Lisa Simone
Nina Simone’s daughter, followed a unique path. During her childhood she moved all over the world, following the success of her mother’s career. When she finally left home she enrolled in the U.S. Air-Force. After serving in the Iraq War she changed her path towards music, singing with Spanish star Raphael on his world tour. Later, she was recognised in the U.S. for singing with the pioneer Grammy Award nominated acid-jazz band Liquid Soul. After that, Simone took her first steps as a solo singer with her Broadway debut. It was here that she learned her trade and discovered her true passion for performing every day, no matter where or when, and connecting with her audience.

Her last album, All is Well, was a sort of precursor to My World. Hervé Samb was the project’s musical director from the beginning and went further, constantly pushing boundaries by improving the arrangements and orchestration. The arrangements and compositions rely on simple and organic choices, playing to the group’s strengths: their acoustic potential, live sound, and an unmistakable personal touch, which were patiently developed during their live concerts. My World is the completion of a very fine balance that Lisa Simone, Hervé Samb, and their musicians have been able to successfully bring to life on stage during the last two years.

My World is the fruit of a harmonious collaboration between Lisa Simone and Hervé Samb. It was recorded in two different places in France: in the Cévennes foothills at Studio Recall (which had already worked with French and international artists such as Alain Bashung, Noir Désir, and Césaria Évora), and in the Parisian region at Yellow Sub Studio (Zazie, Garou…). New instruments were added to intensify the original band. A brass section and some percussion feature in the grooviest tracks (Unconditionnaly, Hold on, Tragic Beauty), and a string quartet for additional character and soul to My World, Expectations, and This Place. But this album, more than anything, bears tribute to its vocal star. Lisa Simone’s voice is accompanied by Lisa Spada’s, and by all the musicians’ in the title track My World, adding a unique texture to it. This album’s biggest interest lies with the vocal arrangements, the purest form of human expression, enabling Lisa Simone’s message to fully resonate.

With My World, Lisa Simone allows her listeners to experience her personal world, and we discover her family’s importance through her songs. From her distant son in Ode to Joe, to her daughter RéAnna, to whom she dedicates the song Unconditionally, and who performs one of the album’s best tracks, I Pray, with her mother Lisa. Lisa also sang about her mother Nina, who had also expressed her love to Lisa, movingly dedicating her the song If You Knew, in which she expresses all her love and her need to be close to her. Nina Simone is evoked in Tragic Beauty, a song that Lisa wrote at the time of her mother’s death. Similarly, This Place makes reference to Nina’s house in Carry-le-Rouet, South of France, where Lisa decided to settle after her mother’s death in 2003.

Fifty-three year old Lisa Simone sings about her happiness of finally finding where she belongs in the world and of simply being alive. Along her experiences and encounters, Lisa knows how to transcend her past suffering and today shares a profound joy and new serenity with her music.

Through all of this, one simple truth remains: Lisa Simone writes superb songs.