Natasha England with Logan - Deeper Into Reality

  by Malcolm Carter

published: 19 / 2 / 2011

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It’s been a long time coming, but we finally have a collection of new Natasha England songs, something many of us have been waiting to hear since the excellent compilation of Natasha’s 80's recordings,‘Back From the Mists of Time, was issued a couple of years ago. That collection of songs served as a reminder that Natasha was not only one of our best singers, but also a songwriter who was never quite given the acclaim she deserved. Few who remember 'Top of the Pops' from those days will forget seeing Natasha perform on the show but maybe, looking back, her cover of ‘Iko Iko’, which is the song that she was best known for, didn’t help her career in the long run. Natasha was very much an innovator and she has survived in this business a lot longer than most still without the recognition she warrants. Surely with the release of ‘Deeper Into Reality’ Natasha will attract a new, young audience without alienating the fans who have been with her since the eighties. A major part of Natasha’s music has always been firmly in the electropop genre. While there are indeed various sides to her music in many ways Natasha has been a pioneer when it comes to synth-pop. The passing years have seen Natasha, now with the assistance of producer/songwriter Robert Logan, add a darker edge to her take on this genre and in doing so she has opened up a completely new era in her musical career. The eleven songs here are all Natasha England originals, ten written with producer Logan and although the lead-off single, ‘Stop Doing Nothing’ is a stunning display of both of their talents it’s by far not the only song on the album worthy of being singled out. It’s an extremely catchy electro synth soundscape, which moves at an almost deadly pace and where Logan shows his skills with various tweaks and effects. Lyrically it’s strong as well dealing with the lethargy that surrounds us and as a whole it’s a remarkable, affecting piece of music. Natasha and Logan have really pushed boundaries on this album, rather than take the easy route, which both artists are extremely capable of, and recording lightweight but catchy pop songs that would appeal to a much wider audience than the original sounds and textures that they have moulded into the innovative pieces that make up ‘Deeper Into Reality’. They have created a satisfying album for both the artists and listeners that consists of songs that really do throw up new surprises and sounds every time you play them. It reminds me of Depeche Mode at times, not always in the songs but in the way that both that band and Natasha started out playing pleasant synth-pop and over the years their music has developed and matured with the artist and their fan base. While not abandoning their electronic roots Depeche Mode have nurtured a darker, more adult sound to their material through the years and Natasha, along with Logan, has certainly taken a similar route. Those who have heard little of Natasha’s work since the ‘Iko Iko’ days will no doubt have problems believing that a song as complex as ‘The Passion’ was written and performed by that same artist they witnessed brightening our television screens all those years ago. In many ways it feels like a natural progression that Natasha is making music that reflects her past achievements, while creating a sound that is more adult-orientated than anything she has recorded in the past. But these songs really are more than we had a right to expect even from an artist of Natasha’s calibre. The title track, ‘Deeper Into Reality’, is an outstanding song with Natasha’s treated vocals weaving in and out of the atmospheric wave of sound that Logan conjures up. Again there is this feeling of the duo not forsaking their musical roots but presenting them in a fresh, exciting and creative way. Many music fans were more than happy to finally have Natasha’s back catalogue complied so thoughtfully and respectfully on CD with the release of ‘Back From The Mists Of Time’, but it’s not just Natasha’s legion of fans who should check out ‘Deeper Into Reality’. There’s a whole new generation of music lovers out there who have yet to discover what a great talent Natasha England is and ‘Deeper Into Reality’ is where they should start. It’s a very contemporary sounding album and even though it would sound great in a club Natasha proves that she can still reduce grown men to quivering wrecks with the intimacy of her vocals on the closing song, ‘Remember Me (Waterfall)’ which also proves that she has lost none of the passion she has always displayed vocally. Not only is Natasha England back, but she’s back with arguably the best album of her career to date.

Track Listing:-

1 Darkside
2 Come
3 Strange
4 Stop Doing Nothing
5 Wasted Lives
6 Life's For The Living
7 How Do You Like It
8 Not In A Million Years
9 The Passion
10 Deeper Into Reality
11 Remember Me

Label Links:-

http://www.platformrecords.co.uk/
https://www.facebook.com/PlatformRecordsUK
https://twitter.com/platformsongs
http://www.last.fm/label/Platform+Records+UK

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