Spotlight Release Review | Ryan MacKenzie & Luca Manning- Ae Fond Kiss
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United Kingdom, London
When a collaboration happens, it can either be the worst thing to have ever happened to music since the last worst thing, or something amazing. Well for Scotland’s finest Luca Manning, vocalist and Ryan MacKenzie, pianist and arranger, the latter clearly applies.
This pair, based in the United Kingdom, London, harness their strong Scottish roots and share with the rest of the world what some of the country’s greatest talent has to offer from their folk and jazz music scenes.
This beautiful collaboration produced the gorgeous track rendition of the Burns classic “Ae Fond Kiss” while taking the listener on a journey through some of the most beautiful soundscapes ever experienced.
If we take a view at the expert composition, we can really see how Ryan was able to build some of the amazing credentials he has, being a pianist, arranger and music director to artists including Pixie Lott, Alan Cumming and Christina Bianco to name a few.
Setting us up with some subtle, emotive piano the framing for the rest of the piece begins. In quick succession, we are introduced to some beautiful violins and a gentle drum, which offers a sense of warmth and familiarity to the listener and gives this track a slight jazz feel. As this progresses the backing continues to build into a much more, full and focal position in the song’s play. The melodic soft and floating orchestral soundscapes make this track such a beautiful listen.
But then we can move on to the vocals and it is safe to say Luca is such a hidden talent that needs to be heard by so many more. Their vocal control is unreal! The ability to hold such a mesmerising tone, soft yet clear, enticing but not too forceful really keeps the attention of the room. Personally, I would dub this artist a modern female Eva Cassidy, with their strength clearly being in holding a room in the palm of their hand, waiting on every syllable to be uttered, without having to shout and scream.
Everything about this release has had us roped in and hooked. We really can’t wait to see what the future brings between these two and certainly hope for more collaborations in the future.
