Description
On Bright Future, Adrianne Lenker, a songwriter known for turns of phrase and currents of rhyme, says it plainly, You have my heart // I want it back. Documented with analogue precision, what began as an experiment in collaboration, became proof Adriannes heart did return, full to the brim, daring her into the unknown.
Bright Futures co-producer and engineer, Philip Weinrobe, prepared the studio. He has been Adriannes partner on previous solo albums, but this was something new. Adrianne did not intend to make an album. They would instead explore the songs with no expectations. Even with an open outcome, from the start, Phil wanted to capture the sessions with the purest, technical honesty. He rolled onto Double Infinitys old cherry wood floors an Otari 1/2 inch 8-Track and Studer console.
To fill the air of the 150 year-old main room, Adrianne wanted piano, guitar, and violin. Mat Davidson plays them all. Ive known Mat a long time, she says, It doesnt matter what instrument, his spirit just pours through. At 17, Adrianne met Nick Hakim. She trusted her friend of 15 years to bring his sensitivity to the piano. The way Nick would hold my songs, he would put every ounce of love. Adrianne first met Josefin Runsteen in an Italian castle, and sought the classically trained violinist and percussionists magnetic and contagious energy. She has such fire. In addition to instrumentation, they made a chorus, adding carefully measured vocal harmonies. The sessions impressed and enchanted Adrianne. I think the thing these people have in common, they are some of the best listeners I know musically. They have extreme presence.
Admirers of Adriannes solo music and Big Thief will find on Bright Future her reliable talent captured in stunning, magnetic clarity. In the company of parlour instruments, Adriannes modern melodic and lyrical inventions create new traditions. Her vocal flights at times outwit gravity, then land, guiding along an earthly path. The wholeness of the un-spliced recordings preserves a time of musical friendship during a golden season. The album also features the original recording of the now-beloved Big Thief song Vampire Empire. Although they recorded for only some days, in Adriannes recollection, It felt like we were together forever.
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