3 years ago, Katie Melua released the album "Ketevan". This sixth and final album marked the end of her collaboration with Mike Batt and Dramatico. It's impossible to deny the immense success achieved by Katie and Mike over more than ten years of a very productive partnership, but the release in October 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 the reins of 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 record focuses on various themes related to winter, whether festive or personal. Many find this season bittersweet, full of feelings for family, love, giving, magic, but also warmth and celebration. Others also see melancholy, regrets, dashed hopes, a need to take refuge at home and, of course, the cold. 10 original songs appear on the record, new arrangements of traditional Christmas carols, and a few carefully chosen covers. Likewise, the creation 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 does she record this album in Gori, Georgia (her native country), but she also draws inspiration from the rich Christmas traditions and folklore of that region.Katie has spent the last 18 months traveling between her home in London and the city of Gori where she worked with a phenomenal group of 23 singers, the Gori Women's Choir. She has wanted to work with this choir for several years, and this record provided a perfect opportunity. She also enlisted the immense talent of Bob Chilcott from Oxford, a world reference in choral arrangement. 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 originally from Thailand and living 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 "Emma" by Jane Austen.
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