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Orchestra

The formidable queen of orchestral indie, Tabitha Booth, set a baroque score in her single, Silent Lucidity

Posted on 17 April 2023

Coming to you live from Cocoon Studios, Tabitha Booth set a baroque score in her evocatively artful cover of Queensrÿche’s hit 90s song, Silent Lucidity. The chamber strings carve through the indie artist’s neo-classic class, which effortlessly resonates through her Tori Amos-ESQUE vocal lines and the tension-fraught arrangements that stands as a testament to her ability to weave an intricate and picturesque narrative.

Amanda Palmer may be the ‘Girl Anachronism’, but Tabitha Booth established herself as the formidable queen of orchestral indie after unveiling the disquiet alchemy in Silent Lucidity. We are stoked to see her back on the airwaves after the reprieve that followed her 2020 single, Curiosity. Here’s to hoping that there’s plenty more poignantly pensive alchemy lingering in the pipeline.

The live recording of Silent Lucidity is now available to stream on Spotify.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

Emily Manuel is beautifully baroque in her indie chamber single, Live Forever

Posted on 17 February 2023

World-class singer-songwriter and composer Emily Manuel is beautifully baroque in her latest orchestral single, Live Forever. The chamber strings lend themselves effortlessly to the artfully timeless timbre of her silkily demure vocal lines as they explore the theme of perpetual legacy.

After Paul Simon revealed the power of lyricism to Manuel, the Denver-based artist orchestrated her distinctive indie chamber sonic signature, which carries the influence of classical scores, the deconstructed expression of jazz and a touch of Eastern flavour.

So far in her career, Manuel has spilt her sound into theatres, olive groves, and taverns. Her live performance highlight was sharing the stage with the icon Jamie Cullen. Although, evidently, he wouldn’t have been the only icon on stage that night.

Live Forever was officially released on February 3rd. Hear it on Spotify.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

The Fairweather Friend pained an illusion of entropy with the descending melodies in their dark cabaret score, Zoetrope

Posted on 11 December 2022

With their distinctive brand of despondent dark cabaret, the up-and-coming histrionically enthralling artist, The Fairweather Friend, left us arrested with their latest single, Zoetrope.

The bitter-sweet neo-classic crescendos bring a touch of archaic elegance to the single as the Westworld-Esque honkytonk piano keys diatonically hammer home the sinking sensations portrayed by the lyrics, which allude to the dizzying disposition of entropy. Zoetrope easily up there with one of the most resonant singles I’ve heard this year, beating Amanda Palmer’s cover of Surface Pressure by a cinematic mile.

We can’t wait to hear what else is in the pipeline from the criminally underrated artist and their inhibited compulsion to extend solidarity to anyone out there who knows just how much the touch of ennui stings.

Zoetrope was officially released on November 23rd. It is now available to stream on Spotify.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

Lydia Li set an otherworldly score in her orchestral composition, Enchanted Forest

Posted on 19 July 2022

From the first note, you’re down the fantastical rabbit hole in Lydia Li’s composition, Enchanted Forest. The LA-based Chinese composer and orchestrator has crafted scores for just about every form of media. But standing alone, the sense of wonder and emotional celebration of imagined celestial ephemera contained in Enchanted Forest is enough to capture your imagination and aid escapism.

Before composing her instrumental orchestral piece, Enchanted Forest, Lydia Li performed and recorded music across the globe. She provided the soundtrack to the Chinese show Bafan Shenyu, which has garnered over 40 million views. Appropriately matched levels of success and talent are rare to find, but notably, Lydia Li’s heartbreakingly astute melodies could never be over-revered. She’s raised the bar right off this stratosphere.

Visit the Enchanted Forest by heading over to Spotify.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

Lethia’s Natorium has made her baroque goth rock debut with ‘Lullaby’

Posted on 17 April 2022

‘Lullaby’ is the debut single from the singer-songwriter Lethia’s Natorium (Pena Hughes-John), who has adopted many guises in her career as a steampunk-inclined artist. Under her new moniker, she’s embracing her inner goth edge, and notably, she’s in perfect tune with the dramatic flair of it.

She’s thrown away her faithful ukulele for arresting symphonic orchestral scores, leaden with cutting classical strings and tempestuously off-kilter production. Now that Emilie Autumn isn’t as prolific as she used to be, Lethia’s Natorium has exactly what it takes to fill those baroque boots.

Lullaby was just a teaser of what is to come in Lethia’s Natorium’s debut album, which is currently in production. It is now available to stream via Spotify.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

Imagesong becomes the Patti Smith of this era with her protestive easy listening song, A High Vibration

Posted on 17 March 2022

For her latest single, A High Vibration, the up-and-coming artist, Imagesong, pulled together an impressive roster of world-class professional artists, including arranger and bassist Jon Burr, jazz vocalist Alexis Cole, saxophonist and woodwind doubler Marc Phaneuf, cellist Mairi Dorman-Phaneuf, and pianist Mike Eckroth.

