http://adrinathorpe.com/press.cfm Fri, 07 May 2010 07:45:00 GMT http://bandzoogle.com http://adrinathorpe.com/press.cfm?feature=1381308&postid=274354 Californian Singer-songwriter Adrina Thorpe’s debut album, Elusive, was a sunny collection of light toned pop songs beautifully sung by a talented performer. As the opening chords and lyrics of ‘Impossible Dream’ set the context for the songs to come, it becomes clear that her second release delves deeper beneath the surface of the psyche. ‘Flawed I am and flawed I will remain, broken since the day the package opened.’ Flawless, however, is her delicately powerful vocal. Velvet rich but capable of soaring effortlessly to stratospheric heights, it perfectly conveys the emotions with which the songs are liberally laced. Stylistically the songs are driven forward by Thorpe’s lyrical piano playing and are enhanced by a sympathetic production that never steps in the way of the music itself. Comparisons could be made to Tori Amos, Sarah McLachlan and a host of other female piano-playing singers but while there are some inevitable similarities these are merely by dint of the instrumentation employed. Thorpe, while skirting around the fringes of the accessible mainstream, remains distinct and distinctive. Trevor Raggatt, ROCK N REEL MAGAZINE, UK

Californian Singer-songwriter Adrina Thorpe’s debut album, Elusive, was a sunny collection of light toned pop songs beautifully sung by a talented performer. As the opening chords and lyrics of ‘Impossible Dream’ set the context for the songs to come, it becomes clear that her second release delves deeper beneath the surface of the psyche. ‘Flawed I am and flawed I will remain, broken since the day the package opened.’ Flawless, however, is her delicately powerful vocal. Velvet rich but capable of soaring effortlessly to stratospheric heights, it perfectly conveys the emotions with which the songs are liberally laced.
Stylistically the songs are driven forward by Thorpe’s lyrical piano playing and are enhanced by a sympathetic production that never steps in the way of the music itself. Comparisons could be made to Tori Amos, Sarah McLachlan and a host of other female piano-playing singers but while there are some inevitable similarities these are merely by dint of the instrumentation employed. Thorpe, while skirting around the fringes of the accessible mainstream, remains distinct and distinctive.
Trevor Raggatt, ROCK N REEL MAGAZINE, UK

]]> Fri, 07 May 2010 07:45:00 GMT 4CFDB77C01E97705966207F00F9F78BD http://adrinathorpe.com/press.cfm?feature=1381308&postid=274351 It’s been a while since a singer/storyteller has come around with great talent, great songwriting and great stories to tell. Well my friends, please help me welcome Adrina Thorpe, who’s captivating vocals and enchanting deftness on the keys are simply amazing and adept. Adrina has this beautiful angelic, breathy vocal approach that she matches so well with her keys that really paints a picture with each track and really makes her stories come alive. The pure honesty of Adrina’s songwriting adds heavily to the mix and can be heard throughout the record, whether the songs swing lightly or whether Adrina and her keys take you away to another place. “Midnight” explores Adrina’s hauntingly honeyed vocal style and is the first taste of Adrina’s serious songwriting capabilities. Shedding light in a shadowy instance, “Flavor,” brings forth Adrina’s powerful voice in a charming manner while the song itself rocks lightly for a nice blend. “Driving” tells a beautiful story about love and in this song, you can hear the joy and pain in Adrina’s voice which makes the song just immaculate. “Coming Home” somehow reminds me of those songs where you’ve been gone for a while and is now ready to commit to being homebound, just beautiful. Like delicate hands running through your hair after a long day, “Heal” captures that moment perfectly. Adrina shines in full on “Give You My Love,” which captures her essence, where her piano mastery will leave you breathless and her sweet angelic voice will take you on another journey into a lovely place where love is the only thing that can be found. Overall, Half Light & Shadows is a beautiful record with great songwriting, great songs, great production and great substance, like that perfect moment at the right time. Adrina’s talent is way beyond the great divide and I’m actually pretty surprised that majors haven’t picked up on this little goldmine of talent. Not only has Adrina Thorpe crafted a beautiful record, she’s also crafted a record that will definitely stand the test of time. This one is easily for fans of Sarah Mclachlan, Norah Jones, and Tori Amos. By: Gian Erguiza, FrantikMag By: Gian Erguiza, FrantikMag

]]> Fri, 07 May 2010 07:44:37 GMT EE9E846783814F258738865038418595 http://adrinathorpe.com/press.cfm?feature=1381308&postid=274350 Adrina Thorpe gained a great deal of popular attention from her debut album, Elusive, placing songs in shows from CW and Lifetime networks as well as independent films. Her song Who Will Find Me was proclaimed by DJ Armin Van Buuren to be "his favorite song of the last two years". Thorpe's follow-up CD, Halflight & Shadows, brings no sophomore slump for the performer whose songwriting walks the line between darkness and light. With an all-star band of cohorts including producer Filippo Gaetani; drummer Randy Cooke (Mick Jagger, Ringo Starr, Five For Fighting); cellist David Takahashi (Sting, Sheryl Crow, Kanye West); violinist Chris Woods (Justin Timberlake; Jessica Simpson) and drummer Fernando Sanchez (Luis Fonsi, Charlotte Martin), the classically trained Thorpe has managed to create a true aural experience for the listener. The blending of Classical, Folk and Rock styles dazzles with flashes of brilliance and magical undercurrents of melody and harmony. Halflight & Shadows opens with Impossible Dream, a mid-tempo ethereal rocker in the style of Sarah McLachlan. Thorpe has a stunning and haunting voice, in turns, occasionally affecting the style of McLachlan or even Tori Amos while carving out a niche that is mostly her own. Impossible Dream carries with it a lost and searching sense that fits the song perfectly. Midnight is a dark and mysterious love song with an interesting mix of instrumentation. You'll hear everything from piano to orchestration to electronic sounds; a gorgeous and haunting mix. Everything Changes is about letting go of a bad relationship and places some of the thought process in song. The song is lyrically dense at times in the verse which is balance by an ethereal yet economic chorus. Domino highlights the fact that once you know the truth your options are pretty limited. The song is gorgeous and dark and full of a barely contained anger that struggles with the narrator's good nature. This one sounds like it could be a Tori Amos outtake, with a piano style reflective of Amos' work and a vocal style that's almost dead on at times. Driving finds Thorpe in a place that is dark, vulnerable and full of need. The tune is unforgettable, halting and striving in turns with the turn of emotion that drives the narrator. The car ride is simply an encapsulation for a journey the narrator is consumed with. Coming Home is a song about running from what you need; sometimes when the prodigal child returns home facts have changed and people have moved on; A powerful and emotive track with a lush sound. Walk is very much reflecting of Sarah McLachlan's earlier work. Dark and stormy and full of volatile emotions, Walk reflects a primitive beauty at war with need. Moment To End is probably the most beautiful vocal on the disc; the song gets caught up in the obsessive nature of the moment and repeats the title until it nearly hits a breaking point for the listener. This is either a miscalculation or an attempt to instill the sort of cognitive and emotional dissonance in the listener that the narrator feels. Kiss The Day is a highly melodic and vaguely ethereal Lilith Fair Pop-Rocker. The subject is a bit convoluted but it's sonically pleasing. Give You My Love is a sweet and open love song that holds no hidden traps or equivocations. It's a refreshingly honest and pure love song set to a haltingly beautiful melody line. Thorpe closes out the set with Seed, a six-minute piano and voice odyssey that's part epoch poem and part journal entry. Thorpe keeps listeners on the edge of their seat as she unfolds a story, spoken to another, about the prospects for love, life and happiness. The vocal is drop-dead gorgeous in a song that sounds like it could be the introduction to a stage show. This is the sort of tune that unfolds in concert to utter, unbreakable silence that explodes into a cacophony of applause at the end. It's the perfect close to the album. Adrina Thorpe is an amazing songwriter. She's obviously been influenced by folks like Sarah McLachlan, Tori Amos and even perhaps Kate Bush. You can hear these influences in her music but at the same time Thorpe has taken those influences and wrapped them up with her own personality and style to create something distinctive. Hers is a voice that would stop people on the streets of a place like New York City, and the arrangements she crafts are perfect frames and backgrounds for the stories she tells in her songs. Halflight & Shadows is brilliant; a Wildy's World Certified Desert Island Disc. Don't miss it. Rating: 5 Stars (Out of 5) Wildy - wildysworld.blogspot.com
Halflight & Shadows opens with Impossible Dream, a mid-tempo ethereal rocker in the style of Sarah McLachlan. Thorpe has a stunning and haunting voice, in turns, occasionally affecting the style of McLachlan or even Tori Amos while carving out a niche that is mostly her own. Impossible Dream carries with it a lost and searching sense that fits the song perfectly. Midnight is a dark and mysterious love song with an interesting mix of instrumentation. You'll hear everything from piano to orchestration to electronic sounds; a gorgeous and haunting mix. Everything Changes is about letting go of a bad relationship and places some of the thought process in song. The song is lyrically dense at times in the verse which is balance by an ethereal yet economic chorus.

