"Going back to the mid-Sixties, I've heard more than any one man's fair of singer-songwriters, so it takes a lot to get my attention. Mark Abis got my attention. His melodies are original, his voice warm and distinctive, a real musical sensibility is obvious, with literate lyrics to boot. My vote for one of the best of the new generation."
Joe Boyd		  

EMILIANA TORRINI Summerbreeze
I always rated this as one of the best love songs of the 90s, but always thought Torrini wrote it herself. Not so: during my time on MySpace, I became aware of the song’s composer, Mark Abis, and his current album contains his version of the song. It’s just as sumptuous. When you can write a love song that sounds equally impressive when it’s performed by a singer of either sex, you know you’ve written a classic. Perhaps one day this song will be rightfully considered as such.
 
4 out of 5 stars Beautifully understated acoustic singer-songwriting - Alan Robinson - Indiscreet PR)
'Changing Inside' is a modest, understated gem of a record from Mark Abis. Some may recall his song 'Summerbreeze', as recorded by Emiliana Torrini, but this album shows that Abis has a even more to offer, with a considerable grasp of tuneful, lyrically intriguing Folky Pop. Utilising some subtle instrumental colouring to his lyrical ruminations, Abis has constructed an at times quite staggeringly good debut album.

 

 

"Like with Summerbreeze, Mark Abis wrote that song. He was in the kitchen and I didn't even know he wrote. We were having coffee and suddenly I got hyper-dramatic. The sun was shining and I got this high feeling and I was like 'Oh! I have to have this song that's like the sun coming up on your face...' and he was like 'Oh? I have a song...' And he sang that song and I almost died. " (Emiliana Torrini)

  
 

A special night Glastonbury Assembly Rooms, Glastonbury on Fri 18th Nov 05

Mark Abis headlined, his acoustic guitar playing supported by a double bass and stripped down drum set. Theses few instruments made it possible for the group to create a surprisingly broad range of textures and feelings, from faux cowboy prairie songs to the urban wistfulness of 'walking through the heart of New York'. Mark's warm personality and flair for performance kept the evening flowing from one magical moment to another. After an encore of his most successful song from the Buffy the Vampire Slayer TV show 'summer breeze' Mark did a brisk trade in selling his latest CD to every member of the audience and everyone left feeling that they had had a very special evening.

mjss, Sun 19th Mar 06

 

Review in obskure magazine France by Ejeh

Introducing Mark Abis, British author, composer and folk musician who has put together a compilation of his best work since 1995. He is essentially a solemn man with a superb voice that is not only soft and warm, but is also particularly sensual.

The voice is usually accompanied by a lone acoustic guitar when it is not supported by arrangements which are either ethereal or have richer bluesy strains.

Everything slips delicately into place as you listen. The melodies are straightforward and refined. Dream Come True and Steppin Out are truly likeable, and could have been written especially for those comfortable evenings spent around a good fire in great company. One is reminded of the subtle minimalism of Nick Drakes seminal and sensitive Pink Moon.

Despite this, Abis doesnt confine himself to intimate folk and somehow manages to emerge as a true, bluesy folk band with a sprinkle of orchestral arrangements.

The addition of backing vocals, 70s style keyboards and bass give pronounced bluesy tones, which can be heard in Through The Heart Of New York featuring the hazy tenor sax of Eg White, a musician who shows a forever evolving instrumental dexterity and who happily takes on several different fundamental roles to complement the seemingly calm & uncomplicated character of Mark Abis.

As in Stronger Than Desire, the use of harmonica can always bring a sophisticated touch of blues.

Gently out of kilter with the other tracks on the album, Changing Inside and Heaven Is Your Face have more of a Pop feel. Less intimate and withdrawn than the other songs, they are no less indispensable for their light-heartedness, and breathe a bit of variety into the compilation.

Mark Abis lullabies soothe us into a state of peace and tranquillity far removed from the chaos of everyday life.

    

 

Review of Changing Inside by DJ Alchemy. Sept 06

Joe Boyd is not an easy person to impress. He describes how he used to receive many demos from people citing Nick Drake as an influence (Boyd was Drake's producer), most of which he chucked into a box marked "WPSEs" — white people singing in English — for missing the point about what made Drake special. But part of the reason it's taken me so long to get round to writing this review is that Changing Inside isn't an album that reaches out and grabs you. You have to go and meet it on its own terms.

