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Jessie Ware & BenZel cover Brownstone

November 6, 2012 0 Comments

Jessie Ware may not have won the Mercury Prize for her stellar debut album Devotion (just who is Alt-J, exactly?), but the London soulster is securing plenty of attention via other international routes.

In October, Ware signed a U.S. deal with Cherrytree Records, scheduling an EP for a January release. She dazzled audiences last Friday with a set at the inaugural Pitchfork Paris. And now she’s teamed with Japanese production duo BenZel to cover Brownstone’s “If You Love Me,” one of the great R&B girl-group gems from the ’90s.

The Los Angeles trio peaked at #8 on the Billboard Hot 100 and reached #2 on the R&B chart with the single in 1995 (well before Destiny’s Child arrived to dominate). However, my connection to the song was forged a few years later when “If You Love Me” was prominently featured in the 1998 film, Living Out Loud, starring Holly Hunter (and a rising Eddie Cibrian).

Ware wraps her gorgeous voice around the melody of “If You Love Me” as if the match was always fated. Director Kate Moross, who lensed the one-take clip for Ware’s “Wildest Moments,” created the visual accompaniment.

Free download of Jessie Ware & BenZel – “If You Love Me” (Brownstone cover) via SoundCloud.