Domino highlights the fact that once you know the truth your options are pretty limited. The song is gorgeous and dark and full of a barely contained anger that struggles with the narrator's good nature. This one sounds like it could be a Tori Amos outtake, with a piano style reflective of Amos' work and a vocal style that's almost dead on at times. Driving finds Thorpe in a place that is dark, vulnerable and full of need. The tune is unforgettable, halting and striving in turns with the turn of emotion that drives the narrator. The car ride is simply an encapsulation for a journey the narrator is consumed with. Coming Home is a song about running from what you need; sometimes when the prodigal child returns home facts have changed and people have moved on; A powerful and emotive track with a lush sound.

Walk is very much reflecting of Sarah McLachlan's earlier work. Dark and stormy and full of volatile emotions, Walk reflects a primitive beauty at war with need. Moment To End is probably the most beautiful vocal on the disc; the song gets caught up in the obsessive nature of the moment and repeats the title until it nearly hits a breaking point for the listener. This is either a miscalculation or an attempt to instill the sort of cognitive and emotional dissonance in the listener that the narrator feels. Kiss The Day is a highly melodic and vaguely ethereal Lilith Fair Pop-Rocker. The subject is a bit convoluted but it's sonically pleasing. Give You My Love is a sweet and open love song that holds no hidden traps or equivocations. It's a refreshingly honest and pure love song set to a haltingly beautiful melody line. Thorpe closes out the set with Seed, a six-minute piano and voice odyssey that's part epoch poem and part journal entry. Thorpe keeps listeners on the edge of their seat as she unfolds a story, spoken to another, about the prospects for love, life and happiness. The vocal is drop-dead gorgeous in a song that sounds like it could be the introduction to a stage show. This is the sort of tune that unfolds in concert to utter, unbreakable silence that explodes into a cacophony of applause at the end. It's the perfect close to the album.

Adrina Thorpe is an amazing songwriter. She's obviously been influenced by folks like Sarah McLachlan, Tori Amos and even perhaps Kate Bush. You can hear these influences in her music but at the same time Thorpe has taken those influences and wrapped them up with her own personality and style to create something distinctive. Hers is a voice that would stop people on the streets of a place like New York City, and the arrangements she crafts are perfect frames and backgrounds for the stories she tells in her songs. Halflight & Shadows is brilliant; a Wildy's World Certified Desert Island Disc. Don't miss it.

Rating: 5 Stars (Out of 5)

Wildy - wildysworld.blogspot.com
]]> Fri, 07 May 2010 07:43:49 GMT 990FC43B74A8DCFA48B28D08C1A6616D http://adrinathorpe.com/press.cfm?feature=1381308&postid=274349 Combining Enya-like ethereal vocals with a Tori Amos-like command of the keys, Adrina Thorpe offers positive tunes of love gone right. She draws the listener in and then captures them with lyrics and music that are both mesmerizing and spellbinding. Thorpe’s mastery of the keys is comparable to Sarah McLachlan and Norah Jones, while her breathy, airy vocal style is reminiscent of Enya and Leigh Nash of Sixpence None the Richer. The addition of Takahashi complements the keys and completes the picture painted by Thorpe’s simple lyrics and upbeat tunes. Thorpe played to a small but attentive audience, and her childlike innocence was apparent in dreamy tunes that relaxed and calmed. She connected by telling stories of love and happiness, while she weaved an intricate web both musically and lyrically. Thorpe performed not only songs from her current project, but several new tunes as well. The beauty of Thorpe’s music was most apparent during the three songs she added, especially the dreamy “Round the Bend.” Thorpe’s entire performance showed that she had the charisma needed to succeed. Adrina Thorpe is destined for bigger and better things and could well lead the next generation of pianists/storytellers. She has unlimited potential and seems poised to take Southern California while she’s in town. Don’t pass up the opportunity to catch this dynamic artist as she performs throughout the Southland. Music Connection Magazine, Bob Leggett
Thorpe’s mastery of the keys is comparable to Sarah McLachlan and Norah Jones, while her breathy, airy vocal style is reminiscent of Enya and Leigh Nash of Sixpence None the Richer. The addition of Takahashi complements the keys and completes the picture painted by Thorpe’s simple lyrics and upbeat tunes.

Thorpe played to a small but attentive audience, and her childlike innocence was apparent in dreamy tunes that relaxed and calmed. She connected by telling stories of love and happiness, while she weaved an intricate web both musically and lyrically. Thorpe performed not only songs from her current project, but several new tunes as well. The beauty of Thorpe’s music was most apparent during the three songs she added, especially the dreamy “Round the Bend.” Thorpe’s entire performance showed that she had the charisma needed to succeed.

Adrina Thorpe is destined for bigger and better things and could well lead the next generation of pianists/storytellers. She has unlimited potential and seems poised to take Southern California while she’s in town. Don’t pass up the opportunity to catch this dynamic artist as she performs throughout the Southland.

