perform better than anyone.

When I first heard the single "To Build a Home", I thought it beautiful. I eagerly wanted to hear the rest. When I heard the rest, which is a significant departure from their earlier work, I was a bit let down from the perspective of "jazz and downbeats", but willing to give the album a real listen. My overall impression is that the album is good, but not great. Event the tracks that are closest to the old-TCO style are not as strong as previous work (and sometimes is previous work). Most of the album has replaced the jazz with vocals and replaced downbeats with sparse orchestration. As a result, the album leaves you a bit cold.

1. "To Build a Home". Beautiful track featuring Patrick Watson and piano. My initial reaction has faded into disinterest due to its simple structure and sparse orchestration.
2. "Familiar Ground". Is basically a rehash of their Solid Steel work with the exception of the sweeping sax in the original is gone, losing some of its flare. Fontella Bass is still here, which is great.
3. "Child Song". Closest song to "jazz and downbeat" TCO. Great.
4. "Music Box". Sparse acoustic guitar, with Watson and Lou Rhodes which remind me of a song you would hear in a spa somewhere. Nondescript and empty of signature TCO arrangement.
5. "Prelude". Simple orchestration that seems to want to build to something, but never does.
6. "As the Stars Fall". Another song that hints at older TCO, more along the lines of "Motion" than "Everyday" as far as pace and sound.
7. "Into You". Brings back the sparse acoustic guitar but with Patrick Watson singing almost in the background. Again, nothing special and is gone before any resolution is generated song-wise.
8. "Ma Fleur". A simple orchestration of guitar, bass and sax that builds on a single theme with what seems like a bridge rather than a song. I could see how one could claim that this is similar to Paul Motian's work in its sparseness. It's interesting and has grown on me.
9. "Breathe". A Fontella Bass song that I like and does hint at old-TCO type arrangements. It is slow, however, and takes some listens to warm up to.
10 "That Home" Another Patrick Watson song that revisits the theme set in "To Build a Home" with piano and cello. Beautifully written if not simple in form. However, it finishes before any resolution (again).
11. "Time & Space" . A plodding song of bass and vocals that evolves into a more TCO-type song with piano and a Swincoe background downbeat. The first two minutes are boring, with the last six having some real merit.

So while I like the album, I wish it had more of what I like TCO for.

A sort of blue
Ma Fleur is a concept album. And its tone is a decidedly blue one; thus, music not meant for clear sunny days.

Rather, one plays it when he finds himself surrounded by nothing but clouds, with nothing to do, but listen to these beautiful musical raindrops.

4 and 1/2 stars