A gloriously cinematic exploration of love, with lyrics written by Katie Melua, and production by Leo Abrahams – ‘A Love Like That’ is a true tour-de-force of artistic and lyrical maturity. This is songcraft at its finest, with Melua’s faultless performance completely inhabiting the song, and the musical presentation and arrangements expertly executed by Abrahams, co-composer Sam Dixon, and mixers Cameron Craig and Luke Potashnick. The full cast of exceptional musicians on this track also includes drummer Emre Ramazanoglu, flautist Jack Pinter, and The Georgian Philharmonic Orchestra.
Of the writing process, Melua says, “This song is asking the essential timeless question about mad love, ‘How do you make a love like that last?’ But before it became about love between a couple, it started its life centred on my relationship with work and the stamina required to keep being an artist in the music industry. It was only after my co-composer Sam Dixon and I wrapped our session, that I retreated to a cottage in the Cotswolds for 3 weeks to wrestle with the song’s lyrics. ‘A Love Like That’ continues a narrative that is across the new album. And in the context of love - it is about having the courage to speak openly and freely.”
“The highlight for me was recording the orchestra in Tbilisi with Katie,” recalls producer Leo Abrahams. “The arrangement is written to convey the protagonist’s changing state of mind throughout the song: from turbulent to calm, sentimental to defiant. Technically this was probably the simplest arrangement on the record but we had to do almost 20 takes of the tremolando introduction to get the right amount of aggression but with an elegant resolution. The players seemed to enjoy it!”
‘A Love Like That’ provides a glimpse into Melua’s philosophies on love and life, and the rejection of certain idealistic, prescriptive, rose-tinted viewpoints.
“It's a burning fire, it’ll be a wreck
A bitter dream, that makes you beg
It falls like rain, it turns to dust
How do you make a love like that last?”
Katie Melua:
“I’m really proud of it, I loved working with Charlie Lightening, we had lots of talks about how to make it a meaningful work and deal with the new limits on filming. We went with just me and Billy Howle on screen, we tried to show with subtle gestures and nuances the truth of love in its early stages. Hopefully everyone can enjoy watching it.”
Charlie Lightening:
‘It was so nice to collaborate with Katie on this project. We talked through the idea at length and honed what we wanted to achieve. It's always so good when the artist has a strong idea of where the visual needs to go. It meant we could create a character and figure out this narrative journey that you go on throughout the film. The music is so cinematic so to create this film has been so rewarding. Everything just came together perfectly in the end.'
Pre-order the album HERE.
Watch the video for ‘A Love Like That’ HERE.
About Katie Melua.
Katie Melua is one of Britain's most successful musical artists, having received over 56 platinum awards. The 35-year old is originally from Tbilisi, Georgia and moved to the UK aged 8. Her voice carries extraordinary qualities of clarity, emotional depth, and richness of tone that have been her trademarks since she released her debut album Call Off The Search when she was only 19 years old. Melua has released 7 top 10 studio albums – Call Off The Search, Piece By Piece, Pictures, The House, Secret Symphony, Ketevan and, most recently, 2016’s self-produced, critically acclaimed In Winter (she and Kate Bush remain the only two British female artists in history to achieve this). An accomplished songwriter, composer, and arranger some of Melua's most well-known hits include ‘Nine Million Bicycles’, ‘The Closest Thing to Crazy’, ‘Perfect World’, and her now infamous cover of ‘Wonderful Life’. A constantly in-demand touring artist, Melua enchants her audiences worldwide with her uniquely powerful and captivating voice, flawless performances, and charming personality. Melua’s 8th studio album will be released in the autumn of 2020.
About Leo Abrahams.
Leo Abrahams is an English musician, composer and producer. He has collaborated and produced records with a multitude of musicians including Jon Hopkins, Regina Spektor, Frightened Rabbit, Ghostpoet and Pulp. He has co-written film soundtracks including Peter Jackson's 'The Lovely Bones' (with Brain Eno) and Steve McQueen's award-winning ‘Hunger' (with David Holmes). Abrahams has also released five solo albums in styles ranging from folk to experimental, and in November undertook a 16-date solo tour of Siberia to develop a free-improvisation ambient guitar project.