Acoustic piano folk pop - mellow, engaging, and warm

11 MP3 Songs
POP: Piano, FOLK: Folk Pop

Show all album songs: Flanagan's Field Songs


Details:
By Dan Kimpel

Beyond the engaging songcraft, the assured vocal intimacy and the melodic purity, the spirit of Ellen Tipperâs artistry is a compelling, connective force that spins on an axis of innocence and experience.

On her new CD, Flanaganâs Field, the Maine-based artist alternates her own voice with the narratives from a rich cast of characters. In a trio of songs about womenâs lives, âNot This Timeâ is the saga of an abused woman whose husband derides her intelligence while demanding her body. In âLet it Be Real,â the protagonist is a woman blindly searching for love in the aftermath of divorce, and âPlay It Blueâ offers a remedy for living with the disappointment that sometimes accompanies mature relationships.

Alternatively, the political reality of modern-day America provides the text of âSave Me,â as Tipper offers up this plea: âSave me from the cowboys who circle round the posse/to rope us in and keep us in their own sacred world,â while the gentle, contemplative âCrayonsâ paints a vivid spectrum of lush hues in jewel-toned lyrics. âSongwriting is a kind of anthropology for me â a ways to make sense of humanity. When I bring the big questions down into specific experiences and stories, it makes me feel connected and real,â says Tipper.

Growing up in Maine, Tipper developed a healthy wanderlust, which she has indulged fully. As a classical pianist, broad interests swayed her from the conservatory life, but inspired her songwriting. After college and grad school in the U.S. and studies in London, her persistent interest in world cultures inspired a move to West Africa where she worked with womenâs cooperatives and AIDS education efforts. âOne of my favorite things to do is to go somewhere I donât know and get lost, and have to try to make sense of my surroundings. The kindness of strangers is always surprising and beautiful.â

The rhythms of Africa pulsate in âFatima,â where itâs evident that Tipperâs insights are deep. âEveryone wants to approach Africa with a solution but few people ask good questions first, she observes. âThere are huge cities, enterprising people on the go, layers of social strata and an immense complexity in all of the cultures of the continent. But itâs the richness and depth of peopleâs souls that fascinate me most.â

As Ellen settles back into her native Maine, she returns to a locale imbued with âgentleness but an incredible harshness as well.â On morning walks, words appear to her and in long hours at the piano, in a stream of consciousness flow, lyrics evolve into songs. Whether inviting the listener to enjoy a sunset on Flanaganâs Field, to stroll among the children in an African village, or to open a box of crayons with a child, the minute details, the smallest observations and lyrical textures, are in perfect counterpoint to the endearing simplicity of the melodies. âSongs allow you to be transported,â Tipper observes. âLike traveling, itâs the crooked path thatâs usually the most interesting. Distilling songs to their essence from that faucet of raw ideas is like emerging from that path, renewed, emboldened and ready for more.â