Bobby Halvorson Shares New Single 'Function'

Today Sacramento-based singer-songwriter Bobby Halvorson is pleased to release his latest single "Function," the lastest single to be lifted from his album Parasympathy out May 13 (pre-save). Parasympathy, which will be released on up-and-coming label George Records, will include many of the songs he's recently released in addition to five more unreleased tracks.

Bobby Halvorson's latest single, "Function" was made in bits and pieces over the last three years. It began with that incessant keyboard pulse and constant slamming of the ride cymbal. Bobby Halvorson says, "I wanted the listener to feel the agitation of being rushed to get to a certain place." He adds, "When you're younger and working on yourself it's so easy to believe that there is some end point where you have it all figured out. Of course there is no end point even if you can envision it so clearly. I often find myself trying to get to a place of peace and certainly as fast as possible so I start demanding more of myself by changing habits and lifestyle: read this, do this exercise, eat like this, etc. Over the past few years I have truly beaten myself down trying to arrive at the place I feel I should be. I've been very mean and unfair toward myself. This song is about that state of mind."

Parasympathy was recorded in Bobby's home studio both in Los Angeles and Sacramento. As an arranger and composer Halvorson has connected with many fantastic multi-instrumentalists over the years in California and elsewhere. From his band Brother, Sister, Halvorson enlisted drummer Soichiro Tanabe, violinist Benjamin Fordham, vocalist Heather Ogilvy O'Malley, and bassist Kiefo Nilsson. Old friends from CalArts, Marcus Buser of Sun Kiss and Cooper Wolken of Kidi Band provided the rhythm section on "Nothing Feels Like Home."

Due to pandemic restrictions, many musicians had to build home-recording setups to offer their services to producers in need. String players Henna Chou and Christabel Lin sent their recorded strings all the way over from Austin, TX. Liza Wallace played and co-arranged harp on "My Love" and Joe Berry and Taylor Plenn graced a couple of tunes with their saxophones, all self-recorded and sent to Halvorson for mixing. As a final step, Halvorson worked with his go-to mixing engineer Daniel Eaton at Little Castle Mastering to put the final touches on the album.

Bobby Halvorson spent over a decade in the Los Angeles music scene playing shows with his art rock band Brother, Sister. With a doctorate in music composition and an in depth knowledge of orchestration, Halvorson has worked as an arranger for many artists including Sondre Lerche, Tim Heidecker, Inara George, and Morgxn adorning their work with strings, winds, and chorus. He has worked closely with Van Dyke Parks as a recording artist and arranging assistant and has produced, musical directed and performed in several live renditions of Harry Nilsson's The Point working alongside Harry's son Kiefo. His latest efforts are focused on his own songwriting as he establishes himself in the Sacramento music scene.

Listen to the new single here:

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