Yvonne McDonnell has received quite a few very good reviews for the EP I did with her last year. ‘Unsigned Act of the Week’ to ‘Submission of the Week’ and a lot of nice comments, also regarding the production, have made me very happy. When we started demoing the songs (on an acoustic guitar at her parent’s home) it was clear to me that the production needed a subtle approach. Her voice and the guitar playing were what I wanted to be featured as much as possible whilst building the other instruments carefully around this core. A big help with that was my musical partner in crime Cai Marle-Garcia who is not only a phenomenal bass player but also played keys on the EP. We also worked on the arrangements together where I also added drum ideas that Josh Stadlen played perfectly during the actual recordings. It was also an elaborate decision to change from acoustic to electric guitar and make the sound less folk and and more accessible in order to reach a wider audience. We are currently talking about the next EP where I’m thinking of switching things around again. Can’t wait.
Here are some of the comments from various magazines, blogs and music websites:
“Sometimes, indies can create sounds that teach even the best producers lessons about subtlety and nuance, and this debut by London solo artist Yvonne is just such a record.”
“Submission of the week”
“Her most recent EP Endless Soul is wonderful”
“Unsigned Act Of The Week”
“This also comes across in the chiming Pastorian guitar chords – high up in the mix, pushing the melody onwards. It’s an unorthodox approach, but unlike most unorthodox approaches it works.”
“With the grace and power of a heavyweight boxer, Endless Soul is an impressive debut. Tear off the labels and listen.”
“Yvonne McDonnell has crafted six magnificently poignant pieces of art here. The rousing nature of each song’s arrangement and the astounding vocal work make for a product that is quite inspirational in its entirety. With its cool, accessible sound, Endless Soul is a superb acoustic folk production whose appeal should be universal.”
“A bit of Natalie Merchant a bit of Tracy Chapman in there but regardless of who you can reference she sounds great.
Her recent six-song release Endless Soul is a gorgeous combination of folk, rock and pop in which you get to hear an exceptional voice over effective instrumentation.”
“…a sensitive voice over a gentle melody and rhythm, twinkling guitar parts under the chorus acting as blossoms of light within a rather dark, haunting song. In others, we can see soulful swings reminiscent of 50s and 60s girl groups; regardless of the comparison, there is a pungent scent of brilliance in every note picked.”
You can find the EP as well as some live stuff here: http://www.yvonnemcdonnell.co.uk/