Christchurch based soprano Janice Bateman releases sophomore album of timeless classics just in time for Mothers Day

For many the passion of music is always close to the surface of life. Music can make you soar, give you a quiet contemplative moment or bring a group of friends and family together to dance the night away. For Janice Bateman it encapsulates a true passion in life. To sing and sing proud. With a music career spanning across three successful decades, her ongoing enthusiasm for a greattune is something that is never far from the surface.

Reason To Believe is Janice Bateman’s sophomore album and she sees the choice of the music as a reflective one. “This album is very much a music tapestry reflecting on life. Not everyone can put into words what they feel, but they can listen to an album like this and have their own personal moment,” says Janice.

Teaming with Father Chris Skinner for three duets on the album, Bateman and Skinner both share the lead vocals across the album’s twelve song offering. Leaning heavily on her influences from female songwriters, the selection of Fleetwood Mac’s classic Song Bird, brought back to prominence by the late Eva Cassidy, is the personal standout track for Bateman on the album. From Charlie Chaplin’s Smile to the Paul Simon classic Bridge Over Troubled Water as well as Sarah McLachlan’s Grammy winning song Angel, Reason To Believe is an album of exceptionally well-crafted songs. Skinner also penned two originals Help Me To Believe and Beautiful Land.

Father Chris Skinner has been recording and releasing music since the 1980’s. He is widely known for his version of You Raise Me Up and his moving tribute to the Anzacs, Sons Of Gallipoli which is played at many of the Anzac Day commemorations across New Zealand. In 2012 he opened for Carole King and Barry Gibb at the Mission Estate Concert.