Natalise + The Sunset Run premiere their new music video today. It’s called “Love Unconditional.” And it’s amazing!
Natalise is a rarity in today’s pop music world. She is a classically trained pianist and vocalist, who studied at the illustrious San Francisco Conservatory of Music. Her musical preparation informs her music with a style, grace and elegance normally not associated with the pop genre. Thus, her music has appeared television’s “One Tree Hill,” “Degrassi: The Next Generation,” and “My Super Sweet Sixteen,” along with MTV, VH1, Oxygen and The WB/CW.
Stylistically, Natalise + The Sunset Run fall into the pop genre of music. Their sound exudes influences from Coldplay, One Republic, Adele and John Legend, but there’s more to Natalise’s style than just influences. It’s a sound that sweeps over you like a wave of happiness, as if one of those bright, flawless days when the blue color of the sky above oozes into you, filling your heart with music.
“Love Unconditional” begins with only a delicate piano and Natlise’s clear, sweet voice, a voice that retains a soft, hypnotic vulnerability. Unobtrusive harmonic accents add to the flow of the melody, which is full of deep sonorities that stretch to the horizon. As the melody intensifies and the Sunset Run joins in, light orchestration fills the background, while a subtle, muted groove propels the song forward. The chorus swells with strings and instrumental harmonics that provide the music with a soaring feel, like a bird ascending on a rising plume of air. And instead of a guitar or piano solo, there’s a beautiful infusion of strings, providing the tune with the delightful suppressed energy of emergence.
Lyrically, the song is simply gorgeous, speaking of how the world can break our hearts, of past romantic failures and mistakes, but “we can change our minds,” find our way and eventually discover love unconditional. The lyrics are tender and nostalgic on one level, but on another level are full of hope and optimism.
Natalise’s voice is something special. It contains and emanates confidence and flamboyance, yet simultaneously conveys a charming naked dependence on emotional innocence, a kind of mysterious sonic symbolism that filters through and extends to the listener.
Directed by Kenny Choi, the video is a work of art. The video opens with Natalise dressed in white, walking into a white room occupied by a white piano. Then it cuts to Natalise on the beach, silhouetted against the setting sun, as she looks at the crashing waves of the ocean. A montage of people in various settings passes by, but in each case the truth is clear, they are the recipients of love unconditional. Sporadic cuts to Natalise seated at the white piano, playing and singing deepen the emotional impact of the video.
Natalise + The Sunset Run have it going on! “Love Unconditional” is a superb song, with an exquisite melody, deceptively simple; expressive lyrics and Natalise’s angelic voice. In short, “Love Unconditional” is a wonderful song, one you don’t want to miss. It’s already my personal playlist.
Find out more about Natalise + The Sunset Run here.