Scared and Scarred - an unexpected first single

You know, tomorrow is the release date of my new EP, "Trauma and Solace". I was going to release my new single "wrapaound" which is an uplifting song about parenthood.

In light of the ‪#‎paris‬ events, I have decided to share this song instead and spread it as a message of solidarity. Written for all those whose life was altered by hatred.

"If there's more to this life
than the hate in those eyes
then maybe we could be free
maybe we could just be"

I wrote this after reflecting of growing up in Jerusalem and walking by places where attacks have happened, same happened in downtown NYC, same near Berklee in Boston, now Paris... more and more cities and people in them are scarred by the malice of others.

‪#‎love‬ ‪#‎strength‬ ‪#‎solace‬

Release date! 11.15.15

One month to go for the release of this EP!!

The beautiful cover photo is by Eliya Eizerikova, a worldly artist and animator from Israel.

I worked with Eliya in the summer and saw this photo when she posted in on facebook. It immediately caught my eye as an album cover and she was kind enough to let me use it.
The image especially resonates with the idea of the album - feeling alone, hurt, traumatized yet finding quiet peace and solace in nature's elements. It is both painful and hopeful.

It also echoed the lyrics from track 5, "fireflies and stars":

"when the sky is milk
when the air is grey
i will look up
and won't have to pray
for a thing"

One month! can't wait!

Video Call - Parent musicians bonding over music with their children

FIRST SINGLE VIDEO TIME!!!

FOOTAGE CALL:

Parents (parent musicians especially) playing and bonding over music with their children. 

Why?

"wraparound" is one of the most emotional songs I've ever written (says a lot, if you ever heard my music) 

After Eden was born I wrote about sharing my musical journey with her, teaching her to play piano in the first verse, playing with her in the second, and on the third having her continue and play without me. The chorus lyrics convey the solace I feel about music and what I wish for her to find in it as she grows up:

"And when you don't wanna talk to the world

when you're sad and you're feeling alone

just let the sound wrap around

and listen to the little song we wrote"

I want to find more parents who share this sentiment and are willing to send out a short footage of themselves to be featured in my video. I'd love to include your names, if possible. 

willing to share? amazing! please send your videos to wraparoundvideo@gmail.com

This will be amazing and so special, a million thanks for your help!

asia 

www.asiamei.com

Guitar and Cello magic!

So actually the guitar and cello happened back in August, but a one woman operation can get stuck and so posts come late... (on the account of starting to teach)

The idea to have a cellist come in started in July as I was working at the BIMA summer program with a cello colleague. Once she became unavailable I had to find someone quick since I really tried to do all session work before school year began.
Lucky for me, I caught Jordan Proctor, my grad school colleague 2 weeks before he was moving out of the area. Jordan has that dual sensibility as me as a musician - he is a thoughtful and knowledgable classical musician with equal love and experience with rock (and a nice guy). He was a perfect fit.
Jordan brought instant understanding of the songs, and that classical preparation - every single note and phrase was cared for and expressed fully. It was quite special to hear the music come alive like that. Jordan's favorite was "regrets", a fast pace, all pizzicato jazz piece, which inspired me to revisit it again as a string quartet, but one project at a time...

Thank you Jordan!


My dear Andres was reluctant to go in the studio. He has been busy with academics and felt a little out of practice when it comes to studio creativity. We practiced at home but it didn't feel great.
When we got to the studio - everything just clicked. Andres came out with great and effortless parts that inspired me to add more to the production. His solos were killer - musical, cathartic and as usual, impressive. I'm so glad I dragged him to record with me, he added just what the record was missing - some edge, and that bluesy, rock vibe.

It was so nice to have the boys contribute, and once again working with Bob Sherwood during this process was encouraging and relaxing, quite unusual for the studio for me!

what's next? piano solo experimentation! stay tuned (pun intended, oh yes)

Days 1+2 = What?

So, with 2.5 weeks to bang out an album, 4 years after my last recording I headed into the studio for the first time.
It was pretty nerve-racking. I've never been a fan of studio recording - the task requires me to function as an instrumentalist, vocalist, writer, producer, arranger and wearing these hats all at once can get me neurotic and really mess with my performance...
which is why I was so surprised to find myself flying through the parts with ease, confidence and sounding great. WHAT? where did that come from? Not that I don't believe in myself, it just never came that easily before, I was shocked and proud of myself. Within 2 days and 9 hours of studio time I finished 4 songs, including all piano and vocal parts. And they are sounding awesome.

So, what was different this time around? Why did this work?

Here are some thoughts I will definitely be keeping for the future:

1. THE STUDIO ENVIRONMENT - Recording at "Dragonfly" with accomplished and eccentric musician Robert Sherwood. The studio was small and intimate, with Bob right in the room. No control rooms, no talking through monitors just communicating face to face. It got rid of so much of that usual neurosis, because the environment and Bob were chill and encouraging. Bob himself is an artist and multi-instrumentalist, so he showed a great amount of understanding of the process. Often engineers can get technical and cold, spewing out directions and faults not truly understanding the process of an artist in the studio. The wonderful piano helped...

2. ONE HAT AT A TIME - The thing that gets me most (and got me always) is analyzing my performance as I am playing/singing, or while listening back in the studio. I looked at the performance as a producer, and then tried to think of all the technical things I should change during my next take. It ended up hurting the performance, making it sound technical. That is no way to record and I finally let go. I don't perform like that live, so I chose to not listen back during the session, and only play and sing as if I was on stage. Wearing only the hat of the performer, that mindset was so incredibly helpful and made the performances heartfelt and effortless. Once at home, I would go through my takes and put together the best moment without criticism. Rather with empowerment, I did good.

3. PRACTICE PRACTICE PRACTICE - yes it's been 4 years since "introverse" but throughout that time I was performing (admittedly not much, since baby came along), playing and getting comfortable with the music. I knew it so well that it really didn't take much to perform it, I'd do it in my sleep and feel comfortable.

great first step! onto cello, guitar, and sound design!

The Idea Behind "Trauma and Solace"

It has been 4 years since my last album, introverse. And so much has changed. During the mixing process of introverse I found out I was having a baby (and had to cancel a good amount of the release tour because throwing up backstage was not fun...). With a remarkable 3.5 year old Eden romping around the house I have gained a different perspective on life and my art. I also went back to grad school and completed a masters in classical composition, which I surprisingly found incredibly rewarding. Now, with a more in depth and intellectual approach to writing music, I decided to make another singer/songwriter album and bridge that gap between "bar music" and "concert hall music".

I started compiling songs that clearly followed my trajectory and introspection through motherhood, working with teens and witnessing some of their self destruction, my own traumas from growing up in Israel and how we find ways to grow and overcome our demons. More and more a theme developed into songs about "trauma" with the album slowly progressing through songs of pain, acceptance and finally solace and hope.

The concept and soul poured into these pieces have been substantial, I feel like every one of these pieces holds much importance in my life. As I progressed more into compiling songs and preparing to record, I have myself went through heavy loss, followed by depression and myself have experienced ways to overcome it, adding a tenfold gravity and context to this album. And then there were last week's hate attacks in Israel, killing a girl during a pride parade and a Palestinian baby. Songs I wrote about experiencing terror as a child bore even more complexity as now those words relay so well to events of today and how jarred the community is by this blind hatred coming from all sides.

Due to time and budget constraints I decided to contain this project with 7 pieces, each to be revealed in time.

I come into this project with excitement, emotional complexity and a strong desire to pour out these thoughts. I hope you join me on my journey.