MUSIC FILM FASHION BLOG ~ WE FOCUS ON MUSIC * WE FOCUS ON FILM *WE FOCUS ON FASHION * WE FOCUS ON PROMOTING YOU! Executive Editor Beth A. Shandles
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Photo Credit: Kyle Lehman |
PIONEERING ELECTRONIC ARTIST & HARPIST LARA SOMOGYI RELEASES HER NEW EXPANDED ALBUM '! (EXPANSION)' VIA MERCURY KX |
Photo credit: Lara Somogyi & Cyrus Reynolds Listen To New Album Here: Lara Somogyi - ! (deluxe) (lnk.to) Today, the pioneering electronic artist and harpist Lara Somogyi releases '! (expansion)' – a digital-only expanded album following her debut solo release, '!' (pronounced "Exclamation"). Recently, Lara’s cover of English singer-songwriter Kate Bush’s “Running Up That Hill” hit #1 on U.S. Classical Streaming Charts and also joined the top-performing Universal Music Group Classical & Jazz new release in the U.S. and Canada by more than half a million weekly streams. With this new album she unveils an exciting new chapter in her musical journey with ten captivating versions of original tracks from her acclaimed album '!', each offering a mesmerizing fusion of orchestral arrangements, expanded harp versions, acoustic renditions, and remixes by artists including Kinnship, CARM & Trever Hagen, and Joviale. With the original album '!', Somogyi introduced audiences to a unique and captivating sound world, merging the expressive capabilities of the harp with electronic elements. The result was an awe-inspiring exploration of the instrument's vast potential. Lara Somogyi's unique and visionary approach to music has garnered support from esteemed publications and radio platforms. Pitchfork, DJ Mag, Wonderland, and BBC Radio 6's Mary Anne Hobbs have all recognized her groundbreaking work, with Wonderland describing her music as "blissful, meditative, and daring ambient harp-centered productions," while Mary Anne Hobbs praises her for taking the harp into new and contemporary worlds. Now, with the expanded album, Somogyi delves even deeper into her sonic journey, incorporating orchestral expansions that showcase her profound love for symphonic strings harmonizing with the harp. Collaborating with composer and producer Cyrus Reynolds, who co-composed the album, the expanded tracks feature mesmerizing arrangements that weave together contrasting rhythms, textures, and soaring accompaniments. Discussing the expanded album, Somogyi reveals, "The orchestral expansions came from a profound love of symphonic strings alongside with the harp. I have such deep orchestral roots, so pairing these songs with a string ensemble felt like such a natural evolution within all of these compositions. The string timbres against the harp and electronics create a captivating language that intrigues me. I'm excited to have these versions out in this release." Each track in '!' (expansion)' explores a unique sonic landscape, combining spirited improvisations, contemporary extended techniques, and innovative compositional approaches. Somogyi's creative process involves linking the physicality of playing the harp to the original songs, enabling the music to flourish and broaden through a direct bond between her and the instrument. The outcome is a compilation of expressive pieces that evoke a wide range of emotions and invite listeners to venture into novel realms of sound and space. Reflecting on her collaborations with the remixers featured in the expanded album, Somogyi expresses her admiration, stating, "I'm incredibly honoured to have three luminous artists remixing 'basis,' 'self.seed,' and 'lodges.' Each of them brings their unique artistic expressions to reimagine these pieces, and it is truly inspiring.” |
Tracklist: 1. acceptances (orchestral expansion) 2. in/out (expansion) 3. basis (Kinnship remix) 4. self.seed (acoustic) 5. hundred00 (orchestral expansion) 6. breathwork (expansion) 7. lodges (orchestral expansion) 8. lodges (Joviale remix) 9. aviary ii 10. self.seed (CARM & Trever Hagen remix) About Mercury KX Mercury KX, launched in 2017 as part of Universal Music Group/Decca Records, celebrates genre-defying, multi-disciplinary artists. Home to acclaimed composers and innovative musicians such as Ólafur Arnalds, tstewart, Lambert and Isobel Waller-Bridge, the label prides itself on carefully curated audio-visual adventures. Their diverse roster creates unique sound-worlds that bridge electronic, modern classical, cinematic, alternative and ambient genres. Find out more at: mercurykx.com Missing Piece Group |
