(October 24, 2016) Valerie Ghent earned her musical chops touring with such musical legends as Ashford & Simpson and Deborah Harry, and the native New Yorker hasn’t stopped running ever since. She’s issued four acclaimed CDs on her own, while being a “go to” recording engineer for dozens of other top recording artists.
Valerie has just released new album, Velours, and the sounds are hot. And we’re extremely proud to be presenting the World Premiere of the first track on that album, a mid-tempo blend of soul and jazz, “Love Divine.”
Valerie tells us about the song: “‘Love Divine’ was recorded in the South of France and features a duet with Guinean vocalist Mano ‘Korani’ Camara singing in Yoruba while I sing in English. The music was recorded in one take, with wonderful musicians I have been touring with in France for the past few years. Mano’s vocal, a traditional Yoruba chant put to a new melody, inspired the English lyrics, which all came together in an almost mystical way. In fact we added this song to the album at the last minute, after we had already mastered. It just felt right as the opening song, almost like an invocation for the whole Velours album. We know music and love come from a higher plane and to me this song resonates with the feeling we often have that love flows through time, that we swim in its rivers, bathing again and again in the waters that connect us all. Even while we were recording Love Divine everything felt magical. ‘Did I love you more than once before in another time?’ I think the answer is yes!
Check out the talented Valerie Ghent below, and tell us what you think!
World Premiere!
Valerie Ghent – “Love Divine”