''Secret Symphony'' is the fifth studio album by singer-songwriter

Katie Melua Ketevan Katie Melua (; ka, ქეთევან "ქეთი" მელუა, ; born 16 September 1984) is a Georgian and British singer and songwriter. She was born in Kutaisi and raised in Belfast and London. Under the management of comp ...

, and was released on 5 March 2012. The album was recorded at Air Studios in London in collaboration with orchestrator and conductor

Mike Batt Michael Philip Batt, LVO (born 6 February 1949) is an English singer-songwriter, musician, arranger, record producer, director and conductor. He was formerly the Deputy Chairman of the British Phonographic Industry. Having achieved substantial ...

. Melua said in a statement: "This album was going to be my 'singer's album'. I had always wanted to do this one day; singing other people's songs brings something out of you and your voice that isn't perhaps where you would have gone vocally with your own material." She added: "It stretches you. As it happened Mike and I did write a couple of new ones, but the general idea was to find songs by great writers such as

Ron Sexsmith Ronald Eldon Sexsmith (born January 8, 1964) is a Canadian singer-songwriter from St. Catharines, Ontario. He was the songwriter of the year at the 2005 Juno Awards. He began releasing recordings of his own material in 1985 at age 21, and has ...

('Gold In Them Hills') and a favourite song of mine, originally recorded by

Bonnie Raitt Bonnie Lynn Raitt (; born November 8, 1949) is an American blues singer and guitarist. In 1971, Raitt released her self-titled debut album. Following this, she released a series of critically acclaimed roots-influenced albums that incorporated ...

('Too Long At The Fair') plus some more well-known ones like ''Keeping The Dream Alive''." The lead single, " Better Than a Dream", and the track "Walls of the World" were both originally recorded by Melua's longtime collaborator Mike Batt, for the TV series ''

The Dreamstone ''The Dreamstone'' is a British animated television series that ran for four series, with 13 episodes per series between 1990 and 1995. The original concept and artwork were created by Michael Jupp, and the series was written by Sue Radley ...

'' and his 1977 solo album ''

Schizophonia Schizophonia is a term coined by R. Murray Schafer to describe the splitting of an original sound and its electroacoustic reproduction. This concept comes from the invention of electroacoustic equipment for the transmission of sound, which meant t ...

'' respectively. "The Bit That I Don't Get" music video was filmed at several locations in

Farnham, Surrey Farnham ( /ˈfɑːnəm/) is a market town and civil parish in Surrey, England, around southwest of London. It is in the Borough of Waverley, close to the county border with Hampshire. The town is on the north branch of the River Wey, a tribu ...

including the Lion and Lamb Yard, Guitar Village and 101 Collectors' Records. Farnham being the location for Mike Batt's studio where they made demo recordings. The record serves as the follow-up to Melua's 2010 album '' The House'', which reached number four on the UK album chart. Musicperk.com rated the album 9/10. A "Special Bonus Edition" of the album has also been released. It consists of the album, four extra tracks dubbed "The Secret Sessions" and a second CD containing a live album: "Live In Berlin". In 2012 it was awarded a diamond certification from the

Independent Music Companies Association The Independent Music Companies Association (IMPALA), originally the Independent Music Publishers and Labels Association, is a non-profit trade association established in 2000 to help European independent record labels represent their agenda a ...

which indicated sales of at least 200,000 copies throughout Europe.

Track listing

Chart performance

In the United Kingdom, the album debuted at #8 with 19,071 copies sold in its first week.

Weekly charts

Year-end charts

Certifications

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Secret Symphony 2012 albums Katie Melua albums Albums produced by Mike Batt