- album name
Transition EP
- band name
by Melissa Axel
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1.Fall This Hard 04:042.3.Transparency 05:344.5.- about
- Recorded at Coupe Studios in Boulder, Colorado, the Transition EP includes four new songs and the re-mastered "Out Of Nowhere" as a bonus track (the original appeared on Axel's sold-out EP Free Time).
Transition EP review highlights:
"Heartbreak, hope, and transformation distilled through gorgeous piano and a fearlessly intimate vocal. Candid songs about how we experience love." – John Common, Free School Records
"An interesting and pleasant voice that is deep and full, with a lot of implied strength. There’s no breathy pop maven quality here, but a sound reminiscent of earth and nature. Consequently, Axel puts the listener instantly at ease." – Wildy Haskell, Wildy's World
"This collection of songs, despite their fixation on loss, remains approachable even to someone without a broken heart. Kailin Yong brings considerable violin skills to many of the tracks, his lachrymose strings fleshing out the music into something that skirts the line between pop and chamber-pop." – Nathan Harper, Scene Magazine
"'Fall This Hard' is a powerful opener with wonderful lyrics about a complex relationship and with superlative piano playing. The title song is equally good, Axel straying close to early Tori Amos in sound and voice. This EP is fabulous, and I would love to hear a full length from Axel soon." – Anna Maria Stjärnell, Ectophiles' Guide to Good Music - credits
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released 24 February 2009
MELISSA AXEL words, music, vocals, piano
KAILIN YONG violins & production assistance on 1, 2, 3; string arrangement on 3
RYAN DRICKEY cellos on 3
JAMES E. JACOBY production assistance on 1, 2, 3
1, 3 recorded with Mike Destito and mixed with John McVey
2, 4 recorded and mixed with Mike Destito and John McVey
5 production, engineering, arranging, mixing, synths, Rhodes by Nick Seeley; piano recorded by Ivan Valles; re-mastered by John McVey
Mastered by John McVey at Coupe Studios in Boulder, Colorado
Cover art by Stacy Allen Hummel: friendsof42 com
© Melissa Axel / Melissa Axel Music (ASCAP)
Ⓟ Melissa Axel melissaaxel.com
About Melissa Axel
At just eight years of age, Melissa Axel was writing songs about the bittersweet journey of life, love, struggle, and inspiration—and not much has changed since. The piano-driven singer/songwriter studied at Boston's renowned Berklee College of Music and went on to earn her master's degree in Interdisciplinary Arts from Nova Southeastern University. In 2008 & 2009, she was awarded scholarships to participate in songwriting and world music workshops hosted in the UK by the WOMAD Foundation (World of Music Arts and Dance) created by Peter Gabriel in 1980.
Often accompanied on tuba by frequent collaborator James E. Jacoby, Axel has performed everywhere from the South Florida heat to the cool of Iceland, the frenzy of New York to the peaceful Swedish seaside, and award-winning Denver venues like Dazzle and Swallow Hill in Colorado, where she now makes her home. Through WOMAD, they have shared the stage with Gabriel collaborators N’Faly Kouyaté (Dunyakan, Afro Celt Sound System), Justin Adams & Juldeh Camara (Robert Plant, Festival in the Desert), and Andy White (ALT, Big Blue Ball), co-writing "Every Place Is Home" with White in summer 2009.
Described as "heartbreak, hope, and transformation distilled through gorgeous piano and a fearlessly intimate vocal," Axel's latest release Transition is a pensive 5-song EP featuring special guests Kailin Yong on violin and Ryan Drickey on cello. Centered on themes of love, humanity, and metamorphosis, Melissa Axel's melodic wordplay transforms life experience into songs that express the fear, joy, pain, and love that connect us all.
melissaaxel.com
If you prefer to mail payment, please send check or money order to Melissa Axel at PO Box 6201, Denver, CO 80206 USA. A hand-signed limited edition CD will be mailed to you (at the return address listed on your check or envelope) for every $10 you donate. - license
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- Track Name: Fall This Hard
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I feel … as if my heart has died
oh so many times now, so
what’s one more loss
given up to this love for you?