Music Connection Magazine, Bob Leggett
]]> Fri, 07 May 2010 07:41:59 GMT 8822BC8B8FBCD296E75B70B297D566AE http://adrinathorpe.com/press.cfm?feature=1381308&postid=274348 Caught in the Carousel, Alex Green "Flawed I am and flawed I will remain/Broken since the day the package opened," sings Adrina Thorpe on her sophomore effort Halflight And Shadows. Concerned with everything from the mistakes we make to the way we change our minds in the middle of the night, Thorpe's new collection is stirring stuff. Armed with a voice that is positively exquisite, Thorpe makes her emotional precision look easy. There are sweeping pop numbers ("Impossible Dream," "Everything Changes") gorgeous ballads (the cello-powered "Driving" and "Give You My Love") and breezy synth-fueled tracks ("Midnight"). A classically trained musician, Thorpe's instrumentations are sophisticated and her voice deserves to be uttered in the same sentence as Sarah McLachlan. Elsewhere, "Seed" is a crushing meditation about love; "Kiss The Day" is breezy and devastating and "Heal" aches beautifully away. "Find the way we're meant to be," Thorpe sings. Hard not to imagine a line around the block of gentleman with extensive blueprints. —Alex Green, Caught in the Carousel (www.caughtinthecarousel.com) "Flawed I am and flawed I will remain/Broken since the day the package opened," sings Adrina Thorpe on her sophomore effort Halflight And Shadows. Concerned with everything from the mistakes we make to the way we change our minds in the middle of the night, Thorpe's new collection is stirring stuff. Armed with a voice that is positively exquisite, Thorpe makes her emotional precision look easy. There are sweeping pop numbers ("Impossible Dream," "Everything Changes") gorgeous ballads (the cello-powered "Driving" and "Give You My Love") and breezy synth-fueled tracks ("Midnight"). A classically trained musician, Thorpe's instrumentations are sophisticated and her voice deserves to be uttered in the same sentence as Sarah McLachlan. Elsewhere, "Seed" is a crushing meditation about love; "Kiss The Day" is breezy and devastating and "Heal" aches beautifully away. "Find the way we're meant to be," Thorpe sings. Hard not to imagine a line around the block of gentleman with extensive blueprints.

—Alex Green, Caught in the Carousel (www.caughtinthecarousel.com)

]]> Fri, 07 May 2010 07:39:04 GMT D76A7EEAF80183BF27609F865C1B3E3D http://adrinathorpe.com/press.cfm?feature=1381308&postid=274347 On Elusive, Californian singer-songwriter Adrina Thorpe delivers an impressive debut album, packed with thoughtful songs that are beautifully written, beautifully arranged, beautifully performed and beautifully sung. Drawing deep from the well of a host of great singer-songwriters, from Carole King through to Tori Amos, Thorpe succeeds without ever freefalling into the all too common trap of imitation. Rather, the album portrays a noble interplay of heritage and influence, and it’s to startling effect. Musically, the songs range from intimate piano ballads, with their hints of her classical training, to more up-tempo pop songs, whilst lyrically touching on the all-encompassing concerns of life and spirituality. Opener Fly Fly Fly is a slice of well-crafted pop, boasting the creamy production skills of Dave Bassett (Lisa Loeb, Jane Wiedlin) and Phil Swann (Lee Ann Womack), kicking the album off in uplifting fashion. The remaining nine songs then ebb and flow through moods and experiences ranging from the difficulties of being seen as more than just a daughter in More Than Seventeen, through loss and regret (Wistful, Sorry and Correction – the latter finding Thorpe in dependable Sarah McLachlan piano ballad mode, not surprising given that the Lilith era figurehead is Adrina's musical idol), to hope and redemptive love in Elusive, Never Meant and With Hope. In the album’s gentler moments, Thorpe’s delicate piano playing weaves memorable harmonies and melodies around the poignant and heartfelt words, before soaring above the tight full band arrangements on the bouncier numbers. Though her vocals are both pure and clear, they bear an attractive hint of breathiness that makes for a very intimate sound. The production is entirely complementary to both the singer and songs, with the vocals sitting forward in the mix but still meshing well with the backing. Having been composing since the age of six, Thorpe has had plenty of time to get her debut just so, and indeed it is a strong start, made all the more impressive for being independently produced. With lots more songs where these came from, Thorpe looks set to have a long and prosperous career. Wears the Trousers (thetrousers.co.uk) - Trevor Raggatt delivers an impressive debut album, packed with thoughtful
songs that are beautifully written, beautifully arranged,
beautifully performed and beautifully sung. Drawing deep
from the well of a host of great singer-songwriters, from
Carole King through to Tori Amos, Thorpe succeeds without
ever freefalling into the all too common trap of imitation.
Rather, the album portrays a noble interplay of heritage
and influence, and it’s to startling effect. Musically, the
songs range from intimate piano ballads, with their hints of
her classical training, to more up-tempo pop songs, whilst
lyrically touching on the all-encompassing concerns of life
and spirituality.

Opener Fly Fly Fly is a slice of well-crafted pop, boasting
the creamy production skills of Dave Bassett (Lisa Loeb,
Jane Wiedlin) and Phil Swann (Lee Ann Womack), kicking
the album off in uplifting fashion. The remaining nine songs
then ebb and flow through moods and experiences ranging
from the difficulties of being seen as more than just a
daughter in More Than Seventeen, through loss and regret
(Wistful, Sorry and Correction – the latter finding Thorpe
in dependable Sarah McLachlan piano ballad mode, not
surprising given that the Lilith era figurehead is Adrina's
musical idol), to hope and redemptive love in Elusive,
Never Meant and With Hope.

In the album’s gentler moments, Thorpe’s delicate piano
playing weaves memorable harmonies and melodies around
the poignant and heartfelt words, before soaring above
the tight full band arrangements on the bouncier numbers.
Though her vocals are both pure and clear, they bear an
attractive hint of breathiness that makes for a very
intimate sound. The production is entirely complementary
to both the singer and songs, with the vocals sitting
forward in the mix but still meshing well with the backing.

Having been composing since the age of six, Thorpe has
had plenty of time to get her debut just so, and indeed it
is a strong start, made all the more impressive for being
independently produced. With lots more songs where
these came from, Thorpe looks set to have a long and
prosperous career.

