Mellow cool

The two CDs today exemplify a genre of music best listened to when winding down or chilling (or when you want something unobtrusive playing in the background). Sade is back after 10 years and from the first note, it’s like she never left, while the Kings of Convenience are a Norwegian duo that play delicate, acoustic music that never strays far from ‘soothing’. They’ll be here to perform at the NBC Tent on March 31. Quark Henares, one of the producers, informs me that tickets are available at Mag:Net Boni High Street, Kate Torralba’s GB5 shop, Sputnik Cubao and Route 196 Katipunan.

Kings of Convenience — Declaration of Dependence (Astralwerks): The Kings of C are Norwegian pair Erlend Oye and Erik Boe, and listening to this CD is like answering the question, ‘What if Simon and Garfunkel were to be reincarnated, born in Norway, and got together to make music today?’ As the title for a previous CD declared, Quiet is the New Loud, and the duo has produced its most sunny, yet delicate and minimalist soundtrack for life. Tracks like 24-25 and Boat Behind are the standouts, and if you’ve liked artists like Suzanne Vega in the past, or current artists like Feist, this music will go down easy. But it is an acquired taste, as most listeners will be aching for more rhythm, percussion, and/or ‘fire’, and find this laidback to the max. They’ve been declared as great live performers though, where the intimacy of the songs and the deft instrumentation make them a pop version of chamber music.

Sade — Soldier of Love (Sony BMG): Almost anyone of a certain age group will have a make-out story that has Smooth Operator or Your Love Is King playing in the background, and after nearly 10 years in hiatus, Sade is back with her very individual type of music. It’s soul, it’s cool jazz, and it’s really neither of the two, but it’s a formula that works when one is looking for languid, seductive and sensuous music.

While others highlight the tango/martial influences on the title track, and the atmospheric opener The Moon and the Sky, it’s Babyfather that stands out for me. There isn’t an obvious radio-friendly, surefire single that leaps out at you, but the music flows from one track to the next, and as long as one knows what to expect from a Sade album, one won’t leave disappointed. Her signature brand of music may still have a place in today’s music scene — as there are those instances when it’s a mellow mood we yearn for or seek.