Imola Vida-Veres is a new artist and she’s got an exquisite voice and compositional chops. She sings in both Hungarian and English, naturally with a slight, but charming accent reminiscent of the fabulous Polish songstress, Basia from the 1980s. Imola’s got an airiness to her vocals that can go from a gentle wind to full gusts pretty quickly showing both grace and power.
The accompanying musicians are all locked in and include several Hungarian string players as well as GroundUP/Snarky Puppy stalwarts Bob Lanzetti, Keita Ogawa, Marcelo Woloski, Bobby Sparks and André Ferrari (Bokanté). Nic Hard, Snarky’s long term sound engineer and mixer, pitches in with sound effects as well. Have a read and a listen on the track-by-track journey.
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Aurea, the debut album of Hungarian singer-songwriter Imola Vida-Veres, takes listeners on a sonic adventure, blending diverse musical genres and influences. Each track is a testament to Imola’s versatility and creative vision. The material offers a modern twist on folk influenced music, combined with an artistic pop-singer-songwriter style, bridging the past and present.
Track By Track
Fly My Bird, Pt. 1, is a traditional folksong, sung in Hungarian for this first part. The song is about sending a message on undying love to a deceased loved one. Even withouth knowing the words, the depth of feeling is clear and the litheness of Imola’s voice is immediately apparent and draws the listener in.
Against The Tide‘s video features a beautiful neon, iridescent Imola singing the lyrics. It’s very clever and the song exemplary of the slow powerful buildup that she’s capable of. The music has a clear Snarky Puppy feel, a feeling of soaring and swooping with the extended title lyric. It’s a great tune and fun video to watch.
Aurea, the title track may reference the Latin word “Aurea” meaning golden or gilded. The lyrics seem to describe a spirit that knows the inner persona very well and offers a strong love. It’s a self-affirming anthemic theme that makes great use of the full string section for a very rich sound.
Strangers is a story about a failed relationship and what might have been. It’s underpinning is a chanting mantra. There’s a sadness to the song about the passage of the seasons that have the two lovers distancing themselves. The simple keys line bounces from once side to the other emphasizing the separation.
Fly My Bird, Pt. 2 is the middle installment of this song, this time setting the bird free to start repairing the damage in the relationship perhaps.
Labyrinth is an introspective poem, as many of the collection are. The protagonist is a bit lost among the different passages but summons the strength to continue, search for keys in the Labyrinth and recover. There’s some Beatles-esque, “Day In the Life”, scratch effects in the middle of the song simulating some confusion before everything except the encouraging message is sung (with some vinyl sounds underneath).
Lost is so gorgeous in lyrics, music and the message — again very spiritual, true poetry. I’m not sure I always interpret the music correctly or consistenly but I do find it very uplifting. I do feel that each lyric is self – reflective and an inner voice perspective of encouragement through adversity and perserverance.
To a Child is a downtempo acoustic tune with a beautiful guitar and piano intro. It’s sung as a lullaby with light choral backing vocals. The vocals are featured with the piano as the main conduit.
M‘s Song begins with sustained keys and Imola enchantingly embracing a new love. The song is about building a sustained relationship, fighting through adversity and coming out strong. The synth creates a wave of sound for the vocals to ride on top of with a spiritual depth to it right up to the sustained echo ending.
Standing Still is about abandonment and waiting for a loved one to return. The chorus is hopeful for a return and imparts an uplifting feeling for the song. The breakdon to just Imola and the piano drifts off to the ending.
Take It is a song of empowerment. The significant other is drifting away but the protagonist, Imola, will “make it” regardless of the situation. The bass line with echoing percussion sounds more ominous than some of the songs. It’s not quite as strong as “Papa Has A Rolling Stone” (Temptations) intro but it does set the stage. The defiant tone sets up the synth solo toward the end as an escape path.
Fly My Bird, Pt. 3, closes out the trilogy of this song with the bird symbolizing the love returning back home to it’s rightful place.
Woods is an uptempo song remembering times with a former friend or confidante, thinking of past secrets shared. Imola’s voice has tremendous warmth recalling the depth of the relationship. The singing in rounds is effective in conveying the feeling of the past resurfacing.
Album Credits:
All music and lyrics written by Imola Vida-Veres, except:
(1)—traditional Hungarian folk song, arranged by Imola Vida-Veres
(2)—music and lyrics are written by Imola Vida-Veres, co-written by Sylvia Lee
(8)—music composed by Bob Lanzetti and Imola Vida-Veres, lyrics are from the poem ‘To a Child’ written by Sophie Jewett
(13)—music: Imola Vida-Veres, lyrics: Imola Vida-Veres and Zsolt Máthé
Imola Vida-Veres—composition, arrangements, lyrics, vocals, upright piano
Bob Lanzetti—production, composition (8), arrangements, acoustic guitar, electric guitar, sound effects
Julian ‘J3PO’ Pollack—keyboards & synthesizers
Haggai Cohen-Milo—upright bass, electric bass, synth bass
Earl Harvin—drums, drum programming
Nic Hard—sound effects
Carlos Montfort—violin (1, 2, 3, 7)
Uixi Amargós—viola (1, 2, 3, 7)
Marçal Ayats—cello (1, 2, 3, 4, 7)
André Ferrari—percussion instruments (13)
Keita Ogawa—percussion instruments (3, 7, 8)
Marcelo Woloski—percussion instruments (11)
Bobby Sparks—organ (10)
Zsuzsanna Aba-Nagy—harp (13)
Balázs Dankó—viola (6)
Aurea was recorded in October 2023, in Estudi Vint, Els Prats de Rei, Spain
Produced by Bob Lanzetti
Engineered by Nic Hard and Ananya Sharma
Mixed by Nic Hard
Assistant mix engineer Ananya Sharma
Mastered by Dave McNair