Wears the Trousers (thetrousers.co.uk) - Trevor Raggatt

]]> Fri, 07 May 2010 07:37:37 GMT 56FB1F617B6ECA303D5D759E531A8C3C http://adrinathorpe.com/press.cfm?feature=1381308&postid=274342 Mason & Hamlin Grand Piano, Childhood Friend Of Pianist/Songwriter Adrina Thorpe Adrina Thorpe, a classically trained musician and now a singer songwriter, has a new record coming out in August. Halflight and Shadows is her second effort, with songs being collected over a period of years. It is a concept record with the songs themed around light, dakrk, day, night, shadows et al. She has worked with the likes of DJ Shah and Armin Van Buuren. Thorpe, as a pianist, was a natural to talk to Gearwire about the grand piano. She uses a Mason & Hamlin grand. First off, we wanted to know what makes a great grand piano. “I really like it to have deep resonant tones within it, leaning more towards the darker rounded tones, rich and capable of creating bell like brilliantly warm tones when struck properly,” she says. “Add to that a delicate sparkle on the top end in the higher registers, but not too brassy or clangy (not like Yamaha and Kawai ones I’ve played. . . yuck). I like touch of the keys that are middle of the road -- not too responsive or too tight -- so you can work its sound and bring out exactly what you need. Overall, the piano must have a darker richer tone in its lower and mid register notes, so that it can be full and alive, yet with bell-like brilliance.” Well, there goes that Yamaha or Kawai endorsement deal! But how does her actual choice, the Mason & Hamlin exemplify these traits? “To a tee,” she says. Thorpe, literally, grew up with the piano. “I think it trained me to know what I like in a piano. Here’s a little history: my birth father picked out this piano long before I existed," says Thorpe. “When I was just a week old, he held me on his lap and played for me. He passed away when I was three weeks old, but that piano and I just fit so well and we grew up together.” She says the single best feature of the piano is its richness of tone. She says the tone is “like dark chocolate.” She says there are a few things she might alter about the piano. “Yeah, we had some issues. But I think it was mainly due to our piano needing some special loving care, as it is getting rather old (it’s from the 20’s, I believe),” she says. “Our problem was this: when we had it tuned, one day later, it went about 1/8 to 1/16th of a note flat all over. Why it didn’t want to stick we didn’t know. And of course we didn’t realize it until after we had recorded piano and vocals on a couple songs. . . a few of the songs [on the record] are in a special key that I will name as my own (wink). Then there was the squeaky pedal. But all that just adds to the charm.” What about recording? With all the software out there isn’t it easier just to fake it? Why use a grand to record? “Oh, because the brilliance you get and the realism makes everything else come alive in a much grander way. Like you can almost touch it, it’s as real as homemade pressed parchment paper held in your hands.” says Thorpe. “I’ve always been disappointed by anything other than real. I call them ‘fake pianos.’ But, I now confess, I really don’t know much about using them, nor have I analyzed them up close. My producer did use a piano sample library for a few songs, however, because we got such a good take on my rough scratch versions done with my midi keyboard that we thought, let’s just keep this take. And the sounds used were surprisingly. . . OK. “ While answering Gearwire's questions Thorpe was looking up info on her piano and found some facts that she didn’t know about her old friend. “No wonder I love my piano. The Mason & Hamlin brand are hand-built, with a unique "Crown Retention System" which preserves the original power and tone of the pianos from even the late 19th Century to this day, and they are the most costly piano to construct, with every part being the highest quality possible. For example, the thickest rims in the industry built from 18-ply hard rock maple. Being born with this piano in the house, it was all I knew, and going from piano competitions to piano competitions as a child, I never found another piano I liked to play as much as my own. She says other grands she has played have been disappointing. “Brassy, clanging, like the musical equivalent of strobe lights, or dull sounding, like playing on cardboard. Then there are just the plain Jane workhorse pianos. They do the job, but they don’t inspire. Their brilliance is lacking. Their depth is gone. What can I say, I’m biased. There are a few exceptions however. I did enjoy playing a Boesendorfer once, and one very foggy-sounding piano back at my college that sounded like cotton fuzz and was uniquely amazing; you always felt like you were playing on a rainy day. And then there’s one special piano I’d really like to locate: the one Coldplay plays. Even if it turns out to be a Yamaha or a ‘fake piano’, I’d convert to the dark side. It sounds out of this world.” Thorpe’s CD release party will take place August 10 at Hotel Café in Los Angeles at 7pm. She will be opening for Chantal Kreviazuk, one of her musical heroes. More shows will follow. Patrick Ogle - Gearwire
Adrina Thorpe, a classically trained musician and now a singer songwriter, has a new record coming out in August. Halflight and Shadows is her second effort, with songs being collected over a period of years. It is a concept record with the songs themed around light, dakrk, day, night, shadows et al. She has worked with the likes of DJ Shah and Armin Van Buuren.
Thorpe, as a pianist, was a natural to talk to Gearwire about the grand piano. She uses a Mason & Hamlin grand. First off, we wanted to know what makes a great grand piano.
“I really like it to have deep resonant tones within it, leaning more towards the darker rounded tones, rich and capable of creating bell like brilliantly warm tones when struck properly,” she says. “Add to that a delicate sparkle on the top end in the higher registers, but not too brassy or clangy (not like Yamaha and Kawai ones I’ve played. . . yuck). I like touch of the keys that are middle of the road -- not too responsive or too tight -- so you can work its sound and bring out exactly what you need. Overall, the piano must have a darker richer tone in its lower and mid register notes, so that it can be full and alive, yet with bell-like brilliance.”
Well, there goes that Yamaha or Kawai endorsement deal!
But how does her actual choice, the Mason & Hamlin exemplify these traits?
“To a tee,” she says.
Thorpe, literally, grew up with the piano.
“I think it trained me to know what I like in a piano. Here’s a little history: my birth father picked out this piano long before I existed," says Thorpe. “When I was just a week old, he held me on his lap and played for me. He passed away when I was three weeks old, but that piano and I just fit so well and we grew up together.”
She says the single best feature of the piano is its richness of tone. She says the tone is “like dark chocolate.”
She says there are a few things she might alter about the piano.
“Yeah, we had some issues. But I think it was mainly due to our piano needing some special loving care, as it is getting rather old (it’s from the 20’s, I believe),” she says. “Our problem was this: when we had it tuned, one day later, it went about 1/8 to 1/16th of a note flat all over. Why it didn’t want to stick we didn’t know. And of course we didn’t realize it until after we had recorded piano and vocals on a couple songs. . . a few of the songs [on the record] are in a special key that I will name as my own (wink). Then there was the squeaky pedal. But all that just adds to the charm.”
What about recording? With all the software out there isn’t it easier just to fake it? Why use a grand to record?
“Oh, because the brilliance you get and the realism makes everything else come alive in a much grander way. Like you can almost touch it, it’s as real as homemade pressed parchment paper held in your hands.” says Thorpe. “I’ve always been disappointed by anything other than real. I call them ‘fake pianos.’ But, I now confess, I really don’t know much about using them, nor have I analyzed them up close. My producer did use a piano sample library for a few songs, however, because we got such a good take on my rough scratch versions done with my midi keyboard that we thought, let’s just keep this take. And the sounds used were surprisingly. . . OK. “
While answering Gearwire's questions Thorpe was looking up info on her piano and found some facts that she didn’t know about her old friend.
“No wonder I love my piano. The Mason & Hamlin brand are hand-built, with a unique "Crown Retention System" which preserves the original power and tone of the pianos from even the late 19th Century to this day, and they are the most costly piano to construct, with every part being the highest quality possible. For example, the thickest rims in the industry built from 18-ply hard rock maple. Being born with this piano in the house, it was all I knew, and going from piano competitions to piano competitions as a child, I never found another piano I liked to play as much as my own.
She says other grands she has played have been disappointing.
“Brassy, clanging, like the musical equivalent of strobe lights, or dull sounding, like playing on cardboard. Then there are just the plain Jane workhorse pianos. They do the job, but they don’t inspire. Their brilliance is lacking. Their depth is gone. What can I say, I’m biased. There are a few exceptions however. I did enjoy playing a Boesendorfer once, and one very foggy-sounding piano back at my college that sounded like cotton fuzz and was uniquely amazing; you always felt like you were playing on a rainy day. And then there’s one special piano I’d really like to locate: the one Coldplay plays. Even if it turns out to be a Yamaha or a ‘fake piano’, I’d convert to the dark side. It sounds out of this world.”
Thorpe’s CD release party will take place August 10 at Hotel Café in Los Angeles at 7pm. She will be opening for Chantal Kreviazuk, one of her musical heroes. More shows will follow.

Patrick Ogle - Gearwire

]]> Fri, 07 May 2010 07:35:00 GMT 686BB9CB87310C031F13CCA5E148AF7D http://adrinathorpe.com/press.cfm?feature=1381308&postid=274340 Adrina Thorpe is often compared to Tori Amos, Sarah McLachlan and countless other songstresses; and though her style is certainly similar, Adrina stands apart. She is a classically trained pianist and her masterful skills are evident throughout her second album, Halflight & Shadows. But despite her musical expertise, her lyrics show her vulnerable side, as she is unafraid to sing about heartache, breakups, and other issues that make us human. My favorite song is "Everything Changes," which starts with a light piano melody similar to Vanessa Carlton's style and builds up to a climactic chorus. "Moment to End" is another treasure and sounds like it could easily be the theme song to a classic Disney movie. The album description on her website states, "Halflight & Shadows illuminates the eternal struggle of light against the darkness and the yearning that each of us faces everyday, the quest for a beautiful life." Adrina's music, with her delicately enchanting voice, helps to find the light amidst all that darkness. C. Wolkoff – Kiwibox.com
My favorite song is "Everything Changes," which starts with a light piano melody similar to Vanessa Carlton's style and builds up to a climactic chorus. "Moment to End" is another treasure and sounds like it could easily be the theme song to a classic Disney movie.

