Flower-Powered Artist - February 2008

Diana Winter

It’s one of those rare moments when I pop in a CD of an artist that I have not heard before and get an almost reflexive smile on my face, knowing that I have stumbled on a real talent. That was my experience after popping in my import CD of KGRL’s latest, and perhaps one of the most promising, Flower-Powered Artist of the Month. February’s special FPA is no other than Italy’s Diana Winter.

Diana was born on January 2, 1985 in Florence, Italy to an Italian father and Austrian mother. The musical genes came from Diana’s mom, who is a classical piano player. Diana then grew up mostly from the music that her mom plays (songs from classic piano composers like Mozart and Shubert) to jazz legends (like Louis Armstrong and Duke Ellington) to a bit of classic rock (Dire Straits). She started early classical guitar studies at 10, focusing after some years on more modern guitar players such as De Moraes, Pernambuco, Villalobos, Brower, and Brindle. Her keen interest and knowledge in music naturally led into writing her very
first song at age 14.

On the vocal front, Diana started on a bit of voice training when she was 15. By 17 she started singing with a Gospel Choir. This was the time she realized that music and singing is the right path for her to take. Soon thereafter she leaned to the likes of contemporary R&B/Jazz artists such as: Chaka Khan, Stevie Wonder, Sananda Maitreya, and Sarah Vaughan. She also thought about going into music conservatory but completely scratched the idea in favor of finding her musical identity on her own.

The next crucial step would have to be gigging. And so, Diana went on to play in various local clubs during her teenage years. She started playing with her friends doing acoustic covers of popular songs ranging from Madonna to Otis Redding. Anyone in the music business knows that it’s hard to get by just doing covers, and Diana knew this. After several years of cultivating experiences and honing her talent, fate took on the role of pairing Diana with arranger, guitarist and producer Fabio Balestrieri.

And suddenly, the road for Diana’s musical journey is made clear. The pairing resulted in Diana’s first recording, an album called "Escapizm." The album was produced by Fabio Balestrieri and recorded over two years in Italy, Belgium and the UK. Diana and Fabio also collaborated with Phil Gould, who co-produced Rain and Dream Alone for the album. Much of the work took place in his cottage-studio in Dorset, a small county in South West England. Diana wanted to focus on creating an album "made of notes" - reflecting Diana’s wish for "real" music- played in every single part with real instruments. This idea was fully realized at Hours By The Window studio, where most of the instruments, including the frogs at the stream, were recorded.

The real-instrumentation goal was put to life by a host of talented musicians including: the legendary jazz harmonica player Toots Thielemans, percussion player Miles Bould, double bass player Pino Pecorelli, keyboard player and singer Mike Lindup, bass player Yolanda Charles and Mirco de Grandis, and string player Neil Black. The album mastering took place over at Alchemy Soho in London via Martin Giles. The record has so far been a complete success. Critics and fellow musicians all over Italy took notice of Diana.

Diana has recently been featured on Giorgia’s (one of Italy’s most popular singers who has performed with Herbie Hancock and Ray Charles) new album, Stonata (2007). They did a duet on a song called Vieni Fuori. She’s also recording a song for the soundtrack of "Essayette" - an English movie by Beatriz-Martinez-Gatell.

KGRL is proud to present February 2008's Flower-Powered Artist, Diana Winter. This month’s very special FPA feature is packed with awesomely-amazing exclusives that include: a very informative interview with Diana Winter, a CD review of her debut album: Escapizm, photos, and the very first KGRL exclusive acoustic performance session streamed on-demand. I know you’ll all enjoy the materials exclusively prepared for KGRL by Diana, her producer Fabio, and the rest of the crew of Kouyatè S.R.L. – Why? Because I sure did! Don’t take my word for it, go and check them all out! I hope you enjoy it as much as we did.

Don’t forget that we are, as usual, giving away 3 signed Diana Winter - Escapizm CDs! By now, I trust you know what to do, just e-mail us at (contests @ kgrl.fm – remove spaces) and tell us why you deserve to win. Visit the contest page now for more info.

Note: If you liked the feature, and I'm sure you would, please do check out Diana Winter's MySpace page and write her a congratulatory note for being the FPA!

KGRL Diana Winter Interview

KGRL is blessed with an opportunity to get an interview with one of Italy's finest singer/songwriter, Diana Winter. Our heartfelt thanks goes to Diana Winter and Kouyatè S.R.L. for making the audio part of the interview possible.

Listen to Diana Winter's responses in High Quality MP3 Stream using the player below:




Transcription excerpt from the interview:

KGRL: How did you get started with music?

Diana Winter: How did I get started with music? It might not be so original, but I started with music [in] early childhood because my mom is a classic piano player. I have been listening to a lot of different kinds of music since I was little, like from Mozart, Schubert, Debussy, and Chopin (everything she used to play on her piano), to more jazz standards/bossa nova. My dad is a good fan of Dire Straits so I've always been listening to them since I was little, and also Satchmo [Louis Armstrong] and Duke Ellington and a lot of different kinds of music.


KGRL: You have been doing performances in clubs in your teenage years. What did you used to sing back then? Were you doing originals or covers?

Diana Winter: I was doing mainly covers, because it was so much fun. I had so much fun. I was playing in a guitar duo with a friend of mine and we used to [play] these '80s revivals. We would play a little bit of everything from Otis Redding to Madonna. Of course everything played was our own version, because there was just one guitar and sometimes two guitars. At the end we had built up quite a nice show and it was really funny. We used to play songs from Madonna (sings Like A Prayer). It was very funny. I had a lot of fun.