I get the impression this is an old-fashioned album of two sides. The first half comprises older songs going back as far as 1995 in the case of the opener, Summerbreeze, a song which Emiliana Torrini covered on her first album.

I think the second half (with newer songs, possibly recorded later?) is more interesting. The writing is perhaps even more subtle, but less derivative. With more personality of their own, the songs don't evoke precedents and similar artists so readily. These later songs are also where the mysteriously-named Eg White — who engineered, mixed, and co-produced the whole album, as well as performing on most tracks and hosting the recording in his Shepherds Bush basement — comes into his own. Songs like Stronger than Desire and Already There have little bits of interference from treated guitars and keyboards. In the wrong hands, such effects can seem like aural clutter, but here they draw attention to the space in the songs rather than undermining it.

Such treatments may not confirm to Joe Boyd's blueprint for authentic, three-dimensional recording, this is the side of Mark Abis — the more mood-driven songs with arrangements that combine acoustics and electronics — that I'd like to hear more of.

 

Gappy Tooth October Review Zodiac Oxford.
Mark Abis, 3 Blind Mice and The Mules

Stepping in from this chilly October night, I hear some sweet and low-down tunes that filter through the venue like the bittersweet little ditties that they are. As the cold medicine (and beer) kicks in, I can’t help but sway. Mark and his entourage are providing the perfect conversation tool here- relaxed, folksy songs tinkled with harmonica and conviction.
Matt Bayliss

 

Picture of green man Triste logo
Quality Roots Music with a Hint of Melancholia
 
Mark Abis - Changing Inside - Independent

Changing Inside Although well produced and engineered, Changing Inside's tracklist seems not so coherent. The album begins with the title track, a pop song which taps into the current tender male vocals and acoustic guitar trend in the vein of Jack Johnson and Paolo Nutini, and sounds so unlike an opening track I actually wondered if my stereo had decided to play the album back to front. With its reflective lyrics, centred on the coming of age, whereby a fishmonger's wife romantically comments "Sometimes we all have to see the light", "Changing Inside" might have been a better choice as the closing track.

Similarly, the album continues for another two songs after track nine, "Stronger Than Desire", which at the time seemed a further candidate for the last track. Pace is maintained throughout this track by the guitar, despite the speech-like vocals making it seem slow. The temptation to break out into full blown, heavy dance is there, especially when the texture grows seemingly with each verse, but the heartbeat bass drum keeps all under control. Once the effects begin, the distortion and feedback of guitar and later, the synth, and the harmonica interrupts with a lazy stab at centre feature, this track is confirmed to be a kind of chill out, the sample and effects mimicking the city sounds of which Abis narrates. Again, a perfect chance to fade out into a satisfactory finish.

Come to think of it, track three, "Memory", thankfully not homage to Lloyd-Webber, could also compete with the aforementioned as closing track. It is the chorus, the sauntering repetition of "I want you/I want you", and the rising drums which invokes images of an enraptured audience, clutching each other and singing along, as a closing track often does.

All this talk of closing tracks doesn't mean I spent the entire time hoping the record would come to an end. It's just Marc Abis goes for that sound so many aim to emulate: poignant lyrics and a rousing chorus, meaning his listeners really take something away with them.

So what of the chosen final track? Well, the album comes clean again after those previous, and "Pink Tulips" is of more traditional singer-songwriter ground. The influence of Bob Dylan is especially prolific here, particularly in his nonchalant pronunciations and the manner in which he fits the lyrics to the music. It's the more experimental material, tracks seven to nine, which demands more attention from the listener, and it is on this that Abis should spend more time.

 

j

 

.
 

Mark Abis – Changing inside
(Serpent sounds)
With compliments of Mr. Joe Boyd!


