Mary Lattimore — Silver Ladders (Oct. 9, 2020)
♠ Mary Lattimore představuje album Silver Ladders s vizuálním dílem Rachael Pony Cassells. „Když jsem poprvé poslouchala Silver Ladders, zarazilo mě zdání, že se ponořilo do mnoha vrstev tak hlubokého zármutku — od mikro po makro,“ říká Cassells. „Mary možná pronikla do proudů mnoha vln zármutku, které nás přemohly v roce 2020 všechny. Také mě to přimělo myslet na úzkost dospívajících, tak často cynicky ignorovanou dospělými, ale to, co vidím jako velmi autentickou a přirozenou reakci k přechodu z dětství do probuzení, abychom si uvědomili skutečné hrůzy světa — způsob, jakým zacházíme se zemí a mezi sebou navzájem. Při vytváření vizuální partitury jsem chtěla umožnit Maryině hudbě její oprávněné místo vést a podporovat ji, ale ne zahltit vizuálním vyprávěním. Obrázky a úpravy byly vytvořeny velmi intuitivně. Mary a já jsme byli v izolaci a myslím, že obě jsme poprvé opustili LA a omezili své domovy na mnoho měsíců.“
♠ „Video bude vždy dokumentem tohoto velmi izolovaného a podivného okamžiku,“ pokračuje Cassells. „Mary a já jsme cestovali nahoru a dolů po kalifornském pobřeží, nacházeli jsme ozvěny Cornwallu v krajině a symboly zármutku a smutku, o kterých jsme hovořili již o přítomnosti a mytí na pobřeží Mavericku.“ Lattimore a Cassells jsou blízkými friends v Los Angeles, takže zkušenost s vytvořením vizuální partitury byla velmi osobní. „Návštěva majáků a podivných divokých kalifornských pláží s Rachael kvůli natáčení byla vrcholem této pandemické karantény, malých mini COVID bezpečných útěků s misí, drahým očkem, maskou, kamerou a harfou,“ říká Lattimore. „Její vize a upřímné spojení se záznamem přitáhly při tvorbě tohoto vizuálu skutečné kouzlo. Mám takové štěstí, že znám takového umělce.“
♠ Mary Lattimore is a harpist living in Philadelphia. She experiments with her Lyon and Healy Concert Grand harp and effects. Her solo debut, “The Withdrawing Room”, was released in 2013 on Desire Path Recordings.
Location: Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Album release: October 9, 2020
Record Label: Ghostly International
Duration: 40:18
Tracks:
1. Pine Trees 3:20
2. Silver Ladders 3:46
3. Til A Mermaid Drags You Under 10:27
4. Sometimes He’s In My Dreams 3:47
5. Chop on the Climbout 5:57
6. Don’t Look 8:03
7. Thirty Tulips 4:58
AllMusic Review by Fred Thomas; Score: ★★★★½
χ♦ Harpist Mary Lattimore’s albums under her own name have often continued the spirit of collaboration she developed while working for years as a guest on other artists’ albums. Though her songs often evoke a feeling of solitary contemplation, many of her pieces are born from the spark of playing off the creative energy of a peer. With Silver Ladders, Lattimore worked with Slowdive‘s Neil Halstead on a collection of solo compositions and joint improvisations that funnel into an album of reflective, autumnal bitter~sweetness. The album was recorded at Halstead’s studio on an old airfield in Cornwall, England, and the production is spacious. This sometimes enhances the eeriness in Lattimore’s playing, with songs like “Sometimes He’s Still in My Dreams” hanging in a state of cavernous melancholy. Her patient harp figures are complimented by occasional understated accompaniment from Halstead on guitar and synth. The bedding of soft synth pads that begins “Chop on the Climbout” adds support more than it makes any statement of its own, creating a soft landscape for Lattimore’s delay~effected harp notes to fall on like gentle raindrops. Subtle production twists are hidden throughout Silver Ladders, adding nuance and depth with sounds that might get missed the first time around. This takes the form of deep waves of bass synth that slowly rise up in the mix through layers of multi~tracked harps on “Til a Mermaid Drags You Under,” or the distant lingering organ chords that hang in the background of the title track.
χ♦ Lattimore’s melodies are both restrained and emotionally dense, evoking scenes of quiet beaches, early~morning rumination, and warm rooms in small houses with cold winter raging outside. The wordless storytelling of Silver Ladders is one of its most intriguing elements, pulling emotional gravity from expert arrangement of minimal sounds. The wandering, ambient nature of Lattimore’s music could turn into forgettable background music in the hands of a less intuitive player, but Silver Ladders doesn’t require close listening to locate its emotional currents. It’s a gorgeous immersion in loneliness, solitude, and perseverance that immediately sets a mood and could soundtrack the entirety of the colder seasons.
