I came to Paris in 2008 to record with the singer/songwriter Adam McBride-Smith, his song “I Want to Leave You,” for my second record for Brownswood Recordings. I knew Adam from Brooklyn but he had moved to Paris to be with this girl he met. At any rate, I met up with Adam and we immediately began writing music together, which came as a bit of a surprise to both of us. We ended up recording five or six songs in addition to “I Want to Leave You” and we had the nucleus for our band “Half Seas Over” which subsequently released a record on Brownswood in 2010. During those ten days in Paris I also met a girl.  Fast-forward a couple of years and I’ve followed her to Paris and Adam and his girlfriend (now wife), have headed back to the States. C’est la vie.

So, now I live in France, I signed a record contract with Challenge Records, based out of the Netherlands, and me and my wife, Ophélie, are raising our first child, Clémentine. Thats a lot of commas. Over the past couple of years I’ve started teaching piano again which is something that I’d gotten away from since leaving NYC. Jean-Christophe contacted me in 2013 to teach him the blues. I had been batting around the idea of starting a vinyl only record label and one day after a post-lesson-lunch I shared where I was at with JC. JC is a business man with a lot of soul looking for an outlet (hence the blues piano). Well his eyes lit up when I explained the concept and we hit the ground really running the next day. I had NO IDEA how to really get this project off the ground and the last year has been a whirlwind of eye-opening meetings and conversations with JC and an ever expanding cast of friends and associates that have met with us to poke holes in our concept and to share ideas. In December we headed to NYC and recorded the incredibly talented and generous musician and personal hero Frank Kimbrough. We can’t wait to share this music with you (hello you!) and get Newvelle fully formed out in the world.

–EM