The album description on her website states, "Halflight & Shadows illuminates the eternal struggle of light against the darkness and the yearning that each of us faces everyday, the quest for a beautiful life." Adrina's music, with her delicately enchanting voice, helps to find the light amidst all that darkness.

C. Wolkoff – Kiwibox.com

]]> Fri, 07 May 2010 07:32:53 GMT AC491358DCFC12B7AFB26E6FC62CF0B9 http://adrinathorpe.com/press.cfm?feature=1381308&postid=274341 It’s no secret – there is no one formula to being an exceptional writer. Some excel with humor, others with realism and honesty, more with storytelling ability and others with incredible attention to beautiful detail. Myself? I’ve always considered myself a real and honest writer – to the point. I however find myself jealous of writers like our latest feature, Adrina Thorpe – a writer capable of not only great story telling, but painting beautiful pictures as well. Lyrics so good, that she’s reserved every right to brag about them if she so chooses (you can see them for yourself at http://halflightandshadows.com/lyrics.html). It’s the backdrop for her latest album, “Halflight & Shadows”. It’s a collection close to the heart of Thorpe – just listen to her elucidate on it: “Expect a lot of dark songs that break your heart. Expect to be real about emotions dealing with life’s difficulties, life’s complications. Expect to see how someone battles brokenness to find beauty amidst chaos.” She continues on about the content of the record, “This is an album that deals with the concepts of dealing with life in all its imperfections. Self help? I didn’t intend it that way. More like a diary that progresses through concepts.” As you might expect, a live concert with Adrina Thorpe is an emotional experience. You’ll find yourself in just as deep as she plays from song to song. She’ll be at Hotel Café on the 10th for her CD release party of “Halflight & Shadows” so check it out, and pick up the album. There’s a lot more to learn below, so read on for the answers to the XXQ’s. XXQs: Adrina Thorpe PensEyeView.com (PEV): What goes through your head the minute you walk onto stage? Adrina Thorpe (AT): Elation, terror, thrill, anxiety, excitement, apprehension, emotion, peace, lost in the music, uh oh… thoughts about various audience members, trying to adjust my microphone stand and pedal during a complicated chorus, relief that I adjusted it without falling down, clapping, elation, and I want to do it all over again. That’s the entire show. I am an overkill answerer… Well, maybe I exaggerated a little about the terror part. But it was exciting, was it not? PEV: Hailing from Southern, California, what kind of music where you listening to growing up? When did you find the love for music? AT: I listened to classical music, because that’s all my parents played. Then, I gradually discovered other styles. My love of music began at 4 when I played my first song by ear and 6 when I wrote my first song. I think my love for music has always been there. PEV: You said, “Emptiness inspires me. Silence beckons me, thrills me, fills me with ideas. I love to write.” With that, what kind of environment do you have to be in to work? AT: Most of my songs were written while driving in my car in silence along the freeway. All of a sudden, a song just hits me. I have no method to record it except to send myself a voicemail message. :) Some are written while showering. Or, occasionally they’ll come while I’m playing the piano. Most are unintentional. And only a few were written based off lyrics. I am a melody first kind of girl. But the melody and lyrics come spontaneously with a more dominant melody than lyric. If you’re a songwriter, this will make sense. By the way, even with music as my first inspiration, I’m more proud of my lyrics than I’ve ever been. They feel like poetry to me. You can read them here: http://halflightandshadows.com/lyrics.html (please do!) PEV: What can fans expect from a live Adrina Thorpe show? AT: Well, bring some tissues. Perhaps you can pay me your therapist’s bill. You may get just my piano, and me or add a cellist, or if lucky, full band… depends on the day and venue. PEV: Tell us about your first live performance. How have you changed since that first show to where you are now? AT: My first live performance… I was 4. I had a dance performance where I had a choreographed butterfly dance. At the last minute, I ditched all the choreography and made up a new dance in front of the audience. That’s me. Now I try to stick to the script a little more though. PEV: What can fans expect from your sophomore album, "Halflight and Shadows"? AT: Expect a lot of dark songs that break your heart. Expect to be real about emotions dealing with life’s difficulties, life’s complications. Expect to see how someone battles brokenness to find beauty amidst chaos. Expect to be taken on a journey. Expect to find light at the end of the tunnel… (there are some happy songs on the album). In fact, they go from dark to light, from gloomy and broken and lost to transformation to found to joy. PEV: How is this album different from other albums out today? AT: Well, a lot of albums are just collections of songs about relationships with the opposite sex. This is an album that deals with the concepts of dealing with life in all its imperfections. Self help? I didn’t intend it that way. More like a diary that progresses through concepts. And it really is meant to be more than something to listen to on the road. It’s meant to be something that takes you down a new road. PEV: What is the story behind the name of the album, "Halflight and Shadows"? AT: I started noticing that nearly every song had some word about light and/or dark in it. And they progress along a journey from dark to light. Here are little snippets from each song, quoted for you to see (they took up too much space for the interview itself): http://adrinathorpe.blogspot.com And here are the full lyrics, which show the journey I’m trying to convey: http://halflightandshadows.com/lyrics.html I never intended to do a thematic album, mind you. But it grew itself. PEV: Where do you feel you will be ten years from now? AT: Old, wrinkled, and ugly… Just kidding! I hope not! Hopefully I’ll have had some nice songs played around, and toured the world once. Hope I’ve had a hit or two, and now I’ll kick back, enjoy life, learn to cook and let music be background to life. Maybe write for other people. I doubt I’ll be a superstar. But I have never guessed or predicted any of the elements in my life correctly to this point. So, life leaves many surprises for me and you… let’s wait and see. I know the future always holds pain and pleasure. So, be stocked up on your Vicodin and keep a camera handy, just to be prepared for whatever comes. PEV: What’s one thing we’d be surprised to hear about you? AT: One thing? Only one? Ok. I used to be many of the stuffed characters at Disneyland. (They will kill me if they hear this got out… you’re forced to vow to secrecy on this so they won’t ruin the magic for little kids. But, come on! Everybody knows. Besides, little children who believe in this stuff can’t read.) So, anyway… yes, I was Chip, Dale, Winnie the Pooh, Roger Rabbit, Goofie’s son, Dark Wing Duck, the Hunchback of Notre Dame, and even Pinocchio for one day. I was bummed I never got to be a girl character. And whenever my photo was taken, I smiled, even though no one saw my face. And I thought to myself… someday if I were famous, people would have pictures with me and not even know it! Every time I made an autograph for someone, or was mobbed by a crowd, I thought of it as practice for the future, just in case (if I ever autograph a CD for someone with the name Dark Wing Duck, you will now know why…). PEV: Was there a certain point in your life when you knew that music was going to be a career for you and you were determined to make it happen? AT: In 2004 when I realized that all jobs bored me to tears and I kept writing melodies at work… I decided to give it a try seriously, even though I knew that it is in no way lucrative. PEV: What one word best describes Adrina Thorpe? AT: Spontaneous PEV: Traveling is now a large part of your life. How is life on the road for you? Best and worst parts? Any fun stories? AT: Actually, I haven’t traveled at all worth mentioning. Yet. PEV: Tracks from Elusive were featured on TV networks CW and Lifetime, as well as in several independent films. What was it like to see your music put to someone else’s visions? AT: Weird. I found they put songs places where I wouldn’t have put them. I had two songs used that I would have switched entirely as it seemed the words didn’t fit the storyline. And this all happened after I was advised by a music supervisor at a conference to never send music unless it is relevant to the story. I realized relevance is based entirely on perspective. PEV: How have all your friends and family reacted to your musical career? What’s it like when you get to play at your hometown? AT: My friends and family are incredibly supportive, and it is a blessing. I love playing in my hometown… it’s just so easy. PEV: What can we find you doing in your spare time, aside from performing? AT: Being normal. Then being weird. Then switching back to normal again. And it continues. PEV: Is there one artist or group that would be your dream collaboration? Why? AT: Sarah Mclachlan (she’s my musical hero, and I always wish her the very best in life) PEV: Is there an up and coming band or artist you think we should all be looking out for now? AT: Jeremy Lister (Listen to his song, “Hostage.” Instant chills.) PEV: If playing/writing music was not your career, what would you most likely be doing? AT: I have no idea. Maybe being an interior designer? Definitely having a family. PEV: So, what is next for Adrina Thorpe? AT: Only God really knows that. Guess we’ll all have to wait and see! Oh, wait, did you mean for my entire future? Or in the next couple of weeks? On August 10th, at 7pm I’ll be playing at the Hotel Café, in Los Angeles. Hope to see you there! And I think I’m getting ready to start writing again…just maybe. It’s a collection close to the heart of Thorpe – just listen to her elucidate on it: “Expect a lot of dark songs that break your heart. Expect to be real about emotions dealing with life’s difficulties, life’s complications. Expect to see how someone battles brokenness to find beauty amidst chaos.” She continues on about the content of the record, “This is an album that deals with the concepts of dealing with life in all its imperfections. Self help? I didn’t intend it that way. More like a diary that progresses through concepts.”
As you might expect, a live concert with Adrina Thorpe is an emotional experience. You’ll find yourself in just as deep as she plays from song to song. She’ll be at Hotel Café on the 10th for her CD release party of “Halflight & Shadows” so check it out, and pick up the album. There’s a lot more to learn below, so read on for the answers to the XXQ’s.
XXQs: Adrina Thorpe
PensEyeView.com (PEV): What goes through your head the minute you walk onto stage?
Adrina Thorpe (AT): Elation, terror, thrill, anxiety, excitement, apprehension, emotion, peace, lost in the music, uh oh… thoughts about various audience members, trying to adjust my microphone stand and pedal during a complicated chorus, relief that I adjusted it without falling down, clapping, elation, and I want to do it all over again.
That’s the entire show. I am an overkill answerer… Well, maybe I exaggerated a little about the terror part. But it was exciting, was it not?
PEV: Hailing from Southern, California, what kind of music where you listening to growing up? When did you find the love for music?
AT: I listened to classical music, because that’s all my parents played. Then, I gradually discovered other styles. My love of music began at 4 when I played my first song by ear and 6 when I wrote my first song. I think my love for music has always been there.
PEV: You said, “Emptiness inspires me. Silence beckons me, thrills me, fills me with ideas. I love to write.” With that, what kind of environment do you have to be in to work?
AT: Most of my songs were written while driving in my car in silence along the freeway. All of a sudden, a song just hits me. I have no method to record it except to send myself a voicemail message. :) Some are written while showering. Or, occasionally they’ll come while I’m playing the piano. Most are unintentional. And only a few were written based off lyrics. I am a melody first kind of girl. But the melody and lyrics come spontaneously with a more dominant melody than lyric. If you’re a songwriter, this will make sense.
By the way, even with music as my first inspiration, I’m more proud of my lyrics than I’ve ever been. They feel like poetry to me. You can read them here: http://halflightandshadows.com/lyrics.html (please do!)
PEV: What can fans expect from a live Adrina Thorpe show?
AT: Well, bring some tissues. Perhaps you can pay me your therapist’s bill. You may get just my piano, and me or add a cellist, or if lucky, full band… depends on the day and venue.
PEV: Tell us about your first live performance. How have you changed since that first show to where you are now?
AT: My first live performance… I was 4. I had a dance performance where I had a choreographed butterfly dance. At the last minute, I ditched all the choreography and made up a new dance in front of the audience. That’s me. Now I try to stick to the script a little more though.
PEV: What can fans expect from your sophomore album, "Halflight and Shadows"?
AT: Expect a lot of dark songs that break your heart. Expect to be real about emotions dealing with life’s difficulties, life’s complications. Expect to see how someone battles brokenness to find beauty amidst chaos. Expect to be taken on a journey. Expect to find light at the end of the tunnel… (there are some happy songs on the album). In fact, they go from dark to light, from gloomy and broken and lost to transformation to found to joy.
PEV: How is this album different from other albums out today?

