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Biography: Yanah - New Belgian singer-songwriter
This 25-year old Belgian singer-songwriter and musician has it all: she's young, gifted, gentle, beautiful and she certainly knows how to sing! You may think that she comes out of the blue, and in a way you're right. Until the summer of 2001, Yanah did not really exist.Of course there was this girl Nathalie who loved to write songs and sing them while playing her guitar or sitting behind the piano. But that was merely a lovely way to entertain her friends or to express herself through music.
Things changed when she ran into musician-composer & producer "E-Rick" Geurts (Kiss The Bride, Indiana). E-Rick loved her clear and natural voice and was touched by the expressive way she brought her own songs.
Initially, Yanah's compositions were kind of acoustic folk songs. Working with E-Rick turned them into melodious rock inspired pop songs with an underlying ethnical atmosphere. Yanah's basic tunes received a brand new shape and sound through a powerful electrical injection, and the addition of Yanah's acoustic guitar, piano, percussion, flute and didgeridoo.
"I like to see how music lives, how my songs grow as we arrange them. Subtle changes can push a song into a complete new direction. It's quite an organic evolution. I realise how bare my songs were originally, although I still cherish the early, acoustic versions too. I think I'll save them up for an Unplugged album when I'm famous! (laughs). I'm very happy with the fully arranged versions because the songs are more elaborate and mature now".
Yanah also loved some of E-Rick's existing songs, so they rearranged them especially for her voice.
From April 2002 till June 2003, fourteen songs were recorded at E-Rick's 'Flying Snowman' home studio. One of the most important steps was the recording of extra acoustic instruments (fiddle, tin whistle, flute, guitar, piano, djembé, tabla and didgeridoo, played by Yanah and different guest musicians), to reinforce the acoustic glance of the original compositions. The exotic instruments colour the songs with a Celtic or Indian atmosphere, exactly the kind of touch Yanah was looking for.
"Making music is like a journey through your emotions, an exploration into your deeper self. It's also a way of communication. I compare it with travelling and discovering new worlds. Recording this album combined two of my aspirations: express my emotions while travelling through different musical landscapes."
The complete album "The Girl In The Picture" will consist of 14 pearls of melodic ethnical poprock.
The album's title is based on the novel written by Denise Chong about the life of Kim Phuc, once the screaming naked 9-year-old girl in the world-famous picture taken by Nick Ut after a Napalm bomb attack on a Buddhist pagoda in South Vietnam. When confronted with the song, the lyrics and the infinite beauty of Yanah's voice, the now in Canada living Kim Phuc was deeply touched. All profits of the song will be donated to Kim's own organisation that supports child victims of war all over the world. Kim is even making plans to visit Yanah in Belgium in september 2003!
Other songs, like the enigmatic, heart touching lullaby "Cunina" are the result of an inspired collaboration in the studio.
"E-Rick played the tune for me on his acoustic guitar. It sounded a bit Indian, and I suggested dedicating this song to the children in the world, because it could be a lullaby. E-Rick immediately fell for it, so we started working on it. Cunina is the name of the Roman goddess who protects the newborn babies, but it's also the name of a Belgian organisation helping poor children in countries like Brazil, the Philippines or India. Both E-Rick & me have financially adopted a child through Cunina even before we made that song, so this seemed like the next logical step to do. We asked an Indian table player on "Cunina". The song reminds me of Led Zeppelin or even The Beatles during their psychedelic years."
Yanah's originals like the remarkably arranged ode to friendship "That's Why (that's what friends are for)" and the melancholic tune "Where The Sad Winds Blow" (a sad song about loss and despair, brightened up by Yanah's voice and lyrics and a Celtic inspired sound arrangement) prove that this young lady is ready to reveal her art of singing & composing to the rest of the world.
"I like to share my music with other people. Playing live on stage is like communicating with the audience through my music. Because these songs are an emotional part of me, they are in some way, the expression of how I feel about things in life. I really look forward to get on stage with a band and throw the music out."
Listen to the album, look at the girl and realise that the real thing is even better than the girl you see in the picture!
Go for the real thing! Go for Yanah!
Contributor organisation: Flying Snowman Productions (www.flyingsnowman.com)
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