Carla Bruni releases her second album, the Billboard European Chart number 1 album ‘No Promises’. UK release May 7th on Dramatico EntertainmentCarla Bruni has always had a certain poetry. A definite je ne sai quoi. The grace, style and beauty of this Italian-born, France-raised thirty-something is legendary; her intellect and vitality striking, even formidable. Many - including the international fashion world and famous names not relevant here – have made her their muse. But Bruni, the daughter of a composer and a pianist, had inspiration of her own. Few were surprised when she turned her back on her modelling career and her elegant hand to her first love: music. Fewer still when her debut album, ‘Quelqu’un m’a dit (Someone Told Me)’, turned out to be a thing of understated loveliness. Full of subtleties, surprises and self-penned songs in breathy, earthy Italian and French, ‘Quelqu’un m’a dit’ sold 1.2 million copies in France and another 800,000 worldwide. Plaudits from press and public were effusive, unanimous. Bruni’s gorgeous, thoughtful tones begged comparisons with the likes of Norah Jones and Madeleine Peyroux, with breaths of fresh air and Paris in the spring. Its success blindsided no one – well, except for Bruni herself. Delighted and just a little overwhelmed, the singer/songwriter took time out to write, create and plan her next move. It was all quite in keeping with the unhurried, languorous feel of her music. “Success is a wonderful reward,” says Bruni in her impeccable, dulcet English. “But it can also be a barrier, driving you endlessly back to where you came from.”The wait was worth it. Her new release, ‘No Promises’, is a quietly triumphant gem. An album that celebrates the lyricism of a round table’s worth of English language poets in eleven songs. That highlights the exemplary musicianship and creative vision of Bruni and her producer/collaborator, ex-Telephone guitarist Louis Bertignac. From the harmonica-fuelled interpretation of WB Yeat’s ‘These Dancing Days Are Gone’ (‘I carry the sun in a golden cup/the moon in a silver bag’ runs the beautifully annunciated refrain) to the chiaroscuro take on W.H Auden’s ‘Lady Weeping At The Crossroads’ and the rocking version of Emily Dickinson’s ‘I Felt My Life With Both Hands’, one feels that all the poets involved – male or female, American or British, 19th or 20th Century – would have granted Bruni their blessing.

Having grown up in France with an English nanny and spent several years living in New York and London during her reign as a ‘supermodel’, Bruni is well versed in English and English language culture. Her musical influences reflect as much: The Beatles, The Velvet Underground, Bob Dylan, and The Clash. A true renaissance woman, Bruni has long written lyrics in English as well as in French and Italian; her fondness for whip-smart wordplay was evident on ‘Quelqu’un m’a dit’ but when writing the songs for ‘No Promises’ Bruni found something was missing. "When I started writing the songs, I was immediately aware of my mediocrity. For me songs arrive thanks to an inspiring phrase: the idea for the whole song crystallises around it. In French and even in Italian I can do it, make something substantial in this primitive fashion. But in English I always found myself with a third of the song missing. So I bought some books of poetry to inspire me. My friend Marianne Faithfull told me, “Every evening you should read a Shakespeare sonnet, you'll see how much it helps you”. Instead, I fell in love with the poetry of Yeats and Emily Dickinson..." The album’s focus changed completely. “My lyrics couldn’t compete with the words of Auden or Dorothy Parker so I wondered whether the poems could be the lyrics.”

Bruni explored the poets’ back stories – Emily Dickinson, one of the greatest lyric poets ever, was almost unknown as a poet in her lifetime; Christina Rossetti’s life was as downbeat as her brother Dante Gabriel’s was packed with adventure. Carla also worked on perfecting her pronunciation - “Marianne knew the poems by heart. She even knew who some of them were written for. Working with her saved me from mangling the sense of a line by breaking it in the wrong place,” Bruni says, flashing a grin.

Alongside an equally respectful Bertignac (whose love of blues rock has duly influenced Bruni’s folky sound), she set about applying new colour, shape and texture to poems about love and loss, the elements, the human condition. At home in Paris she recorded guitars, strings, voice and hand clap parts on her 8-track. Bertignac then added some guitar, a bit of harmonica and a smattering of keyboards, sprinkling his magic on an album whose lyrical insights remain relevant and poignant.

“Sure, I’m a 21st Century woman,” notes Bruni. “But I don’t think there’s a lot of difference between heartbreak in the 17th Century and heartbreak today. What really did surprise me was the state of solitude and melancholy in which some of these poets wrote.” In repeating phrases in order to craft a chorus, say, or emphasising an emotion through deft use of strings, Bruni builds bridges between their world and this one – bringing the poems and their scribes to life in the process.

“It was a journey of discovery,” she says happily. “Sometimes, when I was writing, I felt as if I had Emily Dickinson or WH Auden or any other of these masters standing right beside me.”

Profound, potent and imbued with a delicate beauty, ‘No Promises’ is a very special project from a very special artist. An album, if you like, of pure poetry. How could we expect anything less?

Track listing (all music by Carla Bruni)

Title Words by
1. ‘Those Dancing Days Are Gone’ W. B.Yeats
2. ‘Before the World Was Made’ W. B. Yeats
3. ‘Lady Weeping at the Crossroads’ W. H. Auden
4. ‘I Felt My Life With Both My Hands’ Emily Dickinson
5. ‘Promises Like Piecrust’ Christina Rossetti
6. ‘Autumn’ Walter de la Mare
7. ‘If You Were Coming in the Fall’ Emily Dickinson
8. ‘I Went to Heaven’ Emily Dickinson
9. ‘Afternoon’ Dorothy Parker
10. ‘Ballad at Thirty Five’ Dorothy Parker
11. ‘At Last the Secret Is Out’ W. H. Auden

Released in continental Europe in January 2007 ‘No Promises’ topped the pan-European Billboard album chart on January 25th.

www.carlabruni.com Carla Bruni

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