AT: Well, a lot of albums are just collections of songs about relationships with the opposite sex. This is an album that deals with the concepts of dealing with life in all its imperfections. Self help? I didn’t intend it that way. More like a diary that progresses through concepts. And it really is meant to be more than something to listen to on the road. It’s meant to be something that takes you down a new road.
PEV: What is the story behind the name of the album, "Halflight and Shadows"?
AT: I started noticing that nearly every song had some word about light and/or dark in it. And they progress along a journey from dark to light. Here are little snippets from each song, quoted for you to see (they took up too much space for the interview itself): http://adrinathorpe.blogspot.com
And here are the full lyrics, which show the journey I’m trying to convey: http://halflightandshadows.com/lyrics.html I never intended to do a thematic album, mind you. But it grew itself.
PEV: Where do you feel you will be ten years from now?
AT: Old, wrinkled, and ugly… Just kidding! I hope not! Hopefully I’ll have had some nice songs played around, and toured the world once. Hope I’ve had a hit or two, and now I’ll kick back, enjoy life, learn to cook and let music be background to life. Maybe write for other people. I doubt I’ll be a superstar. But I have never guessed or predicted any of the elements in my life correctly to this point. So, life leaves many surprises for me and you… let’s wait and see. I know the future always holds pain and pleasure. So, be stocked up on your Vicodin and keep a camera handy, just to be prepared for whatever comes.
PEV: What’s one thing we’d be surprised to hear about you?
AT: One thing? Only one? Ok. I used to be many of the stuffed characters at Disneyland. (They will kill me if they hear this got out… you’re forced to vow to secrecy on this so they won’t ruin the magic for little kids. But, come on! Everybody knows. Besides, little children who believe in this stuff can’t read.) So, anyway… yes, I was Chip, Dale, Winnie the Pooh, Roger Rabbit, Goofie’s son, Dark Wing Duck, the Hunchback of Notre Dame, and even Pinocchio for one day. I was bummed I never got to be a girl character. And whenever my photo was taken, I smiled, even though no one saw my face. And I thought to myself… someday if I were famous, people would have pictures with me and not even know it! Every time I made an autograph for someone, or was mobbed by a crowd, I thought of it as practice for the future, just in case (if I ever autograph a CD for someone with the name Dark Wing Duck, you will now know why…).
PEV: Was there a certain point in your life when you knew that music was going to be a career for you and you were determined to make it happen?
AT: In 2004 when I realized that all jobs bored me to tears and I kept writing melodies at work… I decided to give it a try seriously, even though I knew that it is in no way lucrative.
PEV: What one word best describes Adrina Thorpe?
AT: Spontaneous
PEV: Traveling is now a large part of your life. How is life on the road for you? Best and worst parts? Any fun stories?
AT: Actually, I haven’t traveled at all worth mentioning. Yet.
PEV: Tracks from Elusive were featured on TV networks CW and Lifetime, as well as in several independent films. What was it like to see your music put to someone else’s visions?
AT: Weird. I found they put songs places where I wouldn’t have put them. I had two songs used that I would have switched entirely as it seemed the words didn’t fit the storyline. And this all happened after I was advised by a music supervisor at a conference to never send music unless it is relevant to the story. I realized relevance is based entirely on perspective.
PEV: How have all your friends and family reacted to your musical career? What’s it like when you get to play at your hometown?
AT: My friends and family are incredibly supportive, and it is a blessing. I love playing in my hometown… it’s just so easy.

