Mackenzie Shivers Releases 'Funeral Singer' EP

Modern, organic singer-songwriter Mackenzie Shivers has released her new EP Funeral Singer January 7th on Eilean Donan Records. The 3-track EP examines a life tender with beauty yet rife with heartache and disruption.

"My first job as a musician was when I was eight, playing original piano compositions at the funeral of a dear friend's father." explains Mackenzie. "With the world often in disarray, I find my job as an artist is to find the beauty and meaning in loss. But it's not about glossing over something and making it shiny. We can hold space for things that seem like they would be at odds with one another, for both dark and light, and therein lies the magic and complexity of being human."

"Vocally-direct and harmony driven" (Throw the Dice and Play Nice), Funeral Singer fully embodies loss and longing in a moody yet gorgeous fashion. Electric guitars tip the mood from dejected to impassioned ("Funeral Singer"); vivid imagery of church bells and moonless skies dance among childhood memories and proclamations of love ("Sunday"); the hope of new beginnings swim in the heartbreaking beauty of "Island Ave", premiered by glamglare, who praise its "enchanting vocals" and "mesmerizing vibe."

"I like to think of goodbyes as transitions," Mackenzie continues. "This EP serves as its own transition, going deeper into the sonic world of Rejection Letter and shining a light on what's to come."

The multi-instrumentalist released her third full length album, Rejection Letter, on April 2nd, 2021. Shivers retreated to Cape Cod as the pandemic hit to seek refuge from her home in New York City and armed with an old guitar purchased by her great-grandmother, gifted to her by her father, the pianist experimented with alternate tunings guided by Laura Marling's online guitar tutorials. Released from the pressure of touring and promoting, she unexpectedly wrote a batch of songs that would become the foundation for both Rejection Letter and Funeral Singer.

Funeral Singer was co-produced by friend and frequent collaborator, engineer and producer, Kevin Salem (Rachel Yamagata, Lenka, Emmylou Harris), and features performances by Yuka Tadano on bass and drummer Cody Rahn. The title track also features harmonies by fellow musician, writer, and Bellehouse bandmate Jess Clinton.

Prior to Rejection Letter, Mackenzie Shivers has released two full length albums, 2014's Neverland and 2019's The Unkindness, and three eps, 2016's Living in My Head, 2017's Ravens and 2019's Holiday EP, Midwinter. She lives in Woodstock, NY with her husband and rescued pitbull mix, LunaBug.

Listen to the new EP here:

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