χ♦ https://www.allmusic.com/album/silver-ladders-mw0003406373
Also:
χ♦ https://www.pewcenterarts.org/post/fellows-friday-qa-mary-lattimore
FB: https://www.facebook.com/harpistmarylattimore/
Website: http://www.marylattimore.net/
Bandcamp: https://marylattimoreharpist.bandcamp.com/
♠ „Video bude vždy dokumentem tohoto velmi izolovaného a podivného okamžiku,“ pokračuje Cassells. „Mary a já jsme cestovali nahoru a dolů po kalifornském pobřeží, nacházeli jsme ozvěny Cornwallu v krajině a symboly zármutku a smutku, o kterých jsme hovořili již o přítomnosti a mytí na pobřeží Mavericku.“ Lattimore a Cassells jsou blízkými friends v Los Angeles, takže zkušenost s vytvořením vizuální partitury byla velmi osobní. „Návštěva majáků a podivných divokých kalifornských pláží s Rachael kvůli natáčení byla vrcholem této pandemické karantény, malých mini COVID bezpečných útěků s misí, drahým očkem, maskou, kamerou a harfou,“ říká Lattimore. „Její vize a upřímné spojení se záznamem přitáhly při tvorbě tohoto vizuálu skutečné kouzlo. Mám takové štěstí, že znám takového umělce.“
♠ Mary Lattimore is a harpist living in Philadelphia. She experiments with her Lyon and Healy Concert Grand harp and effects. Her solo debut, “The Withdrawing Room”, was released in 2013 on Desire Path Recordings.
Location: Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Album release: October 9, 2020
Record Label: Ghostly International
Duration: 40:18
Tracks:
1. Pine Trees 3:20
2. Silver Ladders 3:46
3. Til A Mermaid Drags You Under 10:27
4. Sometimes He’s In My Dreams 3:47
5. Chop on the Climbout 5:57
6. Don’t Look 8:03
7. Thirty Tulips 4:58
AllMusic Review by Fred Thomas; Score: ★★★★½
χ♦ Harpist Mary Lattimore’s albums under her own name have often continued the spirit of collaboration she developed while working for years as a guest on other artists’ albums. Though her songs often evoke a feeling of solitary contemplation, many of her pieces are born from the spark of playing off the creative energy of a peer. With Silver Ladders, Lattimore worked with Slowdive‘s Neil Halstead on a collection of solo compositions and joint improvisations that funnel into an album of reflective, autumnal bitter~sweetness. The album was recorded at Halstead’s studio on an old airfield in Cornwall, England, and the production is spacious. This sometimes enhances the eeriness in Lattimore’s playing, with songs like “Sometimes He’s Still in My Dreams” hanging in a state of cavernous melancholy. Her patient harp figures are complimented by occasional understated accompaniment from Halstead on guitar and synth. The bedding of soft synth pads that begins “Chop on the Climbout” adds support more than it makes any statement of its own, creating a soft landscape for Lattimore’s delay~effected harp notes to fall on like gentle raindrops. Subtle production twists are hidden throughout Silver Ladders, adding nuance and depth with sounds that might get missed the first time around. This takes the form of deep waves of bass synth that slowly rise up in the mix through layers of multi~tracked harps on “Til a Mermaid Drags You Under,” or the distant lingering organ chords that hang in the background of the title track.
χ♦ Lattimore’s melodies are both restrained and emotionally dense, evoking scenes of quiet beaches, early~morning rumination, and warm rooms in small houses with cold winter raging outside. The wordless storytelling of Silver Ladders is one of its most intriguing elements, pulling emotional gravity from expert arrangement of minimal sounds. The wandering, ambient nature of Lattimore’s music could turn into forgettable background music in the hands of a less intuitive player, but Silver Ladders doesn’t require close listening to locate its emotional currents. It’s a gorgeous immersion in loneliness, solitude, and perseverance that immediately sets a mood and could soundtrack the entirety of the colder seasons.
χ♦ https://www.allmusic.com/album/silver-ladders-mw0003406373
Also:
χ♦ https://www.pewcenterarts.org/post/fellows-friday-qa-mary-lattimore
FB: https://www.facebook.com/harpistmarylattimore/
Website: http://www.marylattimore.net/
Bandcamp: https://marylattimoreharpist.bandcamp.com/