KARAMELIEN might be a new project with a solid pedigree, a British duo formed by top-notch singer-songwriter Léanie Kaleido and her no less accomplished compadre, guitarist Mark Foster, but the title of their debut single “Ascension Heights” would seem familiar to blues-rock cognoscenti, because that was also the title of THE YARDBIRDS original guitarist’s Top Topham‘s first solo album, out in 1969. That’s no coincidence, though, as Ms. Kaleido is the veteran’s daughter.
Ascension Heights
More so, KARAMELIEN’s wonderful ballad, composed by Léanie, features six-string and jazz intro sample from Top’s old number and he appears in the cut’s video, too. Also worth mentioning is the fact that the summery piece is underpinned at the bottom end by former Ray Charles’ and EARTH, WIND & FIRE bassist Morris Pleasure, which means the song has a lot of history going on behind the scenes. All this makes a prospect of a proper-length album from the small ensemble quite exciting, “Ascension Heights” promising to be a rather prophetic title.