-> READ the full transcript along with high/low quality mp3 of the Interview by Clicking Here! <-

Escapizm CD Review

Escapizm is the first full-length offering from the Italian singer/songwriter, Diana Winter. The album was released on February 2006 in Italy. The US and UK release is due anytime this year. While it is undeniable that Diana is very talented, you have come here to see me dissect the album right? We’ll see if the CD is up to snuff. Let’s get right to it!

Extreme pop-jazz happiness is to be found on the first track, Never Ending Tale. Right off the bat, with the wonderful acoustic guitar introduction, there’s just a feeling of class and quality that immediately raised my attention. The song structure builds layer upon layer of instrumentations that truly accentuates the melody. The string section is simply perfect, just in the right amount to heighten the intensity and never overpowers the rest of the instruments. The vocal work is outstanding, especially during the bridge part where the final line of notes just got stuck into my mind. From then on the song became as such, a never ending tale of my Diana Winter musical experience.

The follow up, Just A Little, is just as strong as but perhaps just a little more pop-sounding. The song’s upbeat rhythm is wrapped around a melancholic overtone. While the song itself verges on being classified as just another pop song, the vocal prowess of Diana makes it shine quite brightly. You just can’t go wrong with a pretty pop song that is raised to a whole new level by a show of talent. It’s like seeing a contestant in one of those talent shows, only that Diana writes her own music and it outshines anything that is being played on mainstream radio today.

Taking away the pop and putting on a smooth jazz is what the next track, titled Rain, delivers. Most mainstream folks won’t appreciate this as much as the folks who are into smooth jazz because it’s not as flashy as the first two tracks. But this is what I admire about Diana, she’s not afraid to show her roots and influences. Midnight comes right next, devoid of the poppiness as well. It is a very emotional piece. The guitar work and the instrumentations are stand-out, especially the drumbeats at the very final chorus - something that invokes a sense of urgency… like a clock ticking.

Dream Alone brings us back to the soulful classy pop style that Diana excels in. Once again, we are treated to a whole new level of pop brilliance that is totally brought into life by the use of a real back-up band. I’m also a sucker for harmonics so I appreciate the guitar work in this song a lot. In short, this is quite an excellent pop track that will surely be on repeat in your players.

The country-folk inspired September Song comes in next and is heralded by no other than the legendary jazz harmonica player, Toots Thielemans. The song has a basic arrangement with a good choice for use of percussions to accompany both the harmonica and the vocals - nothing short of a vocal showcase in this one.

Would You Let Me brings us a jazz-pop track with an infectiously catchy hook. The string arrangement is quite nice in this one. I love how it accentuates parts of the song and how it weaves in and out. This song exemplifies the album title, Escapizm, as it effectively affects mood - quite relaxing. The bossa nova-inspired Floating Star is a nice way to change the pace of the album. This is probably the song that used the full-band to its fullest. The song also features a great use of a wind section. It offers a pretty danceable beat, one that you can surely use to shake your bon-bon.

The following track, Cruel, is probably one of the best songs in this CD. The song features once again, Toots Thielemans on harmonica. It’s truly perfect on all levels: the intensely moving melody, the vocal work, the harmonica and guitar accompaniment, and the subdued but effective clock-like tick-tock of the drums. This is definitely one of my favorites in the whole CD. Stripped of the instrumentations, the song stands-out even more. Acoustic version always reflects how good the songwriting is, not hiding behind overproduction or noise effects. And thus, I invite you all to check out the videos below… It truly is worth checking it out!

The acoustic-driven ballad True Blue Heart strikes next, and indeed it does strike deep in the heart. I can’t write in words how intense and amazing this piece of earcandy is. The vocal prowess is in display once again and it just blows me away every time I listen to this particular song. This is one more of the personal favorites in the CD. And while the back-up band does sound good, I’d prefer having this song stripped of the instrumentations. It is an amazing composition that works much better with just the acoustic guitar as the back-up. Thus, allow me to invite you all again to check out the videos below…

The closure to the album comes with the ballad, Calling Angels. While this track feels like the weakest of the bunch, it is still a good listen. This song is more piano-based than the rest of the tracks.

So, is the CD up to snuff? I’ll have to answer with a resounding YES, and tons of pinches above it! What can I say? I’m completely blown away by the talent of Diana Winter. It's amazing as well how her singing voice is quite different from her normal talking voice. If you're wondering though, this is discussed in our interview with Diana - so go check that one out. If you’re lucky enough to be able to import the CD (or buy it if you're in Italy), Escapizm, then go ahead and do so. I highly recommend it. For those who can’t, it will be worth waiting for the local release.

Escapizm CD - Import - Buy It Now (Click Here)!

Tracklist:

Never Ending Tale
Just A Little
Rain
Midnight
Dream Alone
September Song
Would You Let Me
Floating Star
Cruel
True Blue Heart
Calling Angels

Diana Winter Photos

Play Slideshow!

KGRL Exclusive Videos - Special Acoustic Performance

KGRL proudly presents three awesomely-amazing exclusive acoustic performances by Diana Winter. The streams can be viewed using our embedded flash player. We do hope you enjoy these wonderful videos - they truly are amazing!

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September Song

True Blue Heart

Cruel