San Fermin Announces New Album Arms out February 16, 2024 via Better Company Records Official Video for New Single “Didn’t Want You To” Out Today 2024 US Tour Dates On Sale Watch Here |
 Photo Credit: Alex S K Brown |
October 26, 2024: Today, the Brooklyn-based band San Fermin announced their fifth studio album Arms will be released on February 16, 2024 via their burgeoning indie label Better Company Records. The 9 song album marks a new direction for the eight-piece band, as they strip away much of the sonic ornamentation they’ve come to be known for in favor of a more raw, direct sound reflective of Ellis Ludwig-Leone’s candid, plainspoken lyrics. Today, they released the official video for the new single “Didn’t Want You To” and announced a 2024 national headline tour that will kick off on March 23, 2024 in Salt Lake City, and will make stops in New York, Chicago, Nashville, Los Angeles and many more. Find a full list of tour dates below or visit their website. Tickets go on sale this Friday, October 27. About the song, Ludwig-Leone explains: “I had this feeling after going through a breakup, like, ‘well screw you, if you don’t want to be with me, I don’t want to be with you,’ which turns out to be a pretty universal feeling. The wordplay was fun, messing around with different inflections of the refrain to hint at different meanings.” Arms was written during one of the most difficult moments of Ellis Ludwig-Leone’s life, following the dissolution of two relationships. Over the course of the album’s nine stunning tracks, his lyrics move from anger and disappointment to clarity and acceptance in a steady progression reflective of the roller coaster journey that consumed him for the better part of a year. “I was going through a crisis,” Ludwig-Leone explains. “My relationship of ten years had recently ended, and then, not thinking very clearly, I dove into another relationship. Before I knew it, that one ended too.” Adds producer and vocalist Allen Tate, “The way this band is structured with Ellis writing the songs and Claire and I singing them, I’ve always felt like my role is to be both a mouthpiece and a filter. When you go through a breakup, you deal with so many different feelings in such a short period of time, and I tried to just be there to listen and help harness the fire hose of emotion Ellis was experiencing so we could distill it down into its purest form.” Ten years ago, San Fermin released their critically heralded eponymous album and rocketed to a national audience with NPR inviting them to play a Tiny Desk Concert and calling the album “one of the year's most surprising, ambitious, evocative and moving records” as well as Pitchfork praising their “ambitious chamber pop debut.” Over the next decade the band would release four albums and become known for their “knack for simultaneously expressing beauty and crisis” (The New Yorker). Arms is the greatest testament to the community the band has built over the last decade, and illustrates their ability to transform crisis into a communal catharsis. San Fermin is Ellis Ludwig-Leone (bandleader, songwriter), Allen Tate (vocalist, producer), Claire Wellin (vocalist), Akira Ishiguro (guitar), John Brandon (trumpet), Stephen Chen (saxophone), Tyler McDiarmid (guitar), and Griffin Brown (drums). Arms tracklist: 1) Weird Environment 2) Didn’t Want You To 3) Can’t Unsee It 4) Arms 5) Makes Me Want You 6) My Love is a Loneliness 7) Useful Lies 8) Wasting on Me 9) You Owe Me Tour Dates: 3/23: Salt Lake City, UT - The State Room 3/24: Denver, CO - Globe Hall 3/26: St. Paul, MN - Turf Club 3/27: Chicago, IL - Lincoln Hall 3/28: Madison, WI - High Noon Saloon 3/30: Nashville, TN - The Blue Room 3/31: Columbus, OH - The Basement 4/2: Washington, DC - Atlantis 4/3: Philadelphia, PA - Underground Arts 4/4: Boston, MA - The Sinclair 4/5: New York, NY - Racket 4/30: San Diego, CA - Casbah 5/1: Los Angeles, CA - Masonic Lodge’ 5/3: Pioneertown, CA - Pappy + Harriets 5/4: San Francisco, CA - Independent 5/7: Portland, OR - Doug Fir Lounge 5/9: Vancouver, BC - Biltmore Cabaret 5/10: Seattle, WA - Madame Lou’s  At Missing Piece Group |
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