Acoustic Album No. 8 Katie Melua

• 1 Joy (Acoustic) 03:48
• 2 English Manner (Acoustic) 02:49
• 3 Leaving the Mountain (Acoustic) 03:30
• 4 Voices in the Night (Acoustic) 04:31
• 5 Maybe I Dreamt It (feat. Simon Goff) (Acoustic) 04:26
• 6 Heading Home (Acoustic) 03:54
• 7 Your Longing Is Gone (Acoustic) 03:28
• 8 Airtime (Acoustic) 03:28
• 9 Remind Me to Forget (feat. Simon Goff) (Acoustic) 03:35
• 10 No Better Magic (Acoustic) 03:23
• 11 A Love Like That (Acoustic) 03:43
• Total Runtime 40:35

Info for Acoustic Album No. 8

Georgian-British singer-songwriter and musician Katie Melua is set to release ‘Acoustic Album No. 8’, a collection of acoustic reworkings of her acclaimed 2020 release ‘Album No.8’, on November 26th 2021. Produced by Zurab Melua, these stripped back performances present the songs and Katie’s singular voice at their most pure.

Album No. 8 saw Katie expose herself with her most personal record to date, as she sought to take control of her music and public narrative. The tracks were not just an exploration into her personal and emotional state, but also challenged the creative depths of an artist who has seen a huge amount of commercial and critical success throughout her career. With high expectations, the album was widely recognized upon its release whilst also scoring Katie’s 8th consecutive UK top 10 studio album.

Released during the pandemic, when she was unable to tour, Katie would often share acoustic performances of the songs online, usually joined by her brother Zurab. “I’m proud of these songs and missed being able to tour around the release of the album last year. Performing them in this distilled way has given them a new lease of life. Zurab has a brilliant mind and we were able to do everything, apart from mastering, at home which is in a beautiful part of London. I think the tranquility and the green park around the area is part of the atmosphere on the record.”

The first single ‘Remind Me To Forget’, which features the double Grammy award-winning, renowned violinist Simon Goff, is an enticing introduction to these songs with Katie’s voice and guitar work seductive and elegiac. Complemented by the violin’s warmth, the track takes a life of its own, distinct from the poignant original. Katie had contacted Simon with the intention of collaborating a while ago, as she explains, “I’m such a fan of Simon Goff’s music so I got in touch with him to see if he wanted to work on a few projects together. It’s been an absolute honor, he put down the most cinematic, wind- like and earthy violin on ‘Remind Me To Forget’ and it makes me immeasurably proud.”

Katie Melua is one of Britain's most successful musical artists, with a catalogue that has been certified 56 times platinum around the globe. Originally from Kutaisi, in the former Soviet republic of Georgia, Melua moved to the UK at the age of eight. Something of a prodigious musical talent she released her debut album Call Off The Search when she was just 19 years old. Since then, Melua has released eight UK Top 10 studio albums: Call Off The Search, Piece By Piece, Pictures, The House, Secret Symphony, Ketevan, the self-produced &critically acclaimed In Winter, and 2020’s Album No. 8.

Katie Melua, vocals, guitar

Katie Melua
was born in Georgia and moved to Belfast when she was eight after her heart surgeon father landed a job there. When she was fifteen she entered a light-hearted TV talent competition called ‘Stars Up Their Nose’ and her version of Mariah Carey’s ‘Without You’ earned her victory. Katie later joined the Brit School for Performing Arts where she studied for a BTEC and Music A-level.

Having visited the school on the lookout for new talent, Mike Batt of ‘The Wombles’ fame discovered Katie and immediately signed her up to his Dramatico label. Having graduated from the Brits School with a distinction in 2003 she joined Batt in the studio to record a demo. Radio 2 DJ, Terry Wogan became her champion and his support of the single ‘The Closest Thing To Crazy’ led to it entering the charts at No.10 on its release.

Her debut album ‘Call Off the Search’ went quadruple platinum and in 2004 the young singer set off on her debut live tour. The album featured two songs written by Melua including ‘Belfast (Penguins and Cats)’ about her childhood experience living in the troubled capital of Northern Ireland and ‘Faraway Voice’ about the death of Eva Cassidy. Melua’s follow-up album ‘Piece by Piece’ was released on 26 September 2005. The first single ‘Nine Million Bicycles’ was released the week before and reached number three in the UK charts. It also featured four more songs written by Melua and reached number one in the UK album chart on 5 October 2005.

This album also helped the singer break Europe, as it sold more than one million copies in Germany alone. It has since sold 35 million copies worldwide. Her third album was entitled ‘Pictures’ and was released in the UK on 1 October 2007. It was announced as being the last album on which Batt would be the lead writer and producer. The record featured Melua’s friend Molly McQueen, former frontwoman of The Faders, and Andrea McEwan, who wrote the lyrics for ‘What I Miss About You’ and ‘Dirty Dice’.

In 2008, Melua embarked on a world tour, allowing her to focus on her previous three records. Her live performance at London’s O2 Arena was released on DVD in May 2009. Melua focused on breaking the US during the first half of 2009 by undertaking an acoustic tour performing with her guitar and piano. She then retired to the studio to write her new album on her own and with Guy Chambers, Rick Nowels and Mike Batt. On 24 May 2010, Melua’s fourth studio album ‘The House’ was released. The singer’s scheduled European tour in 2010 was postponed due to illness, with Melua saying: “I had a bit of a breakdown so needed to take time off.” In September that year she was ordered by her doctors to stop working, resulting in her hospitalisation for six months.

Her postponed tour took place in 2011 and she released her fifth album ‘Secret Symphony’ on 5 March 2012. She also confirmed her engagement to World Superbike racer James Toseland in January 2012.

This album contains no booklet.