(Pop, Jazz, Easy Listening, Soul, Ballad) Rumer - Into Colour - 2015, FLAC (image+.cue), lossless

Heavily influenced by Burt Bacharach and blessed with effortless velvet-smooth vocals, Anglo-Pakistani singer/songwriter Rumer harks back to the early-'70s easy listening sounds of Karen Carpenter and Carole King. Rumer could be the musical child of Burt Bacharach and Karen Carpenter. Born in March 3, 1979 to British parents living in Islamabad (Pakistan), Rumer (real name Sarah Joyce) was the youngest of seven children, and spent her early years living in an expat community. Encouraged to make their own entertainment, she began writing songs with her brothers and sisters, and after moving to the U.K., developed a huge passion for musicals and, in particular, Judy Garland. After a stint at art college, she formed the short-lived folk-indie band La Honda in 2000, but after the band split, she was forced to take on several odd jobs including fixing iPods, teaching, and selling advertising space. Having moved to London to pursue her dreams of a solo career, she adopted a stage name inspired by the author Rumer Godden, and began performing in various clubs. At an open-mike night, she caught the eye of TV music composer Steve Brown, the house bandleader in Alan Partridge's Knowing Me, Knowing You, and the pair began work on her debut album. In 2010, she signed to Atlantic Records, supported Joshua Radin on his U.K. tour, and was personally invited by Burt Bacharach to sing for him at his California home. Her first single, "Slow," became one of the most requested tracks on Radio 2, and reached number 16 in the U.K. charts. The full-length album 'Seasons Of My Soul' gained release in November of that same year. During 2011, she was nominated for several BRIT Awards, and won a U.K. Asian Music Award for Best Alternative Act. She also recorded a song for the soundtrack to the film "Johnny English Reborn". In 2012, Rumer released her sophomore effort, the covers album 'Boys Don't Cry'. Much like the '60s soft rock vibe of 'Seasons Of My Soul', 'Boys Don't Cry' features Rumer's unique take on tunes by such artists as Isaac Hayes, Clifford T. Ward, Todd Rundgren, Townes Van Zandt, and others. In 2014, Rumer returned with her third studio album, 'Into Colour', which featured production from longtime Dionne Warwick and Burt Bacharach.

Celebrated UK singer/songwriter Rumer is back with her third release 'Into Colour', out in the UK on 10 November, 2014 via Atlantic Records. This is Rumer's second release of original material, following her million-selling debut 'Seasons Of My Soul', which won her a Mojo Award, BRIT nominations, and support from the likes of Burt Bacharach, Elton John and Richard Carpenter. In addition, the US version of 'Into Colour' features a bonus track called "Frederick Douglass."

Following the release of 'Seasons Of My Soul', Rumer retreated from her home of Herne Hill, south London, to the musical mecca of Laurel Canyon, in the Hollywood Hills - more specifically, to a trailer which back on to a tumbledown villa. She worked with Rob Shirakbari, the musical director for Burt Bacharach, Dionne Warwick and Daryl Hall's live band. (It was a pairing so harmonious that Rumer and Shirakbari were engaged while working on Into Colour.)

The result is an album with the easy-listening romance of her former sound, as well as nods towards vintage soul and disco. Lyrically, it touches on darker themes. "Dangerous" is about Rumer's fear of returning to making music after four years away to deal with her bipolar disorder; "You Just Don't Know People" is "a direct response to losing faith in friends and battling the growth of cynicism"; "Play Your Guitar" is a "quietly subversive call to arms for struggling musicians"; and "Butterfly", perhaps her most honest song yet, is about a miscarriage. "When I imagined 'Into Colour', I didn't know what it was, but it felt like a hopeful place to walk towards," she says. "In this record you can hear me picking through the debris and going through each emotion."

Her first collection of new songs in four years, 'Into Colour' is the Rumer you first fell for, but in a mood you may have not heard her in previously. Musically, it's more upbeat, sensual and hopeful, expanding the laid-back Bacharach sound to further incorporate elements of 70s Philly grooves (Thom Bell, Hall & Oates), Soul (Curtis Mayfield, Marvin Gaye)…and on thrilling first single 'Dangerous', even Disco. Yet the tensions which gave depth to 'Seasons of My Soul' still linger: the once-bitten-twice-shy rush of 'Dangerous', for instance, in fact addresses Rumer's fear of re-entering music again, where "the sheer prospect just felt dangerous to me. I had so much resistance to going back into writing and performing publicly again that I realized I wasn't going to be able to break through it until I literally wrote a song about the resistance itself. We worked it into a love song, and the emotion just felt naturally Disco in theme."

The backdrop of 'Into Colour' formed in the wake of 2012's 'Boys Don't Cry', an eclectic collection of works originally written by 70's male singer-songwriters. It's a period Rumer now compares to "the end of Hamlet", but nonetheless saw her reach #3 in the UK charts, perform at the White House for President Obama, and led to many unexpected creative adventures with some of the legends she covered. Then, in an attempt at getting better, Rumer flew herself from her home of Herne Hill to the musical mecca of Laurel Canyon, where she rented a trailer which was backed onto the tumbledown villa of an unconventional family of four (as well as their two pot-bellied pigs, a cat, a dog and a snake). This unusual environment was to have parallels with Rumer's childhood in Pakistan, and a later period spent living in a commune. In America she also reconnected with Rob Shirakbari, the longtime musical director to Burt Bacharach and Dionne Warwick. Rob was to become Rumer's producer, collaborator…and, eventually, her fiancé.

