The Omen EP by Kae, 2010
Home Base: The Netherlands
Genre: Alternative
Bio.:
Kae’s biography opens with this quote:
“Music is everybody’s possession.
It’s only publishers who think that people own it.” (John Lennon)
Kae is a singer with a unique, alternative music style. Her music is created by the Silent Project Cooperation – Alex Elzer and Korine (Kae) Varekamp which started mid-2008.
The music of Kae is very dynamic and has influences of Portishead (downtempo), Morrissey (britpop) and Velvet Underground (alternative rock).The lyrics are realistic, profound, gloomy and often cynical inspired by daily situations. Within the music world they’re often put down in a criticizing way. The vocals being thrilling and mysterious makes the music of Kae complete.
Korine started the experimental “After Silence Project” in 2001 after being a singer in a band for several years. In 2008 she met Alex Elzer and asked him to do some recordings with her. Within a year they created a large number of demos.
March 2010 they decided to make a professional recording of one of the demos at The Box Studios in Katwijk. This turned out to be a very good decision. After finishing this first single called “Memory Lane”, Alex, Korine and Tom Pearce, producer, and owner of Practical Music. agreed to work together from there, all Kae’s music is being exclusively produced by Tom Pearce.
Tom worked with ERIC CLAPTON, all of the ex- BEATLES and toured for many years with sir ELTON JOHN. In the eighties he was manager at JIMMY PAGE’s SOL STUDIOS. Jimmy Page is the legendary founder and guitarist of LED ZEPPELIN.
Kae -The Omen was recently released. This debut EP is recorded at The Box Studios in Katwijk and is produced by Tom Pearce.
Thanks to the team of professionals, musicians and technicians, and their dedicated cooperation which provided Kae great opportunities for creating and making the songs into something very special. Kae couldn’t have done without the commitment and effort of all involved.
My Review: “Dark and mysterious, yet hauntingly beautiful” is probably the best way to describe the music of Kae.
While some may criticize Kae for her work, it is important to understand that life does not always go as we would like it to. As we say here in the US, life is not always a “bed of roses”. Many times we do place our trust in the wrong people. We give our love and our hearts to those who do not deserve it. Sometimes people try to use us. Sometimes they try and control us. I guess I could go on and on. Unfortunately, attached to love also seems to be a certain amount of hurt and pain, whether intentional or unintentional. After a while you do become cynical and start mistrusting everyone who tries to reach out to you. You start seeing only the bad things in life, not the good.
This is the side of life Kae has chosen to express in her music. I suspect that through her music we are catching a glimpse of her own life and things that have happened in it. It takes a very brave person to do that. I am convinced that Kae is baring her heart and soul in her music.
I’m not going to analyze every track like I sometimes do or I would probably fill this entire blog. Some memorable lyrics, “I walked beside you on cloudy days….”, “Throughout eternity, under heavenly light…” and “He’s one of yours, when children die..” stand out in my mind. Let me just say I find a lot of my own life in Kae’s music and leave it at that.
As to the actual music itself, while it is on the “dark” side, I’ve heard worse and the addition of the flute and Korine’s slight Dutch accent, both of which lend a mystic air to it. About ½ through the title track “The Omen” the music makes an unexpected shift which further adds to it’s air of mystery, but I’ll let you discover that for yourselves! Actually, I found Kae’s music to have some really good “hooks” and although dark, still quite catchy.
So, how do I rate “The Omen EP”? Considering that Kae has chosen to sing about things that most composers and musicians try to avoid as much as possible, I’m going to rate “The Omen EP” 10 stars and a “thumbs up”. I admire your bravery in taking this path with your music and I hope others will too. Best of luck with your musical career!
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You can purchase “The Omen EP” by Kae at Legal Download.Net/Kae .99 Euros/Trk or 2.99 Euros for the 3 Trk EP.