L’incipit confidenziale e delicato di Summerbreeze, forse il brano più noto di Mark Abis poiché apparso nella serie televisiva Buffy, fa pensare subito ad un novello Nick Drake. Forse è anche per questo che Joe Boyd, storico produttore dello sfortunato e introverso Nick , ha espresso il suo voto a favore di Mark Abis come uno dei migliori artisti della nuova generazione.
Mark dalla sua ha la capacità di tirare fuori la malinconia e l’intimità ma alternarle a momenti di distensione come in “For a woman’s love” o a parentesi più ritmate come “Heaven is your face”. Un po’ Dylaniano ma anche Beatlesiano con qualche sfumatura nello stile autorale di Harrison, inglese ma capace di lanciare sguardi verso l’America, capace di scrivere torniti brani con aperture blues come la ottima Steppin’ Out e ritornelli pop che gruppi d’ alta classifica come Maroon 5 invidierebbero, Abis ha l’eclettismo e la profondità di un cantautore completo.
“Changing inside” è la raccolta delle sue migliori canzoni dal 1995 ad oggi. Non nuovissima per data di pubblicazione, ma impossibile da non citare adesso che solo tramite My Space siamo venuti a conoscenza di un ragazzo a cui, senza il timore di esagerare, si può attribuire l’aggettivo di talento.


Giulia Nuti
 		 Track List

 

summerbreeze
memory
for a woman's love
dream come true
heaven is your face
steppin' out
changing inside
through the heart of new york
stronger than desire
already there
pink tulips
 

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Juli 2007
  Mark Abis, Changing Inside (Serpent Sound)
 

Op het moment dat ik de CD Changing Inside van de Britse singer-songwriter Mark Abis zit te beluisteren surf ik noodgedwongen over het Internet. Het lijkt er namelijk op dat Abis, net als soortgenoot Joe Purdy, niet veel wil of kan loslaten over waar het ooit allemaal begon. Toch kom ik op MySpace een opmerkelijke oproep tegen dat al vorig daar geplaatst werd. “Liedjesschrijver en zanger Mark Abis wil graag naar Nederland komen om op te treden. Dat is natuurlijk heel leuk voor de mensen die hem kennen, maar hij is niet heel bekend. En dan wordt het moeilijk. Gelukkig biedt MySpace uitkomst: een groep ter mobilisatie van de massa. Of geen massa, maar 200 man. Precies goed voor de bovenzaal in Paradiso. Dat zou wat zijn... Luister de liedjes en teken in als je geïnteresseerd bent, you won't be sorry!” Let op, deze oproep komt uit Nederland, is een reactie op het al in 2005 verschenen Changing Inside en lijkt in eerste instantie op een wanhopige poging bestaande barrières te doorbreken. Na zorgvuldig zijn CD Changing Inside beluisterd te hebben kom ik tot de conclusie dat dit zo’n gek idee nog niet is. Mark Abis maakt namelijk prima harmonieuze songs die zich soepel bewegen tussen Ray Lamontagne en Nick Drake. Abis stem is zuiver klinkt warm en draagt hier en daar wat sensualiteit met zich mee. Volgens MySpace zou het liedje Summerbreeze mij bekend voor moeten komen. Dit omdat Emiliana Torrini het liedje opnam voor de Amerikaanse televisieserie Buffy the Vampire Slayer. Ik heb de moeite genomen om die versie te beluisteren, maar helaas ook die versie komt mij niet bekend voor. Abis koos ervoor om met dat nummer te openen. Samen met producer Dave Anderson subtiel op piano creëert Abis een prachtige ambiance in dit naakte liedje. Naargelang de CD voortduurt beland ik verstrikt in het up-tempo For A Woman’s Love. Dit liedjes en Heaven Is your Face zijn in feite de enige nummers die een echt bandgeluid laten horen. De rest wordt minimaal georchestreerd. Hier en daar wel voorzien van mondharmonica in Stronger Than Desire en Pink Tulips en in Through The Heart Of New York de diepe tenor Sax van Eg White, maar overal klinkt Changing Inside vooral naar back to basic. Het enige wat nog rest is dat Abis een wereldhit gaat coveren en deze op de markt brengt. Gary Jules deed dit een aantal jaren geleden ooit met Mad World (Tears for Fears) waarom zou Abis, als hij dit tenminste zou willen, dit niet lukken met Nick Drake’s evenaarbare Hazey Jane. Even geduld dus, maar Paradiso, of dat van het oosten, komt volgens mij wel goed denk ik zo. (Jan Janssen)
 
  07-18
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