Molly Joyce EP Release Show at 1 Rivington

New Amsterdam Records is excited to celebrate the release of composer Molly Joyce's debut recording, Lean Back and Release, with a FREE release show this Monday, March 6. The event will be held at Metropolis Ensemble's new pop-up venue, 1 Rivington, and is co-presented by New Amsterdam. The EP title track will be performed by violinist Kristin Lee, concertmaster of the Metropolis Ensemble, and Joyce will also perform the premiere of a new work for toy organ and electronics titled "Form and Deform." Boutique wine will also be served, sponsored by Miro Cellars. More info and RSVP for the event here.

The digital EP, featuring violinists Adrianna Mateo and Monica Germino, has already received press from multiple outlets, including being praised as "arresting" by Textura and an "intoxicating, deepening experience" by Das Klienicum. Joyce was also interviewed by the Hartford Courant, which proclaimed that "with 'Lean Back and Release,' Joyce's music will likely receive even more acclaim." Additionally, New York Music Daily has highly recommended the upcoming release show, stating that "fans of cutting-edge, intense string music would be crazy to miss this."

The EP is now available for purchase from Bandcamp, iTunes, and Amazon.

The title track of the EP, "Lean Back and Release", acclaimed for being written to "superb effect" by The Wire, was first performed professionally at the 2014 Bang on a Can Marathon by violinist Adrianna Mateo, for which Mateo was praised as "triumphant" by Time Out New York. The piece is driven by a very gradual descent for the violin in range, imagining the violinist steadily "leaning back" and finally "releasing" the distinct low register of the violin. Two accompanying pre-recorded violin tracks accompany the live violin in order to propel this descent. The recording was engineered and mixed by Andrew McKenna Lee, and mastered by Greg Kalember.

The title track is followed by a more recent work, "Shapeshifter", originally written for the Dutch duo of violinist Monica Germino and sound engineer Frank van der Weij. Premiered in April 2015 in The Hague and Amsterdam, "Shapeshifter" is motivated by the concept of control and losing it. It is driven by the fact that with the duo, Frank is typically not seen visually, and therefore the idea of him controlling Monica's sound and gradually letting go of that control is highlighted throughout the piece, and for Monica to gradually "shape-shift" to a new and divergent sound. The recording was engineered by Frank van der Weij, Krišs Veismanis, and mixed by Michael Laurello, and mastered by Greg Kalember.

Tracklisting:
1. Lean Back and Release
2. Shapeshifter

Upcoming Performances:

Mar. 6, 2017: EP Release show
New York, NY @ 1 Rivington
presented by Metropolis Ensemble and New Amsterdam
(featuring violinist Kristin Lee and toy organist Molly Joyce)

Mar. 9, 2017: Rotterdam, NL @ De Doelen
(featuring violinist Isa Goldschmeding)

To post a comment, you must register and login.