Three years ago, Katie Melua released the album "Ketevan." This sixth and final album marked the end of her cooperation with Mike Batt and Dramatico. While it's impossible to deny the immense success achieved by Katie and Mike over more than ten years of a highly productive partnership, the October release of "In Winter," Katie's first album as a truly independent artist, opens an important new chapter in her creative evolution. Unlike other productions, "In Winter" sees Katie take control of the artistic creation, but she also becomes the main songwriter and producer. She even oversees the recording to create an album that fully reflects her. This album focuses on various themes related to winter, whether festive or personal. Many find this season bittersweet, full of feelings for family, love, giving, magic, as well as warmth and celebration. Others also see melancholy, regrets, dashed hopes, a need for refuge at home, and, of course, the cold. The album features 10 original songs, new arrangements of traditional Christmas carols, and carefully chosen covers. Similarly, the development of "In Winter" allowed Katie Melua to explore two very different cultures close to her heart: the West and the former Soviet Union. Not only did she record this album in Gori, Georgia (her native country), but she also drew inspiration from the rich Christmas traditions and folklore of that region. Katie has spent the past 18 months traveling between her home in London and the city of Gori, where she worked with a group of 23 phenomenal female singers, the Gori Women's Choir. She has wanted to work with this choir for several years, and this album provided a perfect opportunity. She also enlisted the immense talent of Bob Chilcott from Oxford, a world reference in choral arrangements. While the quality of the music is of paramount importance, the aesthetic aspect of the presentation is equally so. This task falls to Niroot Puttapipat, a renowned illustrator from Thailand residing in London. Niroot has an incredible talent for bringing words to life through his drawings. He works exclusively by hand and has illustrated famous books such as "The Nutcracker," "The Rubaiyat of Omar Khayyam," and Jane Austen's "Emma."
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