The Empress Strikes Back (Learning From Falling - Lamya)

Member Name: stoffy

Product:	Learning From Falling - Lamya
Date:	29/11/03 (45 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: very interesting vocal, consistent selection of tracks, 'Empires'

Disadvantages: possibly a little bit more spice could have been added to some of the tracks

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Thanks to the combination of a Dooyoo recommendation (thanks thediscerning!) and a 3 for £5 album offer in a local record shop, I became the proud owner of Lamya's debut album 'Learning From Falling'. Born to Omani parents in Kenya, she settled in Sheffield and worked with a whole host of artists including Soul II Soul, Duran Duran and D
avid Bowie before opting to fly solo with this fascinating blend of musical styles.

Lamya's voice is a little like the throaty richness of Skye from Morcheeba occasionally via the middle-eastern delivery of Ofra Haza. A trained opera singer, she uses her voice as an instrument over a mixture of lazy hip-hop beats with some orchestral and world music elements. Whilst it might sound like a recipe for pretentious music for the dinner-party giving young professional, it is refreshingly accessible.

This is thanks to the involvement of Nellee Hooper who has produced some of the most memorable albums of the past couple of decades, such as Massive Attack's 'Blue Lines' and Bjork's 'Debut'. His ability to develop rich multi-layered instrumentation without swallowing up a good vocal is second to none and used to great effect on 'Learning From Falling'.

The album's opener 'Empires' is the undoubted highlight. With an epic, filmic quality, it is a complex soundscape that gets better with every listen. It reminded me of an artist called Helicopter Girl who was nominated for the Mercury Music Prize a few years ago, with its almost fairytale feel. Even set amongst his impressive portfolio, it is one of Hooper's best works in recent years.

'East Of Anywhere', which was used on the soundtrack to Dawson's Creek unbelievably enough, is one of the more commercial songs on offer, but maintains interest thanks to the quality of the vocal. 'Black Mona Lisa' is also very radio-friendly, and seems to be influenced by Soul II Soul in its structure. Two versions of this song are included on the album, with the original version proving to be the superior version. A nice summery tune, it harks back to some of the overlooked quality RnB that was produced in Britain in the mid-1990's.

One track of particular interest is 'The Woman Who' which samples the beautifu
l 'Les Fleur' by Minnie Riperton, famous for her much-covered track 'Loving You'. It was a particularly interesting choice of sample given that drum n bass pioneers 4Hero had covered the song just the year before. That said, 'The Woman Who' is still a well-constructed track that is perfect to chill-out to and an undoubted highlight.

Lyrically, there is an element of 'strong woman' about many of the songs. On the surface, this is currently the norm for solo female singers, but by dealing with darker topics such as alcohol abuse (the engaging 'Never Enough') give a more complex edge on proceedings. There is a poetic feel to all of the lyrics, such as on the lush 'I Get Cravings' which is a refreshing change from the cliched album fodder of many.

Perhaps one criticism could be that a little bit more of the Middle-Eastern influences on 'Empires' could have been applied to make some of the other tracks sparkle. Whilst songs such as 'Judas Kiss' and 'Full Frontal Fridays' are OK, they are pretty indistinctive and don't do her voice justice. However, there is very little that slipped under the quality radar and it stands up by itself as a fine debut.

Like so many good albums that seem to try something different, it seems to fall between too many stools to be commercially successful. Despite the influence of some of RnB's biggest names on the production, it lacks sirens, Cristal references and bling-bling to ever be categorised in that category nowadays. It is also too laid-back and soulful to be essential for dance fans, and too British to be world music.

However, it's well worth checking out for genre-blind music buyers who want to try something a little different that's still quite easy on the ear.

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