{"product_id":"4582561400278","title":"Mary Lattimore Goodbye, Hotel Arkada Bonus Track ARTPL-203 Japan Music CD","description":"\u003cp\u003eProduct Description\u003cbr\u003e\nContent Introduction An instrumental storyteller who records and visualizes life as it is, Mary Lattimore, one of the greatest ambient harpists of our time, has completed her first new album in approximately three years! 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 albums of the year by numerous publications, including Pitchfork. Mary Lattimore is a talented ambient harpist who has captivated everyone from Sigur R?s to Real Estate, Julia Holter, and even Thurston Moore. Shining as the most refined and robust work in her decade-long catalog, yet rooted in improvisation, and enriched by numerous collaborations with friends, contemporaries, and long-influenced musicians including Lol Tolhurst (The Cure), Meg Baird, Rachel Goswell (Slowdive), Roy Montgomery, Samara Lubelski, and Walt McClements, American harpist\/composer Mary Lattimore's new album, *Goodbye, Hotel Arkada*, is six expansive pieces shaped by change, speaking not only about the beloved hotel of the same name (a Croatian hotel facing renovations) but also about a shared, universal loss, through stimulating and emotionally resonant music. Nothing is ever the same, and here, the holistically evolving artist celebrates and mourns the tragedy and beauty of transience, what has been lived, and everything that is lost with time. Recorded and edited over more than two years in unusually lengthy sessions, this work shines as the most refined and robust in Lattimore's decade-long catalog, while remaining rooted in improvisation. It features collaborations with friends, contemporaries, and long-time influencers, including Lol Tolhurst (The Cure), Meg Baird, Rachel Goswell (Slowdive), Roy Montgomery, Samara Lubelski, and Walt McClements. ?gWhen I think about these songs, I think of faded flowers in a vase, melting candles, growing old, things changing while you're on tour and away, how fleeting experiences are and how you don't realize they're happening until they're gone, the fear of the earth we're losing because of greed, hymns to the art and music that have truly shaped my life, the ability to travel back in time, and a longing to stay sensitive and not sink into empty despair.?h Memories, scenes, and fleeting impressions have long filled Lattimore?fs musical world. As one of today?fs most outstanding instrumental storytellers, she has ?ga magical ability to play the strings in a way that instantly brings to mind the taste of your fifth birthday cake,?h Pitchfork?fs Jemima Skala describes. And as Grayson Haver Currin of The New York Times noted, Lattimore's urge to document her life as it is aligns with her passion for travel and performance: Lattimore recognized that moving around loosened the threads of inspiration and stirred the feelings she wanted to express through melody. Therefore, she needed to constantly be on the move. This fluidity has made her a prolific collaborator beyond her solo work. Her 2020 album, \"Silver Ladders,\" recorded with Neil Halstead of Slowdive, opened doors to broadening the scope of Lattimore's major projects. ?gEveryone I?fve asked to collaborate has had a deep influence on my life and has inspired me,?h she says. For the title and inspiration, Lattimore?fs mind returns to the Croatian island of Hvar. \"There's a big, old hotel there called Hotel Arcada, and you can see that it has been graciously welcoming holidaymakers for decades. I looked around the lobby and the empty ballrooms, and it looked like a well-worn, beloved place. My friend Stacey, who lives there, told me, 'Say goodbye to Hotel Arcada, it might not be here the next time you come back.' Lattimore became fixated on the elements that made the place special. In Hotel Arcada's case, it was the antique chandeliers, the patterned bedspreads, the echoes of intangible charm. On the opening track, \"And Then He Wrapped His Wings Around Me,\" Lattimore explores core memories with her closest friend and collaborator on 2018's 'Ghost Forests,' songwriter Meg Baird, and accordionist and composer Walt McClements, with whom she toured and performed.\" As a child, Lattimore won a prize in a country radio contest to see Sesame Street Live in Asheville. She and her mother were invited backstage, where the benevolent icon Big Bird \"given me an incredible hug with his prickly yellow wings.\" The trio captures the enveloping warmth of that portrait, the innocent escape, and the feeling of soaring towards an unattainable, surreal, and melancholic childhood dream. In a rare vocal passage for Lattimore's work, Baird gently hums over McClements' quiet drone, accompanied by the undulating sounds of the harp. For just a moment, we are embraced in a sublime canary-yellow coup. \"Arrivederci\" features synths by Lol Tolhurst, an original member of The Cure and one of her musical heroes. Lattimore began writing this song after being fired from a project for not being able to play the harp part well enough. ?gI went home and cried all night, and wrote this song to rediscover my love for playing the harp. I got Lol?fs part at a New Year?fs Eve party. I sneaked into the room and listened to the song, and it was a really strange feeling to know that such an influential musician was connected to a song I had written, especially one I wrote when I was feeling really down.?h With ?gBlender In A Blender,?h Lattimore connects with New Zealand underground pioneer and guitarist Roy Montgomery. The song was originally composed by Lattimore during an artist residency program in Eucross, Wyoming, and later developed through her interactions with Montgomery. Montgomery adds hazy, distant chords behind a dramatic harp pattern before roaring into the foreground with a thrilling outro. The title is a reference to the trend of teenagers putting their cell phones in blenders. Lattimore and her friend were joking about all sorts of things that could be put through the mixer, including getting another mixer. Humor is a key to bringing out Lattimore's talent. The title and anecdotes bring an unexpectedly balanced lightness. The calm yet striking \"Music For Applying Shimmering Eye Shadow\" is an homage to the preparation ritual described above. \"I wanted to make a song for the dressing room,\" she says, recalling the moments in the mirror when tourmates prepare to go on stage for an unknown performance. \"It originally came about when I googled 'What does space smell like?' and got the answer 'walnuts and brake pads,' and then I smelled the earthy scent that somehow felt familiar in an unfamiliar land, and thought about the dreary feeling of space. As I started adding more layers, I began to think about what the song wanted as a soundtrack and what role I wanted it to play.\" In the case of \"Horses, Glossy on the Hill,\" the story and the sound are almost inseparable. The percussive clattering sounds are reminiscent of the uneasy hooves of a gate. From the car window, Lattimore captures the silvery sheen emanating from the horses' stripes, as if photographing the scene through sound. Her shimmering strings accelerate as the herd merges with the horizon, distorting under a twisted effect. The ending track, \"Yesterday's Parties,\" possesses a fragile elegance reminiscent of Julee Cruise's recollections or The Velvet Underground's drone-down-tuned strings. She gazes out the stained-glass window at her quiet apartment, reminiscing about late nights spent with friends away from the city. As Lattimore's special harp, which she keeps in Brussels, glides along with Samara Lubelski's violin, Rachel Goswell of Slowdive sings a wordless hymn. Leaving Lattimore in this place is itself a memory yearning for connection, a fitting conclusion to an album dedicated to remembering and manifesting it through shared expression. The Japanese CD edition also includes \"Mystery Lights\" as a bonus track. Media reviews and more: An instrumental storyteller who records and sonicizes life as it is, Mary Lattimore, one of the greatest ambient harpists of our time, has completed her first new album in approximately three years! (C)RS\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"TOKYO JAPAN CD SHOP","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":53227060724021,"sku":"4582561400278","price":3800.0,"currency_code":"JPY","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/1011\/5966\/5973\/files\/51b1qAKR_vL._AC.jpg?v=1785376691","url":"https:\/\/tokyojapancdshop.com\/products\/4582561400278","provider":"TOKYO JAPAN CD SHOP","version":"1.0","type":"link"}