“The Lotus Factor” is an album that I keep pressing play whenever I want to escape from my lovely jazz world. Blown away by the feelings of this magnificent first album, Em Pompa and her band mates Bellflower, have created an ambience that caries you to a sweet place. The euphoric feeling caresses your spirit, leaving you smiling and bopping to the deep beat of the groove. Bellflower offers indie-alternative, electro music, both ambient and rhythmic with a swirl of jazz improv. This Montreal band truly is one of a kind. When I asked Pompa how she chose “The Lotus Factor” as an album title, she replied: “The Lotus is a flower that grows in the mud, underneath the water. The more mud/crap there is on it, the more it will flourish. It’s kind of a reminder to follow your dreams even though there are many obstacles… Never give up kind of message… whatever doesn’t kill you, makes you stronger!” Em Pompa, the mastermind behind Bellflower, composed all the lyrics and is the eminent voice that grabs your soul. She met her beau: William Côté (drums) while they were both studying jazz at UdeM. and together they formed Bellflower. The duo welcomed Félix Petit (saxophone) also know as (FELP) to help craft the melodies. The original band counted 8 members, most of them having studied jazz at UdeM. In the recent year, Bellflower has added a handful of musicians to collaborate with them. Since the release of “The Lotus Factor” (2013), the group has created 4 new songs to dazzle us. Here is “Cyclone Waltz” one of their new songs: Having seen the group perform twice, I can assure you, Bellflower is very much like a huge party that soothes the soul! Em Pompa delivers her message with vivid lyrics. She expresses herself by showing her love and passion to the crowd in both French & English. Bellflower has great melodies and gives lots of freedom to the horn section to improvise and blow you away! In fact, that’s when you feel and hear the jazz influence. For our pleasure, Bellflower along with their collaborators will be performing their latest tracks on Tuesday, February 24th at Casa Del Popolo. The opening act is not to be missed. In an acoustic setting for the evening, John Jacob Magistery will captivate you with his charisma! Apart from Pompa and Côté, Bellflower is Félix Petit (saxophone, sampling), Jérémi Roy (bass, synth bass), Jérôme Beaulieu (piano, keys), Alex Dodier (saxophone tenor), Nicolas Boulay (trumpet, flugelhorn) and Kathryn Samman (vocals). Collaborators for the evening are Johnny Joe G. – Mackenzie Myatt – Francois Jalbert – Anthony F Lombardi. BELLFLOWER The Lotus Factor (indépendent, 2013) -Genre:indie-alternative electro jazz music Buy the album online on their BandCamp page Visit the band’s Facebook page Visit Em Pompa’s YouTube channel Réagissez à cet article / Comment this article commentaires / comments
