Nostalgia [ALBUM] by Annika Jayne

PLEASE NOTE: This album used to be the Nostalgia EP comprising five songs. At the same time, however, I also recorded 'Summer Morning' and 'Even the Stars (A Lydia Manuel Song)', which were both released as singles. I intended to release 'Summer Morning' as part of my album 'Fairies in Disguise', but ultimately decided that it belonged with this project. 'Even the Stars' has been added here as a bonus track.

The CD only contains the five original songs. The cassette tape and the vinyl, which is released on 1 April through Elastic Stage, have all seven songs on them.

At the beginning of February 2021, I came across a post of a fellow singer-songwriter on Instagram talking about the RPM Challenge. The text beneath the photo explained that the challenge was to produce a single, an EP, or an album within February, the shortest month of the year!

I was immediately intrigued because I happened to have just the right project for this. For years, I have been wanting to record my very first songs and even revised some of them the year before. However, while this project seemed to be perfect for the RPM Challenge, by the middle of the month I realized that I probably wasn't going to be able to produce the EP in the way I wanted. So, I handed in the song By Your Side for the RPM Challenge and released the whole EP a little later.

As for the songs I wrote all of them between 1991 and 1995, hence the EP title. Can you believe that back then I wrote down the lyrics on my dad's old typewriter?

As I mentioned before, I revised the lyrics for most of the songs. Even though it was quite fun to revisit these songs after all this time, it was also quite a challenge since I wanted to tell the same stories, just in a better way. So, I had to go back to how I felt at the time and come up with better lyrics that matched the same feeling I had back then. So, I didn't change the songs completely - they still reflect the same emotions and tell the same stories I experienced back then. So, this EP is a bit like a journey to the past. Are you coming with me?

This EP wouldn't have happened without the help of a few friends, first and foremost Nathan Illes. We worked so hard on each of the songs! My infinite thanks go to you, Nathan, this EP wouldn't be here without you. Not only did Nathan sing with me on By Your Side, but he also arranged Being In Love and added several instruments and vocal harmonies to it, added bass to En Silence and A Leaf In The Wind, and mixed and mastered the EP! I couldn't be more grateful! Apart from being a wonderful producer, Nathan is also a fantastic songwriter and multi-instrumentalist himself. Please feel free to check out his music here:

https://nathanilles.bandcamp.com/

Further, I'd like to thank my fellow indie artists Orange G for playing the harmonica on By Your Side and Phil Graham who added bass and strings to Scared of Losing You. Both of them are also wonderful musicians:

https://orangeg.bandcamp.com/

https://philgrahammusic.bandcamp.com

Last but not least, I'd like to thank the wonderful musicians who play on the EP: Charlot Rivero on cello, Larry Salzmann on percussion, María Betania on violin, Dmytro Startsev on piano, and Andrea Di Giacomo on accordion.

Annika Jayne’s music feels like a gentle breeze, carrying stories of love, loss, and hope across borders and languages. Singing in English, German, and French, she creates a space where melodies transcend words and emotions speak louder. Inspired by American folk, German Liedermacher, and French chansons, her songs invite reflection, dreams, and solace in vulnerability.

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