Phosphorescent's Jo Schornikow Premieres GHOSTS

Jo Schornikow has shared a new song and video from her upcoming debut album, Secret Weapon, out March 29 on Keeled Scales / Secretly Distribution. It's a beautiful articulation of a distinctly familiar experience with "people who move from being important presences to little ghosts who live in memories and the past." Brooklyn Vegan premiered the "gorgeous bare-bones indie folk song" and its stunning, animated video, saying, "It has a subtle but strong impact, in a mid 2000s indie short film sort of way, and the tender song should appeal to fans of indie music from that same era."

Jo will perform in Austin at SXSW this March before playing key shows in Los Angeles and Brooklyn. Dates are detailed below, more to be announced.

WATCH "GHOSTS"

Jo Schornikow is an Australian artist who has impacted more music than most know, having contributed her talents to the likes of Lana Del Rey, The National and most steadily for the last five years, Phosphorescent, as the band's keyboardist. Now comes her debut full-length, a stirringly calm triumph of control, created in the weighted wake of motherhood. Having given birth to two children in quick succession with partner Matthew Houck, the longtime musician-turned-mom took to songwriting to confront the dramatic changes across her life. In direct contrast to the chaos of child-rearing amidst a music career, Secret Weapon pours from a deeply situated place of profound restraint. Today's release follows the quietly enchanting video for "Incomplete," hailed by Gorilla Vs. Bear as "gorgeous, smoldering."

Musically, Jo's emotional explorations thrive in a dusklit territory neighboring pop, shoegaze, and ambient experimental music. Among subtle swells of synths and shimmering washes of guitars, Jo's serene voice is never obscured. She recorded the collection with what she calls "a really dinky little setup" at a friend's house in Melbourne, playing the same ancient keyboard with which she gigged through college. Read the full album bio here.

PHOTO BY DAVID TORCH