Platinum award-winning songstress Donna Lewis returns alongside producer, arranger, mixer and engineer David Baron on his latest offering ‘Bad Bad Love’ (feat. Donna Lewis)’ slated for release on 12 July via Here and Now Recordings. Donna Lewis, who co-wrote and performs the vocals to the single, is renowned for her hit ‘I Love You, Always Forever’ which has racked up over 60 million Youtube plays, and over 58 million Spotify streams. It featured extensively on MTV, reached number one on the US Billboard Hot 100 Airplay chart and ultimately reached Platinum status.Her collaboration with progressive house duo Project 46 & DubVision ‘You and I’ on Spinnin’ Records reached Top 5 on the Beatport chart. Lewis also featured in the film ‘Anastasia’ in a duo with Richard Marx for ‘At the Beginning’. This reached number two on the US Adult Contemporary chart.
This single follows on from ‘People of No Concern’ (feat. Lettie & Madeleine) which saw support from Clash Magazine. The New York-born David Baron has an extensive list of credentials including work alongside The Lumineers, Lenny Kravitz, Peter Murphy (Bauhaus), Simone Felice, Shawn Mendes, Meghan Trainor, Melanie De Biasio, Bat For Lashes, Jade Bird, Vance Joy, Matt Maeson, Conor Oberst and Phoebe Bridgers and Michael Jackson. He has been featured by the likes of Rolling Stone, Billboard, Earmilk, Consequence of Sound, Harper’s Bazaar, The Line of Best Fit, NBC San Diego and CNN Heroes and received radio airplay from BBC 6 Music’s Nemone and BBC Radio 3’s Nick Luscombe. He also mixed and performed on The Lumineers upcoming 2019 album, as well as mix a new song with them for the Game Of Thrones soundtrack.
Baron has arranged strings and programmed synths on Lenny Kravitz’s last 6 albums and performed ‘Here To Love’ live alongside him on the CNN Heroes show, as well as playing the piano on the recording for the track. He provided synths, programming, production and mixing to Bat For Lashes’ ‘The Bride’ which was shortlisted for a Mercury Music Prize in 2016 alongside David Bowie and Radiohead. He produced and co-wrote Peter Murphy’s (Bauhaus) single ‘Ninth’ as well as fellow Woodstock artist Simone Felice’s ‘Strangers’ and performed on The Lumineers’ #1 Billboard Album ‘Cleopatra’.
He worked alongside Glassnote Records with Jade Bird for her performances on Jimmy Fallon, Stephen Colbert and BBC Radio 1s Live Lounge, as well as recording and producing her tracks ‘Uh Huh’ and ‘Lottery.’ He mixed and mastered Melanie De Biasio’s ‘Blackened Cities’ – which was Gilles Peterson‘s Worldwide Awards Track of The Year 2017, voted in alongside Frank Ocean, Solange and Kaytranada. He arranged and conducted strings for Shawn Mendes on ‘Bad Reputation’ and played piano, organ and saxophone alongside songwriter Kevin Kadish on Meghan Trainor’s ‘All About That Bass’ – one of the biggest selling singles of all time. He’s scoring the soundtrack for Gregory Colbert’s follow up to Ashes And Snow. This venture sees him working alongside Patrick Watson, lead vocal on The Cinematic Orchestra’s ‘To Build A Home’ plus Sophie Hunger, Melanie De Biasio, Gregory Gonzales (Cigarettes After Sex) and Lisa Fischer.
Baron draws influence from an array of sources – from Samuel Barber’s Adagio, to Max Richter, Zero 7, Ólafur Arnalds, Jóhann Jóhannsson, and The Cinematic Orchestra. ‘Bad Bad Love’ flows cohesively and poetically, presenting a unique, uncompromising vision of maternal intimacy. The track combines the sublime magic of Lewis’ voice, with an equally strong musical composition, to render a track with such natural beauty, it should be certified organic. Combining elements reminiscent to the orchestral tones of Ólafur Arnalds, with vocals that draw parallels to the sound of Susanne Sundfør, ‘Bad Bad Love’ peels back the skin to reveal true human emotion.
Speaking of the track, Baron explains: “‘Bad Bad Love’ combines the angelic voice of Donna Lewis with a small string orchestra and analogue modular synthesizers. It is the mournful yearning of a mother who has been separated from her child. Achingly beautiful, heartbreaking, and appropriate for our times. The musical form is reminiscent of a canon, a repeating chord sequence of low strings that slowly blossom until taking us right back to the original question.”
Stream/ download ‘Bad bad Love (ft. Donna Lewis)’ here.