PEV: What can we find you doing in your spare time, aside from performing?
AT: Being normal. Then being weird. Then switching back to normal again. And it continues.
PEV: Is there one artist or group that would be your dream collaboration? Why?
AT: Sarah Mclachlan (she’s my musical hero, and I always wish her the very best in life)
PEV: Is there an up and coming band or artist you think we should all be looking out for now?
AT: Jeremy Lister (Listen to his song, “Hostage.” Instant chills.)
PEV: If playing/writing music was not your career, what would you most likely be doing?
AT: I have no idea. Maybe being an interior designer? Definitely having a family.
PEV: So, what is next for Adrina Thorpe?
AT: Only God really knows that. Guess we’ll all have to wait and see!
Oh, wait, did you mean for my entire future? Or in the next couple of weeks? On August 10th, at 7pm I’ll be playing at the Hotel Café, in Los Angeles. Hope to see you there! And I think I’m getting ready to start writing again…just maybe.

]]> Fri, 07 May 2010 07:30:00 GMT CBD20646571493170EB9832E795D816D http://adrinathorpe.com/press.cfm?feature=1381308&postid=274596 the iProng interview with independent singer-songwriter Adrina Thorpe who discusses her new album Halflight & Shadows, where she gets her songwriting inspiration, and how podsafe music has impacted her career… Adrina Thorpe and I are on the phone to talk about her new album of beautifully haunting piano-accompanied melodies, Halflight & Shadows, but before we discuss the new music I can’t help but ask her about something she first got involved with several years ago: making her music legally available to be played on podcasts… You were one of the first artists to make their music podsafe back in 2005. I’m curious about how you first heard about it. C.C. Chapman sent me an email on MySpace and told me about it when it was just starting out, and so I put all my stuff up there. And I think because I was one of the first people up there, I was podcasted so much that I was one of the top three. I see you’re still at it, you put a song from the new record into the podsafe network. Do you think it’s had a substantial impact on your career over the past four years? Hugely, yeah. I totally saw a correlation. I think that was a big part of why I did well with online sales, because I stopped going out and performing and I just let the internet kind of do its thing, and I was pretty happy with the results. I still like performing but there was a time when I took a break when I was recording, and everything just kept hopping along. Your first record Elusive came out almost five years ago. There’s always a tendency on the part of fans to say “what took so long?” I didn’t start thinking about recording it til like three years ago. At first I was going to do an EP, and then we kind of changed our minds afterwards. My producer was like “hey, let’s do a full album.” So we decided to do a full album, but my producer is in Italy and I’m here, so that’s one factor. He lives in Tuscany. Another factor is I’m very involved in my family’s life, and that takes a lot of time. And then another factor is I really wanted everything to be just right, and I was doing it in little spare snippets here and there and I was getting a lot more involved, so that took some more time. Being a perfectionist, that took some more time. The last album I did, it was done in a month. We did it in a studio. I just came every day and we just recorded with just me and my two producers. But with this album we used tons of different musicians, we went to lots of different studios, we rented equipment lots of different times, went to a lot of different places, and it was sort of piecemeal, a bit at a time. Also I did the two trance songs [with DJ Shah] and that kind of diverted my attention for awhile. Is it different going to make this new record now? Not only were you able to establish your own internal fanbase with the first record, but then also the external exposure with the trance songs. Is it tempting to think “I’ve got to make what people expect of me” or are you able to block that stuff out? I blocked it out completely with this record. The last record I really, really cared about what people thought. But with this record I really did it completely for myself. The songs are not radio friendly in length. The majority of them are four to five minutes long. They’re just me with a broken heart, pouring it out, and just learning to fight for the beauty in life. The last album I was coming fresh out of songwriting classes and thinking about what people liked to hear, analyzing what kind of songs make it on the radio, happy songs, songs with successful people. These kind of things make it on the radio, you know? Analyzing song length, song structure. I broke a lot of rules on this album, and I don’t know if that’s going to adversely affect sales. We’ll see. Little scared here. But I really did it just because I wanted to do it how I wanted to do it. That’s another reason why it took a little longer. Speaking of breaking rules, the songs on Halflight & Shadows are arranged from darkness to light, from beginning to end. That’s probably not very good for sales, but it was the way it had to go because the whole point of the album is that I really wanted to take people along a journey with me, from the darkest place in their life to sort of finding the light. I spent a long time ordering the songs progressively from dark to light. With the kind of gentle, lovely, earnest songs you make, the stereotype would be that you could only create that when you’re sitting in the dark corner of an empty room, just you and your piano late a night, no one around. I need silence, I need quiet, I need to be alone. But a lot of the songs come to me when I’m driving in my car. But it’s still solitude. You’ve got things moving past you and you’re sort of zoning but you’re focusing. They come to me when I’m doing some kind of mundane task, and then sort of feeling and having a chance to be slightly introspective on my own, and it’ll just pop out. It’ll just hit me and I’ll start singing it. So that’s how I did a lot of them. And the other ones I’ll get an idea by playing chords around them. But usually it’s melody first, with the lyrics, then I add a few more lyrics in and play on the piano. Occasionally I’ve done it lyrics first, but mostly it’s in the car. Can you see yourself writing songs for other artists? That sounds like fun actually, once I have more time on my hands when things sort of settle down. I’ve had a couple requests to write for some people up in Canada, emerging Canadian artists. Yeah, that sounds like something I might enjoy doing later on. ***** Adrina Thorpe is performing at Hotel Cafe in Los Angeles on August 10th. Halflight & Shadows is available for download at AdrinaThorpe.com interview by Bill Palmer, Iprong, Beatweek Magazine:  http://www.beatweek.com/music/musicianinterviews/1400-adrina-thorpe-interview/
Adrina Thorpe and I are on the phone to talk about her new album of beautifully haunting piano-accompanied melodies, Halflight & Shadows, but before we discuss the new music I can’t help but ask her about something she first got involved with several years ago: making her music legally available to be played on podcasts…

You were one of the first artists to make their music podsafe back in 2005. I’m curious about how you first heard about it.

C.C. Chapman sent me an email on MySpace and told me about it when it was just starting out, and so I put all my stuff up there. And I think because I was one of the first people up there, I was podcasted so much that I was one of the top three.

I see you’re still at it, you put a song from the new record into the podsafe network. Do you think it’s had a substantial impact on your career over the past four years?

Hugely, yeah. I totally saw a correlation. I think that was a big part of why I did well with online sales, because I stopped going out and performing and I just let the internet kind of do its thing, and I was pretty happy with the results. I still like performing but there was a time when I took a break when I was recording, and everything just kept hopping along.

Your first record Elusive came out almost five years ago. There’s always a tendency on the part of fans to say “what took so long?”

