''Dark Black'' is the second album by
Kristina Train
Kristina Train (born January 17, 1982 in New York City as Kristina Beaty) is an American singer-songwriter and musician who lives in Nashville, having previously lived in London, United Kingdom. Her music blends influences from country, soul, gos ...
, released on November 5, 2012 in the UK.
Development
Since her last album, Train was signed by Mercury Records, switched to dark sultry pop instead of jazz, and started working with Martin Craft, Ed Harcourt, and Simon Aldred.
After releasing ''
Spilt Milk'',
EMI
EMI Group Limited (originally an initialism for Electric and Musical Industries, also referred to as EMI Records Ltd. or simply EMI) was a British transnational conglomerate founded in March 1931 in London. At the time of its break-up in 201 ...
, the parent company of her label
Blue Note, imploded, axing promotion staff so that Train's album was not well promoted and Blue Note dropped her. However, one musician who heard her work and was impressed was
Herbie Hancock
Herbert Jeffrey Hancock (born April 12, 1940) is an American jazz pianist, keyboardist, bandleader, and composer. Hancock started his career with trumpeter Donald Byrd's group. He shortly thereafter joined the Miles Davis Quintet, where he help ...
. He was looking for a vocalist to join with his band as he was touring to support ''
River: The Joni Letters''. Train joined him and toured for two years as a vocalist and violin player. This gave Train an opportunity to gain a broader musical education, and by the time she went to record ''Dark Black'' Train knew what she wanted to record, or as she said "after two years on the road with Herbie Hancock, I had a very, very clear vision of what I wanted to do musically."
Many of the songs on the album are personal, telling tales of heartbreak and loss, although some sunny songs such as "I Wanna Live in LA" crept into the mix.
Two singles have been released from ''Dark Black''; "Dream of Me" and "Lose You Tonight".
Track listing
Reception
Although well reviewed by British reviewers, ''Dark Black'' initially struggled to find its audience base, with Mercury dropping four months after the album release. However, one influential fan,
Bruce Springsteen
Bruce Frederick Joseph Springsteen (born September 23, 1949) is an American singer and songwriter. He has released 21 studio albums, most of which feature his backing band, the E Street Band. Originally from the Jersey Shore, he is an originat ...
, gave her album a shout-out on a couple of interviews which helped raise the profile of the album. Springsteen compared her to
Dusty Springfield. Springsteen even gave her a text on her birthday, and mentioned that her album was one of the albums on his permanent playlist at the time.
References
External links
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2012 albums