Don’t let the track title and the smooth jazzy timbre of the instrumentals fool you. A High Vibration is far from your average good-vibe inspired song. It contains bruisingly broadsiding lyrics that would start a revolution if the world tuned in.

“How long will we accept the tyranny of power and greed” would be an empowering question if it fell from anyone’s lips. Stemming from Connie Marotta’s elegant chanteuse vocals, there’s a certain magic to them that invites you to imagine the possibility of artists shaping the world instead of capitalists.

The Jazzy ethereal work, A High Vibration, is now available to stream on all major platforms via this link.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

Find the difference between night and day in the US indie-pop artist Hyde Park’s standout single, The Insomniac’s Lament

Posted on 16 March 2022

Few new 2022 releases have resonated with us quite as much as Hyde Park’s composition, The Insomniac’s Lament. After an evocatively loaded neo-classic prelude, the cutting minor-key piano melodies flourish into blossoming progressions and the poetically-titled single transitions into an orchestrally-scored power-pop single that glistens with optimism.

The evolutionary nature of The Insomniac’s Lament marks just how significant the shifts in our psyches can be. It brings brand-new meaning to the expression “it’s like night and day”.

The Insomniac’s Lament is just one of the singles on the indie-pop singer-songwriter’s debut EP This is Just a Simple Song. Even the US-based artist’s humility leaves us excited about his potential for success.

The Insomniac’s Lament is now available to stream on Spotify.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

 

The East and West coalesces in Yazan AL Hajari’s achingly profound classical composition, Suite for Orchestra No.2

Posted on 8 January 2022

Yazan AL Hajari’s most recent composition, Suite for Orchestra No.2, is achingly beautiful from the first quiver of the cello bow from the Budapest Scoring Orchestra. Like all of his work, this classical piece pays homage to his Arabic heritage while embracing his passion for freedom, peace and creativity.

The Damascus, Syria-born, New York-based artist wrote his first song at the age of nine before studying classical music, classical Arabic music, jazz, world music and film scoring. If anyone can break the monocultural moulds that shield us from truly embracing the beauty in all corners of our globally intertwined world, it is Yazan AL Hajari.

It’s infinitely harder to feel numb towards the atrocities relayed on Sky News once you have experienced the east and west intricately weaved together in such nuanced fashion where borders aurally dissolve and timelines intersect.

With every crescendo scored to crawl beneath the rib cage and every minor note placed to share the weight of our sickness-riddled world, this classical reflection of humanity is one of the rare works that proves the beauty we are capable of.

You can watch and hear Yazan AL Hajari’s composition come to life for yourself via YouTube.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

Discover your new metaphysical playlist staple with Basil Babychan’s ambient composition. Phantasm

Posted on 29 October 2021

Hans Zimmer fans will want to delve into the latest composition by Indo-Dutch artist Basil Babychan which extends his mission to create music from the soul for the soul; the concept behind the neo-classic ambient composition, Phantasm, is a lesson in philosophy. In his own words;

“Coping mechanisms are often subject to debate and scrutiny. They improve mental and emotional well-being by addressing anxiety, depression, and other mental health concerns, derived from painful real-life events. In many cases, one makes conscious or unconscious choices that enhances control over behaviour or gives psychological comfort by creating an alternate reality. Fantasy and Reality often overlap. We need Fantasy to survive our Reality.”

Phantasm unravels as the perfect soundscape to embrace our true reality, in all of its infinite metaphysical possibility and beauty. In the prelude, the intricate keys start tentatively ascending, as more layers amass in the meditatively textured single; Phantasm becomes a transcendental experience that reminds you, we’re all just energy constrained by our vision of a 4D reality.

Phantasm is due for official release on October 29th; you can check it out for yourselves via SoundCloud.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

The award-winning orchestral rock composer Aldo has released his latest cinematic score, Stem the Tide.

Posted on 9 October 2021

There has been an influx of ambient and easy listening music on the airwaves in 2021; it took the talent of pianist, composer and songwriter, Aldo to prove what difference a prodigal touch to a soundscape can make.

His latest progressively orchestral, rock-tinged single, Stem the Tide, starts around ambient piano melodies and flourishes of Celtic culture; even when the momentum starts to build, the sublime tonal bliss goes untarnished. The Emmy award-winners scores have been on countless TV shows and documentaries. He has still found the time to release six albums, all of them containing the same panoramic flair that he is accoladed for in the film and TV music industry. If any artist has the ability to redefine your perception of talent, it is Aldo.

Stem the Tide is now available to stream on Spotify.

Review by Amelia Vandergast