Here’s a new video for you! “Acappella Instrumental” is on the new album Alaska. The synth-like sounds are actually psychedelic layers of phased vocals.
I recorded the footage at Tanalian Falls, in Lake Clark National Park, Alaska. The audio was written and recorded at Chulitna Lodge. A bird sampled throughout the album is Swainson’s Thrush. The males defend their breeding grounds by singing a series of spiraling notes inflected upward, which to me sounds like a flute through phaser pedals.
… “Take Uno Lady, for example, and her newly released “Alaska,” the result of a residency at the off-the-grid solar-powered Chulitna Lodge, a wilderness retreat in Lake Clark National Park & Preserve. Here, Cleveland transplant Christa Ebert has captured field recordings of herself doing things like banging on a log out in the forest, or birds swooping past her tent at night, and remixed them digitally into background atmospheres, over which she layers what sometimes sounds like dozens of her own vocal tracks. Maybe there’s a bit of keyboard once in a while.
The results are warm and organic, sometimes even catchy, as on “Today’s the Day,” which wouldn’t sound out of place on a Magnetic Fields album. Ebert’s lead vocal is lower register and resonant — “I’ll conjure up some urgency and mend all of the emergencies” — while a chorus of angelic vocals shimmer in the background, accompanied by bugs and birdsong, like Snow White wending her way slowly through the forest. Her vocal range is sorta bonkers.
Her “Venn Diagram,” too, from the “Osmosis” album three years ago, is a delicious bit of indie pop, and she even covered Tom Petty in her early releases. But there’s always something subversive, something new and interesting in the way she constructs her recordings and releases. Her previous release, “Le Flux,” recorded largely in Switzerland and then edited here in Maine, features vocals that are lyricless, and more found sounds turned into beats. Only possible, really, with today’s digital recording techniques, it still manages to transmit an intimacy that should tickle that desire for authenticity….
Maybe you can’t picture them in the room, but you can understand what they’re feeling, and that’s something no machine will ever authentically do.”
Alaska is released in partnership with Softseed Musicin British Columbia on limited edition cassette tapes (32), each with one-of-a-kind swirl art made by Dave Norman of Softseed Music. The tapes are available at Softseedmusic.bandcamp.com and UnoLady.com.
Dave asked about collaborating on a tape right after my Alaskan adventure. The Wax Mage Records, Single Rider release was how I was introduced to Dave. He runs Softseed Music and Zegma Beach. Red Spade Records created a limited run lathe cut 10” and Dave hand dipped the swirl art.
ALASKA, Uno Lady’s 9th release, was recorded at an off-the-grid solar-powered arts fellowship at Chulitna Wilderness Lodge in Lake Clark National Park & Preserve, Alaska.
These songs were written in the moment and inspired by the landscape. You can hear the tranquility of the place within the songs. The percussion was made by drumming on trees and the beats are comprised of bird calls I recorded. These nature sounds pulse along with layers of vocal harmonies. These truly unique compositions are atmospheric and mesmerizing.
The album artwork is a photo I took on summer solstice. Taking advantage of the 22 hours of daylight, we zipped around by boat visiting different islands within Lake Clark and sipped on sun soaked teas made from flowers we foraged.
The art fellowship in Alaska was life changing. I was as enthusiastic as an eight year old over new plant discoveries. I didn’t anticipate creating an album. Being disconnected from social media and online distractions allowed me to absorb and be influenced by the atmosphere. I would record when I felt inspired, which was often. At the end of the 6 week adventure, I had 10 recordings and a new album. All the songs on ALASKA were a product of this once in a lifetime experience. Thank you Chulitna Lodge for sharing your space, good company, and delicious food. This album is dedicated to you and the artists involved (Here are related posts about my experience at the fellowship if you want to learn more 1 & 2).
In these coming weeks, I’ll share stories from each song and videos. Subscribe and follow to see. Here’s a link to all the streaming sites.
The artists residency at Chateau Orquevaux was magical and allowed me the focus needed to write and record 15 songs. I drove over 1,500 miles (about 2500km), down bumpy back roads and single lane highways through sunflower fields and wind farms.
The first song recorded was “Dream” by the Everly Brothers. This song has been dear to my heart for as long as I can remember.
I spent a few extra weeks in Europe and performed at LaDIY Festival in Strasbourg, France. I had two performances in Bern, Switzerland, at Cafe Kairo and Voodoo Rhythm Records Hardware Store. The last night of my trip I sang at La Pointe Lafayette, in Paris. I made friends that will be lifelong and was warmly welcomed by pals I haven’t seen in ten years.
I plan to share short stories of my trip throughout the year. If you’d like to stay updated, please subscribe to Unolady.com/subscribe
Since the residency, I’ve been staying busy and released a new record, OSMOSIS, on Volar Records. You can stream, download digital, or order a limited edition green vinyl here.
Here are a few videos and photos from my adventure.
“Sunrise,” was inspired by waking with the sun. Time lapse feature the view from my bedroom window at Chateau Orquevaux.
During the residency, the other artists and I took field trips around town and to nearby cities. While other artists sketched, I took photos and made up melodies. One of the stops was the old stone church in town. I asked if I could sing, and it was there my new favorite hobby was born: Singing in cavernous spaces and belting what feels right. During my trip I sang and recorded improv performances in 5 churches and 1 tunnel.
This next video is an improv performance at Cathédrale Saint-Mammès de Langres (Langres Cathedral) which was built in the 1100’s. It is the first video in the illicit hymn series. An illicit hymn: Singing, uninvited. A collaboration with the architecture and natural reverb. I am sorting through the footage. I hope to find a creative way to share these pieces other than youtube. I’ll keep you posted.
Lastly, I want to share with you the Cow Crooner video. While walking with the other artists, we passed by a pasture. I shared that I grew up in rural Ohio. As a child, there was a farm across the street that had cows and I would sing to them. They encouraged me to sing to this herd, so I did. To my surprise, the cows listened attentively and walk towards me. This is when my second favorite hobby was born: Cow Crooning. I serenaded a few herds throughout the trip and have more videos to share.
