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• Into The Mountain

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  ARTIST: Astrid Williamson
  TITLE: Into The Mountain (Album)
  RELEASED: 18th February 2022
  LABEL: Incarnation Records
  FORMATS: CD/Digital
  
  ARTWORK by Tula Parker
  
  
  
  
  
  Scottish singer-songwriter Astrid Williamson returns with her ninth studio album, inspired by writings she discovered within a folder buried deep in a hard drive, and intriguingly titled Into The Mountain.
  
  The writings, a mix of poetry, music and personal journal, captured moments from a year-long tour Williamson undertook with Dead Can Dance in 2012-13, described by Williamson as “Part letters to a lover, or perhaps hoped for lover, part travelogue from the life of a touring musician”. The writing, encapsulating feelings of desire, loss, reflection, and acceptance, were then developed on an acoustic piano across ten separate nights and form the rich soundscapes and emotionally vivid alt-folk songs of the new record of the same name.
  It was a new way of song-writing for Williamson, as she expands “My intention was to stay as close as possible to these initial sparks of inspiration rather than relying on already well-worn paths of development that I might have found more familiar or comfortable.”
  Seven of the original ten pieces would survive this uncompromising new process, and over the next four years the songs of Into The Mountain were recorded in various locations including Australia, Marseille, London, and Eastbourne.
  
  The haunting closing track There Are Words is exactly as the music unfolded in the improvising moment, as are dynamic and darkly provocative songs Body and Prague, and the haunting, minimalist arrangements of June Bug, with the original acoustic piano performances still underpinning these recordings. With a few songs there were some small structural interventions, second verses were written for the evocative first single In Gratitude, which added further weight to the song’s impassioned sense of longing, and on the immersive, ardent opener Coming Up For Air, and a middle eight was added to the pulsating and sultry Eat.
  
  As the words found on the In The Mountain folder were written across continents, so too were the musical elements of the record it inspired. Williamson recorded the lead vocals in Australia (where she had been working with Lisa Gerrard), the drums and percussion were added at Echo Zoo Studios in Eastbourne, showcasing the talents of Martyn Barker (Robert Plant, Shriekback, Goldfrapp, Marianne Faithfull), and Williamson’s long-time cohort Richard Yale playing bass. Violinist Ruth Gottlieb (Tindersticks, Ryan Adams) stands out on sole instrumental track For Henry, and via file sharing Williamson’s old friend Lee Harris provided a cameo backing vocal on In Gratitude which he recorded in California. In Marseille, steel-guitar and cello were provided by Nicolas Dick (Kill The Thrill) and Samuel Tolkien respectively. Finally, back in London the tracks were fleshed out with more guitars and keyboards by Williamson, and guitarist/producer Andy Glen at his Crystal Palace studio.
  
  In staying true to the original private writings penned, and re-discovered, by Williamson, Into The Mountain is startling in its frankness, moving from the darkly confessional to the joyously beautiful to reflect Williamson’s own life experiences, and making for an incredibly powerful and compelling listen.
  TRACKLIST:
  Coming Up For Air
  In Gratitude
  Eat
  June Bug
  Body
  For Henry
  Prague
  Corsica
  Gun
  There Are Words
  
  Into the Mountain will be released on Williamson’s re-launched label Incarnation Records on 22nd February 2022 and available on CD and digitally.
  
  Includes unlimited streaming of Into The Mountain (Limited Edition) - Astrid Williamson via the free Bandcamp app, plus high-quality download in MP3, FLAC and more. ... more
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