#J. Bernardt Mayday Call

[thejoyofviolentmovement]

Jinte Deprez is an acclaimed singer/songwriter, multi-instrumentalist, arranger, programmer and producer, best known as being one-half of the songwriting duo behind the acclaimed Belgian indie outfit Balthazar.  Over the course of the past two decades, the members of Balthazar have played across the global festival circuit with sets at All Points East, British Summer Time, and others — while selling over 600,000 albums globally. Throughout his career, Deprez has firmly cemented a reputation for being a wildly talented generalist: Along with his songwriting partner Maarten Devoldere, Deprez has co-produced three of Balthazar’s five albums to date.  As the creative mastermind behind the acclaimed solo recording project, J. Bernardt, Deprez wrote, recorded and produced his full-length debut, 2016’s Running Days, an album with a sound molded from electronics. That album has amassed over 40 million streams globally since its release.  Deprez’s sophomore J. Bernardt album, the Tobie Speleman and Deprez co-produced Contigo is slated for a May 17, 2024 release through Play It Again Sam. Deriving its name from the Spanish phrase “with you,” the album sees Deprez crafting an old-school band-based sound featuring a collection of the Belgian artist’s super-talented friends that he guided through intense rehearsals and performances, “searching for that spark.” The string and orchestral arrangements were written by Deprez, who’s a classically trained violinist.  Contigo sonically is reportedly a dramatic, compelling and colorful body work and brought to life by sumptuous melodies, vocals and production flourishes from an acclaimed singer/songwriter and producer. Thematically, the album explores all the phases of a break-up: shock, sadness, denial, anger and acceptance while being viciously romantic. “I know a break-up record is a cliché,” says Deprez. “But I’m growing to love cliches! I wasn’t afraid to go all the way. Forgetting about the break-up by singing about it is like self-sabotage, but I’m having fun with it too.” So far, I’ve written about two of the album’s previously released singles: “Taxi,” a taut pop gem featuring a slinky bass line-driven groove, a soulful female choir, propulsive percussion, twangy bursts of guitar and cinematic strings serving as a lush bed for Deprez’s plaintive and heartbroken delivery. The song’s narrator is in a taxi, desperately desiring an escape to contemplate a recent, very bitter breakup: throughout the ride, the narrator endlessly replays and questions everything that led up to the split. And for devastated and heartbroken narrator, he’s left without any real answers to anything, other than raw hurt, confusion and shock. He’s a man who has had the rug violently yanked out from under.  “Mayday Call,” a swaggering yet woozy tune that starts off with a wailing horn but is lead by a thick and brooding orchestral section, a propulsive rhythm section serving as a lush and uneasy bed for Deprez’s squealed delivery, which describes a panic attack with an uncanny verisimilitude before ending with a wearily exhausted coda.  Contigo‘s third and latest single “Last Waltz” is a slow-burning, lush bit of orchestral pop. Featuring an ethereal yet cinematic string arrangement, expressive bursts of guitar, a soulful backing choir and Deprez’s heartbroken baritone croon, “The Last Waltz,” is a drunken and heartbroken surrender to the new reality of post-breakup life, while choosing to fondly remembering what once was. The song’s narrator seems to say “Lord knows, we had some fun, huh? But it’s time to move forward somehow. Auf wiedersehen, sweetheart/Auf wiedersehen/Auf wiedersehen . . . as Vera Lynn once sang.

[piasgermany]

[Album + Video] J. Bernardt von Balthazar kündigt neues Soloalbum "Contigo" an!

J. Bernardt - alias Jinte Deprez ��� wird am 17. Mai 2024 sein zweites Album "Contigo" über Play It Again Sam ver��ffentlichen. Neben einigen neu angekündigten Shows gibt J. Bernardt mit der Doppel-Single "Taxi"/"Matter Of Time" einen ersten Vorgeschmack auf die neue Musik. Deprez ist vor allem als Teil von Balthazar bekannt, die seit über zwei Jahrzehnten zu den beliebtesten und angesehensten belgischen Bands gehört.

In elf Songs erforscht "Contigo" - spanisch für "mit dir" - alle Phasen einer Trennung: Schock, Traurigkeit, Wut, Verleugnung, Schmerz, Akzeptanz und ist dabei gleichzeitig lässig und "bösartig romantisch". “I know a break-up record is a cliché”, erklärt Deprez. “But I’m growing to love cliches! I wasn’t afraid to go all the way. Forgetting about the break-up by singing about it is like self-sabotage, but I’m having fun with it too.”

