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| Photo by Mark Chua |
Mara Hruby piqued a lot of people’s interest with her debut project From Her Eyes, a cover of songs originally sung by men, from the perspective of a woman. Her sound struck folks as soft, soothing and refined. During 38thnotes and Warriors World’s exclusive interview with her last year she shared that many have likened her to Corrine Bailey Ray. I would argue that there is an unmistakable hue to her voice that is distinctly her own, but she is certainly not without inspiration. “Al Green is very influential to my music, and to the feeling I want to convey with my music,” she shared with me yesterday. That of course explains her beautiful cover of Al Green’s “Simply Beautiful,” a song that sadly missed the deadline for From Her Eyes.
Al Green wrote “Simply Beautiful” in 1972, since which it has been covered by the likes of Maxwell, Van Hunt, Queen Latifah, Fantômas and now Mara Hruby. On February 18th, Mara performed it for the first time at Pagoda in San Jose. It’s stripped down sound is slow-burning and scintillating. Nate Mercereau’s acoustic rhythm guitar is steady but nuanced and Cam Perridge's electric accents pierce the atmosphere just right. Near the 2:09 mark we particularly hear Green’s influence in a few high notes that I’ve never heard Mara hit before.
This song is my new favorite Mara Hruby song, but we’ve also included her performance of "Alright" for your viewing pleasure. And finally, we would be remiss if we didn’t give a shout out to Mara’s always elegant vintage wardrobe. Respect.
Many thanks to San Saefong for filming and editing the footage and Juan Romero for producing it.
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