What emerged was 'Into Colour' - recorded between Rob and Rumer's home in Arkansas, New Jersey and London's legendary RAK Studios. Most of the rhythm section was performed live by members of Daryl Hall's band - Rumer and Daryl met when collaborating on cult American TV show 'Live from Daryl's House - whilst the album also includes three co-writes with 'Boys Don't Cry' songwriter Stephen Bishop. And whilst there's a more fevered, occasionally sensual tone throughout - also evident in 'Reach Out', available now when pre-ordering the album - 'Into Colour' is by equal parts more outspoken, observational and frustrated. It's ultimately a record about compassion, tracing the journey from where Rumer was - lonely, burnt out and lost - to where she is now: that some voice you fell for on breakthrough hit 'Slow' but cast, for the first time, 'Into Colour'.

'Into Colour' is a luxurious collection of original songs that blend the best of sixties pop into modern songcraft and the result is a beautiful listening experience. This album fully realizes the potential Rumer displayed on her first two albums; every track is a winner. I could seriously listen to this all day long.

Betty Clarke wrote about the new album in The Guardian: "Taking in the eight-strong string section to her right and four-piece horns to her left, Rumer shakes her head in disbelief. "Can you believe this band?" she asks. "Dreams come true."

Bass: Rob Shirakbari (1, 3, 4, 6-10), Zev Katz (2, 5, 11)
Guitar: Kevin Afflack (3, 5, 7-9), Paul Pesco (2, 4, 11), Vincent Bernardy (9)
Lead Guitar, Rhythm Guitar: Darren Hodson (6)
Electric Guitar: Kevin Afflack (6)
Acoustic Guitar: Rob Shirakbari (6)
Piano: Rob Shirakbari (1-3, 5, 7-11)
Rhodes: Rob Shirakbari (4, 6)
Organ: Rob Shirakbari (2, 11)
Wurlitzer: Rob Shirakbari (3, 5)
Synth: Rob Shirakbari (7)
Glockenspiel: Rob Shirakbari (5)
Additional Programming: Rob Shirakbari (2, 5)
Drums: Ash Soan (2, 6, 8, 9), Shawn Pelton (3, 4, 5, 11)
Percussion: Ash Soan (2, 4), Kevin Afflack (6), Rob Shirakbari (2)
Tambourine: Richard Woodcraft (3)
Mandolin: Kevin Afflack (7)
Baritone Saxophone, Tenor Saxophone: Derek Nash (2, 5, 9)
Trombone: Winston Rollins (2, 5, 9)
Trumpet: Chris Storr (2, 5, 9), Martin Shaw (2, 5, 9)
Flugelhorn: Chris Storr (3), Martin Shaw (3)
Cavaquinho: Kevin Afflack (7)
Vibraphone: Kevin Afflack (7), Rob Shirakbari (5)
Arranged & Conducted by Rob Shirakbari
Cello: Dave Daniels (2-9, 11), Martin Loveday (2-9, 11), Ian Burdge (2, 3, 5, 8, 9), Richard Harwood (2, 3, 5, 8, 9)
Viola: Bruce White (2-9, 11), Nick Barr (2-9, 11), Bill Hawkes (2, 3, 5, 8, 9), Maxine Moore (2, 3, 5, 8, 9)
Violin: Everton Nelson (2-9, 11), Ian Humphries (2-9, 11), Rita Manning (2-9, 11), Steve Morris (2-9, 11), Alison Dods (2, 3, 5, 8, 9), Chris Tombling (2, 3, 5, 8, 9), Emlyn Singleton (2, 3, 5, 8, 9), Magnus Johnstone (2, 3, 5, 8, 9), Mark Berrow (2, 3, 5, 8, 9), Matt Ward (2, 3, 5, 8, 9), Natalia Bonner (2, 3, 5, 8, 9), Patrick Kiernan (2, 3, 5, 8, 9)
Backing Vocals: Rumer (2, 3, 4-9, 11)
Additional Backing Vocals: Porter Carroll (2, 3, 4), Sharon Bryant (2, 3, 4), Everett Bradley (8, 9), Janis Siegel (8, 9), Lauren Kinhan (8, 9)

Written by Sarah Joyce, Rob Shirakbari (1-6, 8-11), Rick Nowels (1, 2, 6), Stephen Bishop (1, 2, 5, 7), Sophie Delîla (2), Vincent Bernardy (9), Rick Blackman (11)
Produced by Rob Shirakbari
Executive Producer: Rumer
Engineer: Mike Horner, Richard Woodcraft, Rob Shirakbari, Sean Kelly (13)
Recorded at RAK Studios, Electric Lady Studios, Frisbie Studios, Water Studios
Mixed by Michael H. Brauer at Electric Lady Studios
Strings Recorded by Geoff Foster (2-9, 11)
Mastered by Bob Ludwig
Graphic Design: Tim Benton, Matt de Jong
Photography: Lauren Dukoff, Houston Evans