Naked Music

Naked Music is the twelfth studio album by Irish singer-songwriter Eleanor McEvoy. Released in 2016, the album is defined by restraint, intimacy and a deliberately direct recording method. McEvoy recorded the material at Grange Studio in Norfolk using what she described as “studio-performing”: rather than constructing the tracks through heavily layered production, she played and sang the songs in a manner intended to preserve the immediacy of a live performance. The resulting presentation places the voice, songwriting and acoustic instrumentation at the center, with sparse use of acoustic and electric guitars and other understated touches. The album’s identity also extends beyond its audio recording. Its artwork emerged from a creative relationship between McEvoy and the British painter Chris Gollon. McEvoy first encountered Gollon’s work after seeing and buying his painting “Champagne Sheila” in a London gallery. Their collaboration developed further in 2015, when McEvoy visited Gollon’s exhibition “Incarnation, Mary and Women from the Bible” at Norwich Cathedral while touring in the United Kingdom. Gollon subsequently attended McEvoy’s sold-out performance at The Bicycle Shop in Norwich. McEvoy invited him to create artwork for the album after discussing the songs with him. Gollon responded by producing four paintings connected to the album: two addressing the “Naked” theme and two inspired by song titles or lyrics. McEvoy used all four in the CD artwork. The songs also prompted Gollon to make a further 23 paintings, creating a broader visual cycle around the album’s themes of intimacy, desire and the relationship between male and female perspectives. This collaboration made Naked Music more than a conventional singer-songwriter release; it became an art-and-music project in which the record, paintings, exhibition and published songbook were presented as related parts of one body of work. The album was launched in London in January 2016 through an exhibition curated by IAP Fine Art. Later that year, Hot Press published Naked Music: The Songbook, documenting the collaboration with reproductions or presentations of the paintings, song scores and interviews with McEvoy and Gollon by Jackie Hayden. The project therefore occupied several formats: studio album, live performance repertoire, visual-art exhibition and songbook. The repertoire consists primarily of songs written by McEvoy, with some co-writing involving Lloyd Cole or Rodney Crowell. One notable track is an a cappella version of “The DJ,” originally associated with McEvoy’s 2004 album Early Hours. Critics emphasized the album’s high-fidelity sound, minimal arrangement and emotional closeness, describing it as a recording whose impact depends more on the singer and the songs than on elaborate production. Naked Music is consequently positioned as an audiophile-oriented, intimate singer-songwriter album and as a documented example of cross-disciplinary collaboration between recorded music and contemporary painting.

Naked Music developed as Eleanor McEvoy's twelfth studio album and as a wider collaboration between recorded music and visual art. The recording was made at Grange Studio in Norfolk. McEvoy approached the sessions as “studio-performing,” a method intended to retain the concentration and immediacy of a live rendition rather than rely on dense studio construction. The album’s arrangements are correspondingly spare, emphasizing McEvoy’s voice, songwriting and restrained guitar-based accompaniment. The visual dimension began with McEvoy’s interest in the work of British painter Chris Gollon. After purchasing Gollon’s painting “Champagne Sheila” from a London gallery, McEvoy later encountered his exhibition “Incarnation, Mary and Women from the Bible” at Norwich Cathedral in February 2015. During the same period, Gollon attended one of McEvoy’s performances in Norwich. Their exchange led McEvoy to ask Gollon to create the cover art for the forthcoming album. Gollon produced four paintings in direct response to the songs. Two addressed the album’s “Naked” concept, while two others related to specific song titles and lyrics. McEvoy selected all four for the CD artwork. Gollon then expanded the response with another 23 paintings, creating an extensive visual interpretation of the music and its treatment of intimacy, desire and gendered viewpoints. The album was launched in London in January 2016 at an exhibition curated by IAP Fine Art. The project was subsequently documented in Naked Music: The Songbook, published by Hot Press later that year. The publication brought together interviews with McEvoy and Gollon by Jackie Hayden, the song scores and the associated paintings, making the collaboration available in a form that went beyond the original recording and exhibition. Critical responses focused on the album’s high-fidelity recording quality, minimalism and emotional directness. Reviewers highlighted the effectiveness of the sparse arrangements and the a cappella treatment of “The DJ,” a song connected with McEvoy’s earlier work. The album was regarded as especially suited to close listening because its production leaves substantial space for the voice, lyrics and performance nuances. Its principal significance is therefore both musical and curatorial: it presents a carefully recorded singer-songwriter album while documenting an unusually extensive partnership between a musician and a painter.

• 2016

  Naked Music album and exhibition launch

  [1]Naked Musicen.wikipedia.org

  The album was launched in London in January 2016 in conjunction with an exhibition of Gollon's paintings inspired by the songs.

• 2016

  Naked Music: The Songbook published

  [1]Naked Musicen.wikipedia.org

  Hot Press published a book documenting the album's music-and-art collaboration, including interviews, song scores and paintings.

• 2015

  McEvoy and Gollon establish the album collaboration

  [1]Naked Musicen.wikipedia.org

  After McEvoy visited Gollon's Norwich Cathedral exhibition and Gollon attended her Norwich concert, McEvoy invited him to create artwork for Naked Music.

An intimate, minimalist singer-songwriter recording with an audiophile presentation and an accompanying visual-art collaboration.

• Studio album · 2016

  Naked Music

  Eleanor McEvoy's twelfth studio album, recorded at Grange Studio in Norfolk using a live-oriented studio method. The largely sparse arrangements foreground McEvoy's voice and songwriting, with acoustic and electric guitars used selectively. The repertoire includes predominantly McEvoy-written songs, collaborations involving Lloyd Cole or Rodney Crowell, and an a cappella version of “The DJ.”

• Music and art publication · 2016

  Naked Music: The Songbook

  A Hot Press publication documenting the relationship between McEvoy's songs and Chris Gollon's paintings. It includes interviews with the two collaborators, song scores and visual material connected with the album's exhibition project.

• 2016Naked Music London launch exhibition

  United Kingdom

  The album launch was paired with a London exhibition curated by IAP Fine Art, presenting Chris Gollon's paintings made in response to McEvoy's songs.

  Outcome. The project framed the album as a combined music and visual-art work rather than solely as a recorded-music release.

  Source

• 2016

  Launch of the album as a music-and-art projectProduct launch

  Background

  The songs inspired an extensive group of paintings by Chris Gollon, creating an opportunity to present the recording alongside visual art.

  Action taken

  The album was launched through a London exhibition and later extended through a dedicated songbook.

  Aftermath

  The release received coverage as an interdisciplinary collaboration combining an album, paintings, exhibition and publication.

  Source

• 2015

  Adoption of a live-oriented studio methodStrategy

  Background

  McEvoy wanted the recording to preserve the immediacy of a live performance.

  Action taken

  She recorded the tracks through “studio-performing,” playing the songs as she would perform them live and using relatively sparse arrangements.

  Aftermath

  The approach contributed to the album's intimate, minimalist and high-fidelity critical profile.

  Source

1. 1Naked Musicen.wikipedia.org