Joost de Wall
I did not quite know what to expect from a solo album of the flute player of Ymusic. We get a very nice art pop album with lots of variation and lush arrangements. I think Julia Holter fans should give this a try.
mjwhite99
Wonderful, evocative, fun, layered... Love it! Will you be releasing a record, or only a digital dowload. Really looking forward to the full release!
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On Wednesday, February 7, 2024, Alex Sopp, the flutist, composer, vocalist, and visual artist releases the title track ‘The Hem & The Haw’ from her upcoming debut album The Hem & The Haw (April 19, 2024) via New Amsterdam Records. Sopp has been praised by the New York Times as “exquisite” and “beautifully nuanced”, and is a founding member of yMusic, The Knights, NOW Ensemble, and the Berlin-based Between Worlds Ensemble.
The Hem & The Haw is a collection of 10 songs written during a “fit of stillness” resulting from “the fresh batch of Time” experienced by Sopp in 2020, which allowed her to “become aware of the edges of things—in my case, where my body ends and the chair begins, where a bird call starts and a melody has always existed, where a cloud has always been a storm and the storm is me.” In slowing down and connecting with the stillness, Sopp found “that if I look long enough, rooms that I didn’t previously have access to emerge, floating in front of me like hard working tugboats, pulling behind them all the postcards that I’ve written to myself.”
The Hem & The Haw was brought to life with the help of co-producer Thomas Bartlett (Yoko Ono, St. Vincent, Norah Jones) who “walked right into these landscapes and instantly understood not only how to elevate my vision but how to honor my quirks,” Sopp says. “He turned the lights on in dark corners, and he helped me to trust my instincts.” Woodwinds, synthesizers, strings, vocal layers, pianos, percussion, and creative production are brought together to create dynamic, intricately woven, and highly textured songs. Sopp encourages the listener to “walk into these layered dreamscapes for a moment and forget where you are; Or remember something about yourself you had forgotten.” Her goal, she says, is to “sweep you away even if just for a moment.”
credits
released April 19, 2024
Voice, flute, whistles, synths, piano, drum programming: Alex Sopp
Piano, op-1, mellotron, prophet x, percussion, rhodes, floor tom, drum programming: Thomas Bartlett
Vocals: Sam Amidon
Violin: Austin Wulliman
Viola: Nadia Sirota
Flugelhorns: CJ Camerieri
Trombones: Dave Nelson (*additional trombone arrangement for “Door” by Dave Nelson and Thomas Bartlett)
Clarinets: Hideaki Aomori
Horns: Michael P. Atkinson
Bass: Shawn Conley
Electric bass: Shawn Conley
Drums: Michael Caterisano
Percussion: Jason Trueting
Piano, electric guitar on "Roses": Gabriel Kahane
All songs written by Alex Sopp
Produced by Thomas Bartlett and Alex Sopp
Mixing by James Yost
Mastered by Fritz Myers
supported by 159 fans who also own “The Hem & The Haw”
A work of wondrous astonishment and glorious bedevilment.
Roomful of Teeth - Rough Magic
In retrospect my absolute favourite release of 2023 Giacomo Bruzzo
supported by 153 fans who also own “The Hem & The Haw”
Wonderful recording! Inspired writing by 6 composers in a wide variety of styles. The playing is superb as well and beautifully recorded. Love it! Cordâme
supported by 153 fans who also own “The Hem & The Haw”
Very complex neo-classical music. This has lots of layers to it, and sounds at times discordant, but I like it more with each listen. This band requires some patience, but I think you get rewarded for that patience. Found in Ed Buckley's collection. Roy Meerkamper