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Le Macabre Cafe

from Merseyside (2023) by Azimuth A.D.

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about

I flew back to Asia to write two last songs as I thought I had a great EP, but. I wanted a brilliant LP and was two songs short of 30 minutes. I was wanting to write our "Michelle". So I was placed in quarantine two weeks to enter the country and saw no one, just food delivered to my door like an isolated jail cell, with an exercise bike and Korean dramas on TV. I am an introvert, so perfect and I relaxed and started playing with melodies in my head. I came up with two melodies somewhat fast, but I just did not think they were good enough, frustration, but...Fortunately I hit pay dirt on my third try with this strong verse melody...so the rest of the song should be easy as "Michelle" is melodic with a solo that matched the verse. But it wasn't quite that simple...

To begin with I asked my co-writer Rhesa, what did he want? I have never done that before, big mistake! haha. He says, "why don't you write about a French Cafe in England". OK, I thought, easier said than done and not only that I wanted to match the mood of Michelle and the 1960s into the song as well. So my next thoughts were, "well why don't I write about an actual cafe from that era and not just make up random lyrics." So I went into the internet and found the "Le Cafe Macrabre" which seemed to me as the perfect spot, and...it had video from that time from a British TV show and it showed younger customers dancing and playing guitar with candles and skeletons because of the theme. Well there you go...the words will write themselves!

But I wanted a love song between a man and woman...where love started in the cafe and a continuing love throughout their lifetimes, but I didn't want the darker theme of the fun venue. I turned the lyrics around to happier thoughts where I wrote...love is still alive and will never die. The bridge music I heard was too high in melody for me to sing too, but later Jeff suggested we use Jasmine as her voice would be the lady of the song. Why didn't I think of that? Good idea Jeff!

McCartney sang French, and I had French in the title of the song but I felt it needed more. I texted "Beauty, my love, never dies" in the French translator and it worked perfectly into the area I wrote for her bridge melody. What are the odds? Long story short, this song captured an essence of a time long gone, but those moments still live forever for whom ever enjoyed a coffee there. The Cafe is now a business in London as they shut their doors in the early 1980s, but we captured the actual cafe in our video on this page.

The two Jeff's (guitar and producer) worked these guitars out so masterfully and it just screams out, play me again! haha! Additionally this could be the best vocal I had on this record and Jasmine sang the bridge so well that you would think she is French! If you don't know French you might not know what she sang so I added the lyrics, "love will never die" on the third verse to end the song.

One more thing, I still have a bumper sticker from "GuitarCenter" in Santa Clara that read "play an accordion, go directly to jail". haha. Never in a million years would I have thought of adding an accordion to my album, but it's a French cafe...hello, you need it! Courtney had a tuned accordion which is hard to find and nailed it!

This song was so special for us, it indeed brought the Merseyside album up to a level where I have heard the word "Masterpiece" many times, and few have heard this song yet with it just releasing to Apple, Spotify etc this week. It holds such promise with good promotion. My brother and one of my daughters like this song the best from this album. I am both humbled and honored.

lyrics

Le Macabre Cafe
(Gentry/Siregar)

London Town, long ago
Having coffee in the dark
All I saw were your eyes
And the candle glow inside
I still love you
Those feelings still remain
Times were haunting dear
Do le cafe macabre le monde

Time moves on
Door have closed
But the memories live on
Played guitar to your smiles
And found meaning in our lives
I still hold you
I'll never let you go
Our love came alive
Do le cafe macabre le monde
(English: At the Macabre Cafe world)

Le beaute mon amour ne meurt jamais
(English: Beauty, my love, never dies)

Oh I love you
Those feelings still remain
Love will never die
Do le cafe macabre le monde

credits

from Merseyside (2023), released February 14, 2023
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Words and Music: Paul Gentry & Rhesa Siregar

Producers: Paul Gentry & Jeff Stuart Saltzman
Engineer: Jeff Stuart Saltzman

Mixing engineer: Jeff Stuart Saltzman
Mastering engineer: Adam Gonsalves

Arrangers: Paul Gentry & Rhesa Siregar
Strings Arranger: Andrew Joselyn

Lead Vocal: Paul Gentry
Background vocals: Jasmine Rimmel
Piano: Rhesa Siregar
Guitar (acoustic/electric): Jeffery Lyster
Bass guitar (electric): Allen Hunter
Bongos: Thomas Sullivan
Violin & Viola: Andrew Joselyn
Accordion: Courtney Von Drehle

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about

Azimuth A.D. Seattle, Washington

Azimuth A.D. has enjoyed airplay in all fifty states and one hundred forty different countries on close to a thousand different radio stations before todays radio of Spotify, Pandora, Apple Music etc where we can be listened to currently.

Additionally, if you enjoy piano music,Whisperings solo piano is rotating 11 of our songs. They have one million listener hours a month!
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