Brand New Day exhibits about as many musical styles as there are tracks, all encased in dense, meticulous production.

 

 :: A thousand Years :: "A Thousand Years is a love story, a story of a relationship that fills many lives, other bodies, other types, other situations. And yet it is always the same woman and the same man. That's what connects all these lives: that both still love each other."

 :: Desert Rose :: "All last summer I lived with Cheb Mami's album. Eating, walking, all the time. His voice is an incredible instrument. He does whatever he wants with it, it really impressed me, as did his talent as a musician.Then I saw him in Bercy, very impressed, I began to write a song on this experience and we met. I asked him if he'd like to sing for me, in a way to 'authenticate' my experience (ironic smile). He's a lovely man. He sung without knowing what I was singing. As it happens, it's about desire, craving. I asked him: just improvise, in arab, on my melody. Later I asked him what he was talking about, he answered that he sang about desire, craving of a loved person. I told him that it was exactly the song's theme!"

 :: Big Lie, small world ::

 :: After the rain has fallen :: "I think it sounds like a Sting song. It's a big sort of rousing chorus and it's a very recognisable sound from me. It's a fairy tale I suppose. It sounds like something from "A Thousand and One Nights" about a thief and a princess and how he takes her out of her set life, which is to be promised to someone she didn't know."

 :: Perfect love ... gone wrong ::

 :: Tomorrow we'll see :: "I remember being in Paris about 10 years ago and driving along one night when I saw these very exotic creatures out on the road, dressed to the nines, because they were working. I realised this wasn't just commerce I was seeing. This was a branch of show business. And these people had a passion about the way they looked. It was extraordinary. I realised from them that they had no sense of shame. It was pride, with the attitude, 'Don't judge me. It's my life and I'll live it the way I want.'"

 :: Prelude to the end of game ::

 :: Fill her up ::

 :: Ghost Story ::

 :: Brand New Day :: "The last song, begins with a jaundiced view and then moves toward acceptance, to diving back into love. It's basically the thought that falling in love is an act of optimism - and I think if the album has that tone, for me... it's an optimistic one.You know, I wrote this song and it had kind of like a shuffle, and it reminded me of Stevie Wonder, and I said 'God, it would be great if Stevie would play on this.' So I made a phone call, full of trepidation because he's one of my idols, and he was like, 'Yeah, I'll come to New York' and do it."

 

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