ELI LEV Unveils New Single 'As It Is'

Today, singer/songwriter Eli Lev has revealed a new single "As It Is" from the highly-anticipated final installment of the Four Directions project entitled True North. Listen now via The Bluegrass Situation! True North will be released on June 25, 2021.

Eli said, "'As It Is' started to reveal itself halfway through a 10-day Vipassana meditation retreat I went on near the Florida coast at the beginning of the year. I experienced silent sunrises over the ocean and brilliant sunsets over the bay that brought on infinite color variations and led me to a unique insight that everything is changing while staying exactly 'as it is' in every moment. The melody and words for the song started coming to me very quickly after that, but I couldn't use my phone or guitar to record them because of the guidelines of the retreat! I only got the chance to write down the lyrics five days later once the retreat concluded, which allowed for some very interesting melodic elements to develop and resulted in one of my most unique songs to date."

Prior to becoming a full time musician, the Silver Spring, MD native spent three years as an 8th grade English teacher on the Navajo Nation in Northern Arizona. The indigenous traditions he learned during this time are the inspiration for his Four Directions project. Just as each cardinal direction holds unique characteristics in the Navajo tradition, so do each of the albums in Eli's 'Four Directions Project.' Together, the series imaginatively and intrepidly connects spheres and generations within a body of work that is irresistibly uplifting, emotionally resonant, and down-to-earth authentic.

The northern direction in Navajo belief is that of the black night, of reflection, of quietude, of completion, and the stage where we get the highest amount of understanding from events and actions.Therefore, True North, is composed of a series of songs that were written throughout Eli's musical career. The EP was recorded during sessions with producer Taylor Rigg in a cabin in Virginia's Shenandoah Valley. Rigg's ability to create sonic landscapes rooted in instrumentation were brought to life and elevated by the riverside setting nestled among the picturesque rolling mountains.

Eli's releases have earned critical praise from Paste Magazine, Buzzfeed, CBS Radio, AXS, and The Bluegrass Situation, and have received national folk radio support and placement on prominent Spotify playlists. In 2019, Eli Lev won multiple industry awards for his work: his second album Way Out West won a Washington Area Music Award (WAMMIE) for best Country/Americana album, while his single "Chasing Daylight" won a grand prize in the SAW Mid-Atlantic Songwriting Competition.

Listen to the new single here.

Photo Credit: Taylor Rigg

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