Nora Lakh

Nora von Marschall, harpist at the Nationaltheater Mannheim and lecturer at the University of Music Würzburg, presents the music she has chosen for her first solo album under the title “Liebesträume”. Not only Franz Liszt’s famous Liebesträume, which von Marschall arranged for her instrument, but also the other works on the album are inspired by the themes of love, longing and transience; and not only the Liebesträume, but also Liszt’s Rossignol and Fauré’s Une châtelaine en sa tour are based on romantic love poems.

Blues Music Award-nominated vocalist Nora Jean Wallace shows us all how it’s done on her new album Blueswoman. Released October 30th, 2020 on Severn Records, the record is a knock-down drag-out blues party that shines a bright light on Wallace’s big voice and bold presence. The set was produced by Severn label boss David Earl, who also contributes guitar work on four songs, and was tracked at Severn’s studio in Annapolis, Maryland. Legendary blues star Kim Wilson of The Fabulous Thunderbirds adds his always-incredible harmonica talents to one song and the Severn studio band, which is Johnny Moeller (guitar), Steve Gomes (bass), Kevin Anker (organ), Steve Guyger (harmonica), Stanley Banks (keyboards), and Robb Stupka (drums), handles the rest of the album with ease and expertise. The resulting record is ten tracks of perfectly-handled straightforward blues that’ll grab you by the headphones and stand your hair on end.

Music as a possibility to process things; this has become a matter of course for Nora Benamara. Anyone who delves into the pieces of her group's extraordinary album debut can discover a variety of facets, both lyrically and musically. Some go deep, but still retain a certain degree of lightness, of sensual, joyful expression. "My music was created out of emotion and intuition," the singer, composer and band leader emphasized. The wonderfully poetic texts in turn speak of a lot of reflection, sometimes almost philosophical thinking and daring—even dreaming. Her pieces speak of longing for a home, of utopian places, of doubts, of an intense connection to nature. They are the results of a personal inner "odyssey" as she wrote: "a search for deeper connections, a pursuit of the beautiful and the cathartic in the search for finding one’s place in the world."