one more tumble, one more open wound
dig in deep, reach down far,
‘cause this may be the last chance we get …
to fall this hard
I think it began in another time,
oh so many light years ahead, so
what’s one more surrender to
the yearning that surrounds my bed?
one more tumble, once more self-delude
hold me more, heal those scars,
‘cause this may be the last chance we get …
to fall this hard
and in my world, I see right through you
running back through me the way you always do
but if I knew a way to make fairytales come true,
well, we wouldn’t be here again
so I see we can’t go on and on like this …
oh so many re-runs, so what’s
one more show—but will we ever know how it ends?
one more tumble, one last question:
is this love?
shoot those stars …
‘cause this may be the last chance we get
this could be the last chance we get
yeah, this is the last chance we’ll get …
to fall this hard - Track Name: Transition (No More Fairytales)
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they say when one door closes another will open
it’s just a matter of time
and it seems this one just slammed in my face
yes, I know you were never mine
is it worth a look back, could I even grasp
the lesson I’ve yet to learn?
or is it eyes forward, into the wind again
no other direction to turn
kinda makes you wonder how many kilowatts you’ve wasted
running on that treadmill in your mind
kinda makes you stop, dead in your tracks
when there’s no thinking your way to the finish line
no more fairytales for me
I guess this was another web I wrapped myself up in
just needing something to feel
a hell of a carrot, it works every time
just too bad it’s never for real, no
is it worth asking why, should I even try:
“tell me, what did I do wrong?”
or is it walk away, hands over ears again
hiding from the fat lady’s song
kinda makes you wonder how many golden threads you’ve wasted
spinning all those stories in your head
kinda makes you stop, hands to the sky
when your path’s no longer strewn with bits of bread
no more fairytales for me
at least this time, I didn’t waste as much time … but I guess I did
at least this time, I wasn’t as big of a fool … but I’ve always been
is it worth seeing through all the things we do?
everything I read is just fiction
or is it close the book, back on the shelf again?
time for another transition
kinda makes you wonder how many synapses you’ve wasted
trying to make those brilliant dreams come true
kinda makes you stop, frozen in time
when the only one in your fairytale is you
no more fairytales for me
no more fairytales …
just a strong dose of reality. - Track Name: Transparency
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transparent … transparency
I don’t know how to be this way
I don’t know how to be easy
I don’t know how to be
transparent … transparency
I don’t know how to see this way
I don’t know how to see queasy
I don’t know how you’re doing it, but you see me
transparency …
take my hand and you try to look into me
go for the jugular, you think you can see through me
and “how do you do” me
you’re so transparent
who says this isn’t okay, who says that we matter
if the lines overlap, who cares if we splatter?
who says it isn’t alright if I spend the night,
why get uptight
but I won’t let you inside … me
transparent … see what you want to see
you see what you hope I’d be
but if you look through, you might as well just look past
‘cause you won’t see me
I’m not that transparent
shimmering, shivering, glistening, quivering
lighting, igniting, deriving, deciding
entreating, defeating, repeating, retreating
saying “no” just buys me time
transparent … transparency - Track Name: Madness (with Remembrance prelude)
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my head is swimming
body aching
overwhelming
concentrating
fueling fervor
running back
can't seem to stay on track
horizon stretching
distant still
ocean lapping
crashing through
madness, just let go
of me …
I can't breathe
in your arms,
I am lost
in the heavy
wake
of you. - Track Name: Out Of Nowhere [re-mastered]
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out of nowhere
grasping at straws but somehow you get a grip
pull me, roll me into you
out of nowhere, breathing in tandem
take a piece of your soul in exchange for
my force, which I know you need
I guess you want to know I still need you
I guess you ought to know I still need you
no one needs to know how we feed on each other
out of nowhere
out of nowhere
guess it was building up all over again
and even more, my hands in yours
I had no idea your wanting never waned
and I had no idea how you'd hold me, heaving
call me twice and analyze my eating
how we feed on each other
out of nowhere
trade hand for hand, and mouth for mouth
skin for skin turned inside out
and for once, my curse turned around
broken, my eager valentine …
out of nowhere, nowhere
out of nowhere
out of nowhere, nowhere
out of nowhere