Track List:

1. Rumpelstiltskin
2. Puss, In Boots
3. ‘Umble Uriah
4. Mercutio
5. Sir Jack

credits

Nerve takes us into the evocative world of contemporary classical crossover, featuring an intricate blend of piano, strings, and electronic textures. Ian Foster is a seasoned songwriter, film composer and music producer, and the album combines prepared pianos and strings with synthesizers, drum loops and a range of electronic instruments evocative of contemporary film scores and even contemporary ambient music. Intimate piano pieces and lush electronic atmospherics are presented in Nerve by this Music NL and ECMA winner, who continues to evolve and defy genres. Thank you to the Canada Council for the Arts and Music NL for their support of this project, which was recorded in various venues in St. John’s.  – Leaf Music

1. Dark Patterning
2. Gossamer
3. Volition
4. Hard Kiss
5. Who I was – A First Step Home
6. More To Surrender
7. Phosphenes
8. I see You In There
9. Ready To Receive
10. Severe Clear

Released May 31st, 2024

Nerve takes us into the evocative world of contemporary classical crossover, featuring an intricate blend of piano, strings, and electronic textures. Ian Foster is a seasoned songwriter, film composer and music producer, and the album combines prepared pianos and strings with synthesizers, drum loops and a range of electronic instruments evocative of contemporary film scores and even contemporary ambient music. Intimate piano pieces and lush electronic atmospherics are presented in Nerve by this Music NL and ECMA winner, who continues to evolve and defy genres. Thank you to the Canada Council for the Arts and Music NL for their support of this project, which was recorded in various venues in St. John’s.  – Leaf Music

1. Dark Patterning
2. Gossamer
3. Volition
4. Hard Kiss
5. Who I was – A First Step Home
6. More To Surrender
7. Phosphenes
8. I see You In There
9. Ready To Receive
10. Severe Clear

Released May 31st, 2024

My first album 100% in French, supported by the Canada Council for the Arts and Music NL. All original songs.

My first album 100% in French, with support from the Canada Council for the Arts and Music NL. All original songs.

My first album 100% in French, supported by the Canada Council for the Arts and Music NL. All original songs.

My first album 100% in French, with support from the Canada Council for the Arts and Music NL. All original songs.

• 1. Walter Bulwer’s no. 1
• 2. Hailey’s reel (featuring Dermot Byrne on accordion)
• 3. Dawning of the day / Mr. Buttons gets a new jacket
• 4. Lonely road (featuring Bob Muggeridge on vocal)
• 5. All around my hat / Lincolnshire poacher / She said she couldn’t dance / Captain and his whiskers
• 6. The week before Easter / Kemp’s jig
• 7. Arsundvals no. 2
• 8. Lonesome valley
• 9. Going back home (featuring Bob Muggeridge on vocal)
• 10. Candlemas Eve carol / The holly and the ivy
• 11. A walk in the garden
• 12. Walter Bulwer’s no. 3 / Matelot jig
• 13. Emily’s back (featuring Bob Muggeridge on vocal)
• 14. Take my hand, precious Lord
• 15. Clog a Ti-Jules
• 16. Mother Earth (featuring Bob Muggeridge on vocal)
• 17. Swing that tune
• 18. Tickle Cove pond / Crossing the tickle
• 19. Wildwood flower 

vocals by Bob Muggeridge, and button accordion by Dermot Byrne of Northern Ireland on “Hailey’s Reel”.

Newfoundland vocalist and saxophonist Natasha Blackwood’s Love Songs for Good Machines is a jazz album with pop sensibilities rooted in modern-day folk storytelling. These songs are love letters to the working class, addressing themes of labour, love and resilience. They are sharp and witty, tongue-in-cheek, and rich with subtle Newfoundlandia. They bring to mind the work of Joni Mitchell at mid-career: these are songs that bend notions of genres and take risks, with soaring melodies and thoughtful stories framed by arrangements that sound both complex and effortless at once.

“Good machine” is a term used in Newfoundland for something that lasts a long time. It might break down, but it never wears out: it ‘takes a lickin’ but keeps on tickin.’ With this new album, Blackwood looks at the working-class of her native province in this same light, exploring how a person is valued for their productivity, and only celebrated once they are worn out for good.

These songs tell stories about the frustration that comes from working hard without getting ahead; about the intense gratitude for love, family, and the ability to get by; and the need for validation for being a good worker. This album explores the idea of being enough – in the workplace, in the home, and in our relationships. Each song was written by Blackwood for a real person with resilience and grit – terms that are often used to describe the people of Newfoundland, but not exactly in this context. To hear these kinds of songs and stories within a jazz context is something uniquely refreshing, ear-bending, and somehow familiar at the same time.  – Orange Grove Publicity