Mary Latimore Collected Pieces: 2015-2020 [ARTPL-165] Japan Music CD

Product Description
Content Introduction "Like opening a box full of memories" The ultimate collection of ambient harp prodigy's music is released. In 2019, she made her first visit to Japan on tour with her close friend Julianna Barwick, and her performance was highly acclaimed. Her 2020 album "Silver Ladders," produced by Neil Halstead of Slowdive, was ranked among the best of the year by numerous publications, including Pitchfork. Mary Lattiomore, the ambient harp prodigy who has captivated everyone from Sigur R?s to Real Estate, Julia Holter, and even Thurston Moore, is finally releasing her long-awaited collection of rare recordings! Following the critical acclaim of her 2020 album "Silver Ladders" (a year-end favorite by NPR, Pitchfork, The New Yorker, etc.), Los Angeles-based harpist and composer Mary Lattiomore is releasing her ultimate collection of rare recordings! The physical release of "Collected Pieces 2015-2020" has been announced. This limited edition assembles selections from her two rarity collections, "Collected Pieces I" (2017) and "Collected Pieces II" (2020), featuring archival highlights and fan favorites for the first time. Lattimore describes the process of arranging these releases as "like opening a box full of memories," but here that box continues to appear in a form accessible to both artist and fan. The works, collected over the years, are lined up almost without pause as a portrait of an instrumental storyteller who records and shares on a whim. After five years of seemingly constant forward momentum since signing with Ghostly, Lattimore takes a breather and looks back, inviting a new chance to live in these fleeting moments and emotions, and all the beauty, sadness, sun, and darkness within them. The opening track, "Wawa By The Ocean," which begins with the familiar harp, is an ode to Lattimore's favorite convenience store, Wawa #700 in Shipbottom, New Jersey. "I've been to Shipbottom 12 times by myself during summer vacation, but nothing has changed. I always visit it in my dreams," she said on the track's release. And each time this cheerful pattern unfolds, you can surely picture that beachside landmark with Hoagy. Her new single, "We Wave From Our Boats," was improvised after walking around her neighborhood early in the 2020 lockdown and is available on her Bandcamp. "I was just waving to strangers as a gesture of solidarity, but it reminded me of when I'm on a boat or on a bridge and I feel compelled to wave to people on other boats. The urge to wave is something I was born with, it's so natural." "At the heart of this song is a simple loop over which Lattimore's synth sounds float, offering a gentle glimmer of optimism amidst the most anxious and absurd days. Also recorded in 2020, "What The Living Do" draws inspiration from Marie Howe's poem of the same name, reflecting on loss through an appreciation for the mundane realities of being human. The echoing slow march track gives the listener a sense of distance, as if they are outside, watching life unfold like a movie. "Princess Nicotine (1909)" is a soundscape of a dream scene Lattimore imagined for J. Stuart Blackton's surreal silent film "Princess Nicotine" or "the Smoke Fairy," which is then brought to life with actual visuals in the music video." "Polly of the Circus" was recorded using the same method, taking its name from an old silent film discovered in the Yukon permafrost (featured in the documentary "Dawson City: Frozen Time"), which she explains is "the only surviving copy, a little distorted by age." "Mary, You Were Wrong" depicts a writer's heartbreak. "This song is about how you have to keep moving forward, even if you make mistakes," she says. This bittersweet refrain is repeated slowly, becoming a little brighter each time, as if time will heal it. This collection of rare tracks, which could be considered a culmination of her work, was mostly recorded on the spot using only her beloved Lyon and Healy Concert Grand Harp, a contact microphone, and pedals. The album features a variety of songs, including one about the death of the actress who played Margaret Lanterman (Log Lady) in Twin Peaks ("We Just Found Out She Died"), the return of an American astronaut ("For Scott Kelly, Returned To Earth"), a joke about a cannibalistic wife ("The Warm Shoulder"), a Chaplin-esque character who has lost his glasses ("Be My Four Eyes"), and a high school student driving a gleaming car in a parking lot ("Your Glossy Camry"). These songs, like her original albums, demonstrate Lattimore's talent as an observer, shaping her work to match the emotional frequency and scene. Her power as a musician is rooted in how she sees the world: vivid detail, deep empathy, and a profound appreciation for nature and nuance. Media Reviews and More: In 2019, she made her first visit to Japan on tour with her close friend Julianna Barwick, and her performance was met with great acclaim. Her 2020 album "Silver Ladders," produced by Neil Halstead of Slowdive, was ranked among the best albums of the year by numerous publications, including Pitchfork. Mary Lattiomore, the ambient harp prodigy who has captivated everyone from Sigur R?s to Real Estate, Julia Holter, and even Thurston Moore, is finally releasing a compilation of her long-awaited rare recordings! (C)RS

About the Artist: A harpist from Philadelphia, currently residing in LA. She creates experimental ambient sounds using a Lyon & Healy concert harp and effects. She debuted in 2013 with her first album, "The Withdrawing Room," released on Desire Path Recordings. Since then, she has supported recordings and live performances for a variety of renowned artists, including Thurston Moore, Sharon Van Etten, Meg Baird, Julia Holter, Jarvis Cocker, Kurt Vile, Steve Gunn, and Ed Askew. Her activities are too numerous to list, including her work as a member of The Valerie Project, a project featuring 10 musicians including members of The Espers, and her composition of the film score for "Marina Abramovic: The Artist Is Present." In March 2013, she performed as a harpist in Nick Cave's "Soundsuits," a colorful horse artwork featured at the 100th anniversary of Grand Central Terminal in New York. The following year, 2014, she received the Pew Center for Arts & Heritage Fellowship (awarded to only 12 people each year). In 2016, she released "At The Dam" on Ghostly International, and in 2017, she released "Collected Peaces," a compilation of recordings made in her Philadelphia home where she lived from 2011 to 2016. Her unique ambient harp sound has garnered widespread support across genres. She has since toured with Real Estate, performed on the strings stage at Sigur R?s's "nor?ur og ni?ur" festival, and received a music award from the Headlands Arts Center. In 2018, she released "Hundreds of Days," her first original album since "At The Dam," and in 2019, she made her first visit to Japan. In 2020, she released "Silver Ladders," an album produced by Neil Halstead of Slowdive, which was ranked among the best albums of the year by NPR, Pitchfork, The New Yorker, and others.