Rocky River Flows into Erie is a meditation piece that samples sounds from the Lake Erie region. For this project, I recorded environmental acoustics at five different locations. Wave sounds were sampled from Magee Marsh and Edgewater Beach. Bird, bug, and frog songs were recorded from Old Woman Creek, Rocky River Reservation, and Columbia Station Reservation.
The vocals were composed and recorded at the Foundation House residency in Greenwich, CT.
You can buy this on Bandcamp and hear on all streaming sites.
Nature is My Lover is my love song for the planet. It celebrates inter-connectivity and shares ways nature is nurturing. All the vocals are my own and I sampled nature sounds to make the percussion.
Feel the breeze blow on my skin gentle sweet kisses from the wind hear the bird song melodies of the air chorus of the forest show they care
Nature is my lover we look after each other
Feasts of plenty tasty terrain they flirt through the dirt with gifts of sweet sugarcane sunbeams gleam their love for me moonlight makes my heart shine bright
Nature is my lover we look after each other
How awesome the blossoms’ bloom presents of fine perfume
Nature is My Lover was written and recorded in this gorgeous retrofitted stable at the Foundation House artist residency.
PROCESS
The background melody came first. There are Lake Erie sounds, Connecticut swamp sparrows, and babbling springs from France.
This song was almost lyricless. I sat in the spacious yard, cross-legged in the grass, and reflected on what lyrics would serve the sound. In this pause, I connected my breath with the breeze, felt the wind on my skin, and the sun’s warmth on my face. I was aware of the ways nature brings me joy. I noticed the gifts I receive every day. What a generous and caring experience. Nature is my lover.
Thanks for listening. Warm regards, Christa
I’m sharing a video of a live performance of Nature is My Lover on Patreon.
I’m excited to share the new song, “My Ride.” It was written and recorded at the Foundation House artist residency in Greenwich, CT, October 2021.
You can stream, save, and share the song on all sites. Bandcamp is a great way to support artists too.
I’ve created a Patreon page for Uno Lady. If you’d like to support me there, please click the button below. I’ll share behind the scene clips and new releases before they are public on Patreon.
Forever grateful for the opportunity to be an artist in residence with the Ellis-Beauregard Foundation. I spent the past month creating in an old school retrofitted into artist spaces. The residency was life-changing and allowed me the space and time to focus.
I had a productive month in Maine recording and editing 2 new albums. One album is 10 experimental, lyricless, a cappella pieces composed at a past residency in France at Chateau Orquevaux. There are vivid videos to accompany each song. The other album is a collection of songs written since 2020. I’m really proud of how they turned out.
After residency in France, I traveled to Switzerland to play a show at Café Kairo and visit my friend Beat-Man. I had an awesome time playing at Beat-Man’s record shop, Voodoo Rhythm Hardware Store which is located in the Old City of Bern, Switzerland.
Down the road from the Hardware Store, I was delighted to discover the Zytglogge, a 15th-century astronomical clock that displays the moon phases and ring of the zodiac. I spent my birthday in Bern so it seemed magical to be in the same space.
Also in the Old City is Bern Minster Cathedral, (German: Berner Münster), a Swiss Reformed cathedral built in the Gothic style. Construction started in 1421. Its tower was was completed in 1893, stands at 330 feet, and is the largest standing structure in the City. The space and sound was breathtaking.
On these recordings I saw myself cycle through fear and hesitation. There are a few times before I start singing where I audibly tell myself I cannot do it.
The cathedral in Bern, Switzerland. I almost didn’t go through with singing. There were a few dozen people within the space and the acoustics were cavernous. I struggled with my camera and moved 3 times before I had the guts to sing. Five notes into singing, a hush came over the crowd. A few minutes in, a group of kids sat in the pews to listen. I thought my camera was recording but it was not. The video for this song are the few photos I have. My favorite is the photo of the kids that sat around me. Their smiles and attention was moving. I am so happy I captured that moment. Towards the end of the video you’ll see a lady wearing purple. She asks me to stop singing at the end. I apologized and left. My sins were forgiven.
Thank you for watching. This is the final video from this series. Listen to the recordings on Bandcamp and wherever you prefer to stream.
