Friday 9 September 2011

Feel Alive, by Anneke van Giersbergen


Anneke van Giersbergen’s new single Feel Alive has just been released today together with a video, giving a first impression of her upcoming album. The song is powerful and spirited, and at the same time there is an elegant, soothing feeling running through it. I immediately loved its upbeat vibe,” she writes in her website, “the intense melodic loop and the fact that it enabled me to write both soft and strong vocal lines within the same song.” The video consists of a steady single-shot of Anneke, a choice which fits in very well with the song’s directness, intimacy, and tenderness.


Anneke van Giersbergen has always been special; her style, range, and technique enable her vocals to be ethereal as well as soaring, majestic and yet humble, forceful and at the same time comforting, thus creating a tremendous emotional impact. It is this impact that has given Anneke her exceptional status as a singer, from her earlier days in The Gathering, her subsequent solo work with Agua de Annique, and her numerous collaborations. I have tried to trace this course in a previous post, through a number of characteristic tracks from her carrier. And still, I could have chosen any other performance of hers just as well; everything matters.

And to me, the reason why everything matters is that when she sings, it feels as if there is enough beauty and enough hope to make everything out there worth it; living, growing, and looking forward to the first rays of light on a winter day.

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