Laura Griffin Designs

Sara Bareilles cover – Gravity

Greetings! Taking a lil’ break from the Africa stories to share a new music recording with you.

I’m a big fan of Sara Bareilles’ album Little Voice. Most folks have probably heard the tune “Love Song” on the radio, but there are a few other gems on the album that didn’t get as much exposure like Gravity, One Sweet Love, City, & Many the Miles.

I recorded my own arrangement of Gravity for piano and voice this afternoon. Take a listen to the mp3 and let me know what you think!

p.s. If you listen closely, there’s an impromptu sound effect at the very end of the song. Can you hear it?

Hey Jupiter

For some reason tonight, this song came into my head & decided not to budge until I recorded my version of it. It resonates with me right now…a beautiful, sad melody written by singer-songwriter Tori Amos. The lyrics are below. CLICK HERE or on the below image to listen to the MP3 performed on my piano.

“Hey Jupiter” music & lyrics by Tori Amos (from Boys for Pele)
Arranged & performed by Laura Griffin

no one’s picking up the phone
guess it’s me… and me
and this little masochist
she’s ready to confess
all the things that I never thought
that she could feel

hey Jupiter nothing’s been the same
so are you safe… now we’re through
thought we both could use a friend to run to
hey Jupiter

Verdi Cries

I’ve been a big fan of Natalie Merchant’s work for years (ever since Steve introduced me to her – thanks Steve!). Her songs are often filled with socially conscious lyrics matched with great melodies, and she is a tremendous performer live. I’ve seen her about 4 times in concert, and she is always having so much fun performing on stage that you just want to get up there with her. *LOL*

Natalie got her start over 25 years ago when she became the lead singer of a band called 10,000 Maniacs. One of my favorite tunes she wrote for them is called Verdi Cries. It’s a simple one for piano & voice. I picked out the rudimentary chords on my piano & recorded my own version for you tonight. You can click on the picture or on THIS LINK to listen to the short MP3 of my interpretation. Hope you like it!

P.S. For those of you that follow my papercrafting designs, I’ll have more cards coming soon – I’ve just been having a lot of fun creating music this month!

Lyrics to Hide & Seek…

For those interested in Imogen’s lyrics to Hide & Seek – I created a video to go along with last night’s recording that can be viewed below.

Hide & Seek

I mentioned in a recent post that I’m a huge fan of British singer-songwriter-producer Imogen Heap. One of her most popular tunes is an a cappella song called “Hide & Seek” from her album Speak for Yourself. She processed her solo vocals through her keyboards to create beautiful harmonies.

I realized tonight that my lil’ home recording studio has similar capabilities, so I gave it a shot. Here’s my version of Hide & Seek using a cheap microphone plugged into the vocal harmonizer on my Clavinova. Enjoy!

Killiney Bay, Ireland

As promised, I am posting the next installment of my trip to Europe…Killiney Bay, Ireland.

One late afternoon, I hiked several miles from Dalkey to Killiney & documented the journey with my camera. Once I reached the beach, I sat & listened to the song Almost Lover (by A Fine Frenzy) on repeat as I sat staring at the Irish sea. Words can’t describe Killiney’s beauty, and pictures don’t do it justice. I decided the best way to share my experience with you was to re-create it with a video taking you along on my hike. The background music is my interpretation of Almost Lover arranged on my Clavinova. Hope you enjoy it & get some small understanding of the beauty of the place.

All the best,

Dante’s Prayer…

I love the song Dante’s Prayer by Loreena McKennitt. She wrote it in 1995 while traveling alone by train across Siberia. She later recorded it in Peter Gabriel’s studio in England for her album Book of Secrets.

Tonight, I was drawn to the piano to create my own interpretation. I recorded it in about an hour. The final version was a single take, so this is a bit raw with just my piano & voice. I like the end result, though, and I hope you enjoy it! Click on the image to the left or here to listen to the Dante’s Prayer mp3.

“Cast your eyes on the ocean… Cast your soul to the sea. When the dark night seems endless… Please remember me.”

Happy to be singing & creating music again,

Let Go…

I’ve been on a music kick lately & wanted to share one of my fav artists with you. I first discovered Imogen Heap about 2 years ago. She has an incredibly unique voice, can play the piano brilliantly, & is one of the most talented producers I’ve ever seen (actually performing hundreds of performances live as a one-woman band with just her & her studio equipment). She is currently recording her 4th major album in the basement of her childhood home (in England) and is doing a video blog on You Tube showing her progress each week. Really fun to see her creative process.

Years ago, she was part of a 2-person band called “FrouFrou” whose claim to fame was a song called “Let Go” that was featured in the movie Garden State. Here’s an acoustic version of the song with just Imogen & her piano. It is so beautiful & raw that I had to share…. “There’s beauty in the breakdown.”

New “Almost Lover” recording

Every once in a while, I hear a song that blows me away…that stops me dead in my tracks. Almost Lover is one of those songs. I first heard the song (written by A Fine Frenzy ) a few months ago and I just couldn’t get the sad, haunting melody out of my mind. During my recent trip to Europe, I played it on repeat as I sat staring at the Irish ocean on Killiney Bay. I decided I wanted to do my own interpretation and share it with you here. I arranged the piece on my Clavinova piano with some basic string instrumentation. Hope you like it! Just click on the image below or here to listen to the Almost Lover mp3. FYI – you may need to increase the volume a bit on your headphones or speakers since the recording is not mastered. Hope you’re having a great weekend!

Only Hope

I don’t know about you, but I’m a complete sucker for sappy dramas. The first time I watched “A Walk to Remember” starring Mandy Moore – I think I cried for an hour straight!

We’re not talking an award-winning film, but something about the movie stayed with me…and I think a lot of it had to do with one of the songs on the soundtrack. It’s called “Only Hope”, and it has a beautiful, haunting melody and the lyrics tell about spiritual surrender. I decided to record my own version last night for piano & voice…and this is what I came up with. Click on the image to the right to take a listen to the Mp3. Thanks for dropping by!