MUSIK | 19.07.2022Michael Bolton
Mit dem bezeichnenden Titel „Spark of Light“ veröffentlicht der der Grammy®-Preisträger und mehrfach Emmy-nominierte Singer-/ Songwriter Michael Bolton sein brandneues insgesamt 10 Tracks umfassendes Studioalbum an, das ausschließlich neues Material enthalten wird. Dafür hat er mit einigen der erfolgreichsten Autoren und Produzenten geschrieben und ist zu seinen Wurzeln als Songwriter zurückgekehrt.
von Tatjana Malinin
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Timothy White
Der US-amerikanische preisgekrönte Singer-/ Songwriter Michael Bolton veröffentlicht mit „Spark of Light“ sein hörenswertes und gelungenes neues Album mit insgesamt zehn Songs. Bolton kann auf eine sehr erfolgreiche 50-jährige Karriere zurückblicken. Dabei hat er sich stets als sehr offen für neue musikalische Einflüsse erwiesen und sich mehr als ein einziges Mal als Musiker neu erfunden. Von Hardrock über Soul und Pop bewies er über die vergangenen Jahrzehnte sein Gespür für Trends und interpretierte diese Trends auf seine sehr spezielle Art und Weise.
Eine Art und Weise, für die ihn Fans auf der ganzen Welt lieben. Nun präsentiert sich Michael Bolton in einem neuen musikalischen Gewand auf der Höhe der Zeit und bricht mit weitreichenden Erwartungshaltungen. Das ist so erfrischend wie inspirierend. Da ist sie wieder, seine sinnliche Stimme in ihrer ganzen Bandbreite, die verzaubert und mitreißt. Der titelgebende Song „Spark of Light“ steht exemplarisch für dieses Album. Der Song ist groovig, voller frischer Beats, versetzt mit klaren Synthesizern. Es ist die Eintrittskarte für Michael Bolton für die 2020er Jahre.
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© Timothy White
Das Album ist sehr facettenreich und musikalisch variabel gestaltet. Da gibt die Hymne „Out oft he Ashes“, die Pop-Arie „Beautiful World“ und das großartig umgesetzte „Running out of the Ways“. Da ist für jeden Geschmack auf hohem Niveau etwas dabei. Und dann sind da noch die emotional aufwühlenden Pop-Balladen, eine Spezialität von Michael Bolton, verkörpert durch „Eyes on you“ und „Home“. Dieses Album steht für das zeitlose Talent und die musikalische Kraft von Michael Bolton. Im Interview spricht Michael Bolton über sein neues Album, seine Karriere und seine Ziele für die Zukunft.
Your new Album "Spark Of Light" will be released on July 14th, 2023. What is this Album about and what is the message?
Michael Bolton: The album is about hope. Many songs carry messages of deep emotional experiences that I think will resonate with anyone who is been in love, been heartbroken, or even been searching for love. In the end it’s all about love. Whether romantic love, love for your children too. A Beautiful World is what I hope we leave our children and grand children and their children after that. I have co-written every song on this album and it’s all to connect with people and bring us together.
You come from New Haven, Connecticut. In what way has your Hometown influenced your love for music and how did you get to music?
Michael Bolton: I was exposed to music at a very young age because my other loved playing piano and singing and there was always music on in the house. My brother Orrin was also a musician and singer and brought home new music all the time ranging from Blues to the Beatles. My parents gave me a guitar and I learned to play a few chords and mostly write songs and use my voice as an instrument. I have been singing for as long as I can remember. It was a great time for music too, especially hearing Motown out of Detroit was a big impact on us musically and socially.
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Are there any artists who have influenced you until today?
Michael Bolton: Ray Charles is my single biggest influence and it was an honor and a dream bigger than I could have ever dreamed to be able to sing “Georgia” to him after growing up admiring him my whole career. It is amazing to be able to work hard at what you love and then one day meet your heroes.
The Michael Bolton Charities Inc., supports poor women and children and victims of emotional, physical or sexual abuse. The organization has raised over $10 million for a variety of projects to date. How important is this social commitment to you?
Michael Bolton: I will never forget the fear of near homelessness and not being able to take care of my family, when I was a struggling artist. It’s personal to me to offer support and use my celebrity where possible to advocate for those in need. We discovered that many women and children in shelters are victims of domestic violence. That is an epidemic that simply cannot be tolerated and I have worked for over 30 years to raise awareness and funding and to change policy to better protect those victims. For children who come from broken homes it can be challenging to excel in school and that paves their life path. It’s absolutely critical to me to address these issues and create funding and programs to help change that pattern.
Where do you get the inspiration for your lyrics, the stories behind your songs?
Michael Bolton: There’s a kind of magic that comes out of songwriting collaborations where people from completely different walks of life, maybe who are even meeting for the first time, bring their own life experience to the session and together create a song that is great than the sum of its parts because it resonates on a broader level to a collective human experience. So it’s part personal, of course, but it’s greatly collaborative and also artistic where we are looking to craft lyrics that are interesting but relatable, and melodies that are timeless and unforgettable.
How important is the contact to your fans and what role does "social media" play?
Michael Bolton: Social media has definitely been something to get used to, because there’s so much to try and keep up with, but I really like being able to hear from fans and I’m deeply moved by their expressions of love and support. It’s exciting to me to see new fans are getting to know me through social media and coming to shows and enjoying my music. But I also see fans that have been with me for 40 years or more! And that is very moving.
Is there something you would like to tell your fans?
Michael Bolton: My fans are the best in the world and I am eternally grateful to them for allowing me to do what i love most.
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Bolton | Androver Music |
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