Although we're an English speaking / based website, we’re always more than happy to feature songs written in their native language – I wrote about Danish language band Mallemuk a couple of days back, and tomorrow we’ll feature a rock band who mainly write in Icelandic. However I often feel I miss out a little, despite my diligent attempts to use Google translate.
Norwegian / French songwriter Vita Schmidt has the perfect solution by helpfully releasing 3 versions of the title track from her debut album, ‘Know Someone’, in Norwegian, French and English too. There’s even a 4th version, but that’s just a radio edit - in English.
We haven’t featured her before, a Soul / R&B singer who sounds like she was ‘born to sing’, and clearly influenced by the environments she lived in growing up – moving to Paris to finish high school, and then to study at the renowned Berklee College of Music in Boston, USA, where she had some fairly prestigious support slots, and then back in Paris where’s she’s played at some pretty impressive venues too.
Anyway all this had led to her debut album, a sophisticated, contemporary and also charming album entitled ‘Know Someone’, which has been out for a little while now and subtly infuses influences from across the musical spectrum – check out tracks such as ‘Lake House’ and you’ll see what I mean.
She does normally write in the English language, but recording different language versions of that title track ‘Know Someone’ allows her to have a little fun I think, with the other versions entitled ‘Kjent Med Deg’ and ‘Le Doute et le feu’. Vita Schmidt’s vocals are pretty special, soft and velvet textured, with a lovely way of phrasing herself musically, and the fact that each version sounds so natural is a demonstration of those skills – along with her language fluidity obviously.
My only reservation is that, ironically, in the English version I can’t quite pick up all the lyrics, which is a shame, maybe it’s my old ears or the speakers I’m working with today. So actually I prefer the Norwegian version, which is this one.
Check out the album ‘Know Someone‘ which is out now.
Find her on Facebook or Instagram.