When
you sit in a room with Simone Felice you can hear a subtle metallic
ticking noise. If you hunt for the source of the sound you'll find a
scar bisecting the entire length of his chest, a visceral reminder of
the open-heart surgery he was forced to undergo in the summer of 2010
after a childhood congenital defect brought him to the brink of death.
Felice’s heart is his metronome, his divining rod, and the life source
of his self-titled solo debut, set for release on April 2nd, 2012 via
Reveal Records.
Former drummer, writer and vocalist of Catskill Mountain troubadours The Felice Brothers, and the creator of folk-soul outfit The Duke & The King, Simone Felice steps into the spotlight to begin his journey as a lone artist, bearing the fruits of a lifetime of song-writing. Largely self-produced with help from Ben Lovett (Mumford & Sons), the album was recorded in deeply resonant places, settings that were as haunted in their rafters as Felice felt in his bones: a barn near his house in the woods, an old church in London, an abandoned high school building by the Hudson River. What he created in these hushed, hallowed places is music that could be called folk but that has running through it a ghostly gospel-like feel.
Simone Felice is strikingly simple in its arrangements while extravagant in its emotional impact. Each track is rife with intricate imagery and captivating storytelling, not surprisingly, as Simone is an acclaimed wordsmith, published poet and novelist. As with his prose, Felice conveys his often mournful tales of star-crossed lovers and beautiful losers with remarkable empathy, giving each a deeply personal feeling.
Former drummer, writer and vocalist of Catskill Mountain troubadours The Felice Brothers, and the creator of folk-soul outfit The Duke & The King, Simone Felice steps into the spotlight to begin his journey as a lone artist, bearing the fruits of a lifetime of song-writing. Largely self-produced with help from Ben Lovett (Mumford & Sons), the album was recorded in deeply resonant places, settings that were as haunted in their rafters as Felice felt in his bones: a barn near his house in the woods, an old church in London, an abandoned high school building by the Hudson River. What he created in these hushed, hallowed places is music that could be called folk but that has running through it a ghostly gospel-like feel.
Simone Felice is strikingly simple in its arrangements while extravagant in its emotional impact. Each track is rife with intricate imagery and captivating storytelling, not surprisingly, as Simone is an acclaimed wordsmith, published poet and novelist. As with his prose, Felice conveys his often mournful tales of star-crossed lovers and beautiful losers with remarkable empathy, giving each a deeply personal feeling.
“Courtney Love” is less recrimination
than rumination on the loneliness in all of us that can lead to
reckless, desperate behavior. Lead single "You & I Belong"
(with friends from Mumford & Sons) finds Felice praising each new
morning, an increasingly difficult chore in today's pixilated world of
seven billion distractions. The darkly exquisite “New York Times”
presents a commanding lyrical onslaught about the dire state of the
front page news - The track can be downloaded free from here: http://soundcloud.com/
The album is available via the Reveal Records website (http://www.
To celebrate the release of his self-titled debut, Felice will be appearing at Bush Hall in London on April 27th, 2012. Tickets are available now: http://www.alt-tickets.co.uk/
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