Als klassisch ausgebildeter Violinist hat der Sänger/Songwriter/Instrumentalist/Arrangeur/Produzent, der auch mehrere Balthazar-Alben mitproduziert hat, alle Orchestrierungen für das Album selber geschrieben. Während die Klangmelange des Debütalbums "Running Days" (2017) stark durch Elektronik geprägt war, ist das neue Album mit einer Band der alten Schule entstanden - eine Gruppe von Deprez' "supertalentierten" Freunden, die er durch intensive Proben und Auftritte geführt hat.

Die erste Single "Taxi" ist ein Song, der von Verwirrung und Gedankenverlorenheit geprägt ist und sich an einen Taxifahrer richtet, der den Sänger einst mitgenommen hat. So singt Deprez darin: "Can you please drive me to a point of no return", quasi als Flucht, um die Nachricht einer Trennung zu verarbeiten. Der Song präsentiert stellvertretend Elemente von "Contigo" - von wilden Grooves über summende Backing-Vocals bis hin zu experimentellen Streichern. Ein Hintergrund aus funkigen Elementen trifft auf dicke Bässe und Gitarren-Twangs, die den Kontrast zu den Streichern und Chören verstärken.

Tracklist "Contigo": 01. Rio 02. Taxi 03. Don’t Get Me Wrong 04. Last Waltz 05. Contigo 06. Matter Of Time 07. Mayday Call 08. Left Bathroom Sink 09. I’m The Ghost You Forgot 10. Our Love Was Easy 11. Free

Live: 24.05.24 Berlin - Lark 01.08.24 Diepholz - Appletree Garden Festival Booking in D: Schoneberg

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[thejoyofviolentmovement]

Jinte Deprez is a singer/songwriter, multi-instrumentalist, arranger, programmer and producer, best known as being one-half of the songwriting duo behind the acclaimed Belgian indie outfit Balthazar. Over the course of the past two decades, the members of Balthazar have played across the global festival circuit with sets at All Points East, British Summer Time, and others — while selling over 600,000 albums globally. Throughout his career, Deprez has firmly cemented a reputation for being a wildly talented generalist: Along with his songwriting partner Maarten Devoldere, Deprez has co-produced three of Balthazar’s five albums to date.  As the creative mastermind behind the acclaimed solo recording project, J. Bernardt, Deprez wrote, recorded and produced his full-length debut, 2016’s Running Days, an album with a sound molded from electronics. That album has amassed over 40 million streams globally since its release.  Deprez’s sophomore J. Bernardt album, the Tobie Speleman and Deprez co-produced Contigo is slated for a May 17, 2024 release through Play It Again Sam. Deriving its name from the Spanish phrase “with you,” the album sees Deprez crafting an old-school band-based sound featuring a collection of the Belgian artist’s super-talented friends that he guided through intense rehearsals and performances, “searching for that spark.” The string and orchestral arrangements were written by Deprez, who’s a classically trained violinist.  Contigo sonically is reportedly a dramatic, compelling and colorful body work and brought to life by sumptuous melodies, vocals and production flourishes from an acclaimed singer/songwriter and producer. Thematically, the album explores all the phases of a break-up: shock, sadness, denial, anger and acceptance while being viciously romantic. “I know a break-up record is a cliché,” says Deprez. “But I’m growing to love cliches! I wasn’t afraid to go all the way. Forgetting about the break-up by singing about it is like self-sabotage, but I’m having fun with it too.” Last month, I wrote about “Taxi,” a taut pop gem featuring a slinky bass line-driven groove, a soulful female choir, propulsive percussion, twangy bursts of guitar and cinematic strings serving as a lush bed for Deprez’s plaintive and heartbroken delivery. The song’s narrator is in a taxi, desperately desiring an escape to contemplate a recent, very bitter breakup: throughout the ride, the narrator endlessly replays and questions everything that led up to the split. And for devastated and heartbroken narrator, he’s left without any real answers to anything, other than raw hurt, confusion and shock. He’s a man who has had the rug violently yanked out from under. Contigo‘s latest single, “Mayday Call” is a swaggering yet woozy tune that starts off with a wailing horn but is lead by a thick and brooding orchestral section, a propulsive rhythm section serving as a lush and uneasy bed for Deprez’s squealed delivery, which describes a panic attack with an uncanny verisimilitude before ending with a wearily exhausted coda. Talking about the release, Deprez elaborates, “it’s a straightforward beautiful song lead by a thick orchestral unisono, all to back the vocals that squeal their way through a description of virtually a panic attack, calling out for help. The song was written in one breath with a suitable code of blasting chaotic horns, there’s also a touch of the original acoustic demo in the outro.”