Quiet Letters: U.S. Edition

Bliss

Product Details

• Audio CD (August 2, 2005)
• Original Release Date: August 2, 2005
• Number of Discs: 1
• Label: Quango
• ASIN: B0009YA45I
• In-Print Editions: MP3 Download
• Average Customer Review: 4.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (34 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #11,799 in Music (See Bestsellers in Music)

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Track Listings

1. Sleep Will Come

2. Kissing

3. Wish U Were There

4. Wish U Were Here

5. Dunai

6. Song For Olabi

7. The Suns of Afterlife

8. Don't Look Back

9. Arapapa

10. Long Life To You My Friend

11. Remember My Name

12. Right Here

13. Blissful Moment

14. If Heaven Closes

Editorial Reviews

Product Description

Bliss¹ North American debut is a chill out masterpiece, deeply rooted in a fine collage of western, African and classical musical influences, and representing the vast musical backgrounds of the band. Bliss has inspired comparisons to Sade, Norah Jones, Enya and Ennio Morricone. With its captivating vocals, gentle percussion and gracious orchestration, Quiet Letters is described by Buddha Bar¹s DJ Ravin as ³The Album of the Year², one of those albums that you have always been looking for without ever finding. Featuring guest vocals by Zero 7¹s Sophie Barker, Quiet Letters is an album that transports you far beyond the beaches of Ibiza, on a travel through African soul, Scandinavian jazz, and ethereal pop

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

41 of 42 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Borderline coma inducing, but in a good way! (run your bubble bath now!), September 29, 2005

By	Sugar "copegirl" (Los Angeles) - See all my reviews

89.9 FM KCRW Santa Monica's evening DJs Jason Bentley and Raoul Campos have been playing Bliss' new CD the past month, "Kissing" especially. (Bliss also have another great percussion driven track on a new Oliver Peoples CD that KCRW is also playing.)

This is ultra chill. I came home from a hard day's work last week, lit candles, incense, got in the tub with this CD on - it's the poor man's/woman's spa.

Bliss' members are from Denmark, Sweden and West-Africa (doesn't specify which W.Af. country, but I'm guessing Ghana, since there are a number of folks from Ghana residing in Denmark.

Marc-George Andersen handles all keyboards and Steffen Aaskoven takes care of "samples and sound design". The two produced and arranged all the twelve tracks with Kenneth Bager, a veteran Danish DJ/producer getting executive producer credit.

Tchando, a West African singer who lives in Denmark with his Danish wife and their two children (there are many African musicians/singers in Denmark who greatly add to the Danish music) scene gives the album an "Youssur N'Dour flavor".

Danish/African Al Agami contributes his voice to "Song for Olabi" together with Danish opera soprano Xenia Lach-Nielsen, whose vocals were also added to "Kissing".

The female lead vocals: Swedish (I believe) Alexandre Hamnede sings on most of the tracks, including the chill hit - "Kissing".

Sophie Barker from Zero 7 provides vocals on the beautiful "Don't look back" and and the okay "Right Here".

Pretty voices, for sure, albeit not very distinctive. There's some Sade influences, some Deep Forest, some Enigma, some "cinematic music" flavor. It's soothing, pretty, and occasionally spine-tingling. (What makes Sade unique is that her music is pretty too, but it's "sophisticated-pretty" and her voice is unlike anyone else's. The closest Sade like voice I've heard is Rachel Foster, the truly sublime white British singer who makes up one half of the duo The Weekend Players - they have a new album coming out later this year. Their "The Pursuit of Happiness" from a few years ago is a 11 on a 1-10 scale)

But back to Bliss's Quiet Letters: as a bubblebath/candle soundtrack, it's sheer perfection and there should be room for this type of music. The lyrics are "fillers", but hey, it can't all be Bob Dylan. Be openminded, expose yourself to different music.

Scandinavia has given us the Sugarcubes, the comepletely unique Bjork, Sigur Ros, the Hives, KOOP, Royksopp, the Raveonettes, and of course Abba and Roxette. Of these, Bjork and Koop are my favorites hands down, but Bliss is a nice addition. I give this CD four stars, in part because of the production, which is sublime - sounds amazing even on my 10-year old cheap Sony boom box.

Note: Bliss employ several Danish musicans on this album who will not be familiar names to US audiences:

Jacob Andersen, sublime veteran percussionist.

Mads Vinding, veteran jazz bass player.

Kim Sjogren, a well-respected conductor in Denmark, provides the string music with The Mermaid Strings.

Interesting by the way how music can make things come full circle. Denmark was once a slave trading nation, getting her royal hands bloody in the West Indies (now the US Virgin Islands.) There is a former slave fortress on the coast of what is now Ghana. It is/was named Christiansborg which just happens to be the name of the castle in Copenhagen that once belonged to the Danish royal family but now houses the parliament. The musicians/singers from Ghana who settle in Denmark, marry Danish women and have children, bring their music to the country that brought their ancestors to the West Indies to work the sugar plantations until ca. 1848. The circle is complete, with Danish and African musicians coming together and making music.

In the US, this CD is out on the great Melrose Avenue, Los Angeles label Quango. In Denmark, the label is Music for Dreams. (Bliss also have several tracks on various chill music compilations, some of which are Quango releases).

12 of 12 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Intriguing, December 6, 2005

By	Roger Kolbu (Norway) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

This is a remake of the european CD which was released last year. Four songs have been replaced with songs from their first album. Still a truly superb album - in any way you want to see it. Smooth and blissful music from Denmark.

Now - what REALLY puzzles me is why they still call it "Quiet Letters"... The title track is no longer included on this U.S.-version.

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Totally Amazing, September 16, 2005

By	Kirk McKenna Jr. "kirkmckenna" (Medina, Ohio United States) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

I have heard songs by this band, Bliss, on various Buddha-Bar and those Siddhartha CDs. I looked for their own CD, but couldn't find it. Finally, I picked up this CD today and I'm totally amazed and the sheer beauty of it. If you like those Buddha-Bar CDs or are into world-ethno lounge or chillout music, then get this CD, it's wonderful.