'After Stardust' single and video out TODAY
Good morning friends.
For those who missed my last email, or who are new to this newsletter space, or who were in the back row and just want to hear it again :) -- my next album In Our Softening is scheduled for release on October 21! You can pre-order here.
After Stardust
And with that said, the first single and video, 'After Stardust', is out today!
You can listen to the single anywhere that music is heard.
The video for this track is also out today, which you can watch by clicking above. Using found vintage family photos, the enigmatic imagery centers on a photo of my paternal grandmother. The artwork is by Tessia Bekelja, animated and brought to life by video artist JQGRAY, both good friends from Troy. While it might seem touching to have artwork that's focused on my grandmother, it's worth noting that she and I had no relationship to speak of. Here, her image is used as a stand-in - a general signifier of our ancestors and relationships with them. As I poured over old photos with my mother recently, I was reminded that vintage photos have this uncanny ability to elicit an emotional response, even when we have no connection to the tiny figures within them. But of course, I do have a connection to the mysterious girl in the photo. And with hindsight, perhaps that duality is the point of it all.
I've long been preoccupied by questions surrounding inherited stories, familial ties, and loss. Perhaps these questions intensified when my father died in 2015, or perhaps I've simply always been grappling in the dark, like all of us. If this album has a thesis, it's one of a sincere belief in commonality. We are bound not only by our stardust origins, but also by loss, the all-embracing human experience. We clumsily collide with each other in grief-filled space, reaching out as we wander. But it is also precisely there, nestled within that moment of connection/collision, where hope and beauty are found.
Listen and Watch
I hope you enjoy 'After Stardust'. As always, let me know what you think. And as a gentle reminder, if you like this track, you can pre-order the album and get not only this song, but another one (!) for download before the full album comes out. It's the best way to support.
PS there's more coming... including a joyful, heart-full video featuring dancing and neighbors and friends oh my! :) I can't wait to share it with you.
Thanks for being you.
Love,
Sophia