I didn’t start thinking about recording it til like three years ago. At first I was going to do an EP, and then we kind of changed our minds afterwards. My producer was like “hey, let’s do a full album.” So we decided to do a full album, but my producer is in Italy and I’m here, so that’s one factor. He lives in Tuscany. Another factor is I’m very involved in my family’s life, and that takes a lot of time. And then another factor is I really wanted everything to be just right, and I was doing it in little spare snippets here and there and I was getting a lot more involved, so that took some more time. Being a perfectionist, that took some more time.

The last album I did, it was done in a month. We did it in a studio. I just came every day and we just recorded with just me and my two producers. But with this album we used tons of different musicians, we went to lots of different studios, we rented equipment lots of different times, went to a lot of different places, and it was sort of piecemeal, a bit at a time. Also I did the two trance songs [with DJ Shah] and that kind of diverted my attention for awhile.

Is it different going to make this new record now? Not only were you able to establish your own internal fanbase with the first record, but then also the external exposure with the trance songs. Is it tempting to think “I’ve got to make what people expect of me” or are you able to block that stuff out?

I blocked it out completely with this record. The last record I really, really cared about what people thought. But with this record I really did it completely for myself. The songs are not radio friendly in length. The majority of them are four to five minutes long. They’re just me with a broken heart, pouring it out, and just learning to fight for the beauty in life. The last album I was coming fresh out of songwriting classes and thinking about what people liked to hear, analyzing what kind of songs make it on the radio, happy songs, songs with successful people. These kind of things make it on the radio, you know? Analyzing song length, song structure.

I broke a lot of rules on this album, and I don’t know if that’s going to adversely affect sales. We’ll see. Little scared here. But I really did it just because I wanted to do it how I wanted to do it. That’s another reason why it took a little longer.

Speaking of breaking rules, the songs on Halflight & Shadows are arranged from darkness to light, from beginning to end.

That’s probably not very good for sales, but it was the way it had to go because the whole point of the album is that I really wanted to take people along a journey with me, from the darkest place in their life to sort of finding the light. I spent a long time ordering the songs progressively from dark to light.

With the kind of gentle, lovely, earnest songs you make, the stereotype would be that you could only create that when you’re sitting in the dark corner of an empty room, just you and your piano late a night, no one around.

I need silence, I need quiet, I need to be alone. But a lot of the songs come to me when I’m driving in my car. But it’s still solitude. You’ve got things moving past you and you’re sort of zoning but you’re focusing. They come to me when I’m doing some kind of mundane task, and then sort of feeling and having a chance to be slightly introspective on my own, and it’ll just pop out. It’ll just hit me and I’ll start singing it.

So that’s how I did a lot of them. And the other ones I’ll get an idea by playing chords around them. But usually it’s melody first, with the lyrics, then I add a few more lyrics in and play on the piano. Occasionally I’ve done it lyrics first, but mostly it’s in the car.

Can you see yourself writing songs for other artists?

That sounds like fun actually, once I have more time on my hands when things sort of settle down. I’ve had a couple requests to write for some people up in Canada, emerging Canadian artists. Yeah, that sounds like something I might enjoy doing later on.
*****

Adrina Thorpe is performing at Hotel Cafe in Los Angeles on August 10th. Halflight & Shadows is available for download at AdrinaThorpe.com


interview by Bill Palmer, Iprong, Beatweek Magazine:  http://www.beatweek.com/music/musicianinterviews/1400-adrina-thorpe-interview/

]]> Wed, 07 Apr 2010 13:35:00 GMT B2CAC8C28FD7F54C9C7E12013864964E http://adrinathorpe.com/press.cfm?feature=1381308&postid=274339 I discovered Adrina Thorpe on MySpace. Her style is beautiful piano pop ala Sarah McLachlan, Vienna Teng and the like. Her voice is lovely and suits the music well. The production is first class, very professional. Creating a full layered sound. Some of the songs are very mainstream pop (but in a good way) and would be very comfortable on AAA radio next the above-mentioned artists as well as Anna Nalick, and Shawn Colvin and the like. I would say that “More Than Seventeen” certainly falls in this category along with “With Hope”. “Round the Bend” is my favorite currently, but I also like “Correction” and “Never Meant” is fun too. But really I like all the songs. They’re all solid and there’s not a one I’d skip. You don’t get that on very many CDs nowadays! I hope Adrina Thorpe is here to stay. Review by Amy Lotsberg Producer of Collected Sounds The production is first class, very professional. Creating a full layered sound.
Some of the songs are very mainstream pop (but in a good way) and would be very comfortable on AAA radio next the above-mentioned artists as well as Anna Nalick, and Shawn Colvin and the like. I would say that “More Than Seventeen” certainly falls in this category along with “With Hope”.
“Round the Bend” is my favorite currently, but I also like “Correction” and “Never Meant” is fun too. But really I like all the songs. They’re all solid and there’s not a one I’d skip. You don’t get that on very many CDs nowadays! I hope Adrina Thorpe is here to stay.
Review by Amy Lotsberg Producer of Collected Sounds

]]> Sun, 07 Mar 2010 09:30:00 GMT 4F59371DC8FB49EC1433177D14F83DEC http://adrinathorpe.com/press.cfm?feature=1381308&postid=274325 Adrina Thorpe is a singer/songwriter from Orange County, CA. Her debut album had featured songs on Lifetime and the CW network as well as many independent films. Her sophomore effort, “Halflight & Shadows” was released in June 2009 and continues on the success of her debut album “Elusive”. Her voice on the opening track “Impossible Dream” is a cross between Tori Amos and Sarah McLachlan, but the music has a harder rock vibe. “Midnight” has a more manufactured sound which places the focus of the song on Adrina vocals and lyrics. Her passion shows through on “Everything Changes” which displays perfectly how she combines her classical piano with a pop beat. Her delicate voice on “Domino” gives the song its power as she pleads with the listener through the chorus. The gentle flow of “Driving” is nice example of how talented Adrina Thorpe really is. “Coming Home” is easily the best song on the album; it has all the right parts to make it a hit. The subtle hints of music on “Moment To End” give the song a gentleness that the album yearns for. Adrina tries to “Heal” you with her voice, before picking up the tempo with the pop styling of “Kiss The Day”. “Give You My Love” is another song in which Adrina gives her all to the wonderful lyrics. “Seed” flows through the same vein as much of the album with the main focus on her voice and piano. Her gentle voice and lyrics will encompass the listener’s heart while displaying her passion for the music. Visit adrinathorpe.com for music samples and to purchase her new album. Jim Pasinski - JP's Music Blog
Her voice on the opening track “Impossible Dream” is a cross between Tori Amos and Sarah McLachlan, but the music has a harder rock vibe. “Midnight” has a more manufactured sound which places the focus of the song on Adrina vocals and lyrics. Her passion shows through on “Everything Changes” which displays perfectly how she combines her classical piano with a pop beat. Her delicate voice on “Domino” gives the song its power as she pleads with the listener through the chorus. The gentle flow of “Driving” is nice example of how talented Adrina Thorpe really is. “Coming Home” is easily the best song on the album; it has all the right parts to make it a hit. The subtle hints of music on “Moment To End” give the song a gentleness that the album yearns for. Adrina tries to “Heal” you with her voice, before picking up the tempo with the pop styling of “Kiss The Day”. “Give You My Love” is another song in which Adrina gives her all to the wonderful lyrics. “Seed” flows through the same vein as much of the album with the main focus on her voice and piano.

Her gentle voice and lyrics will encompass the listener’s heart while displaying her passion for the music. Visit adrinathorpe.com for music samples and to purchase her new album.

Jim Pasinski - JP's Music Blog
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