Julia Holter Instagram – a few months ago, I had a lot of fun in the studio recording this beautiful music I have been performing for years written by @alextemplemusic for @spektralquartet and me. “Behind the Wallpaper” is such a magical song cycle—I’ve personally been really inspired by Alex’s fluid and romantic string writing and the surreal poetry. I also have never had someone write meticulously for my voice so it’s been a special experience. This quartet is incredible. So glad to be a part of this with @spektralquartet and also loved working with producer William Britelle and mixing engineer Zach Hanson
The record comes out March 3. Link in bio to hear the first single “Tiny Holes” 🌊🪐🌊
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Composed by Alex Temple, whose gender transition inspired this stylistically unpredictable and mysterious new work, Behind the Wallpaper is “atmospheric with ambiguous tonality, drawing chuckles along with hushed curiosity.” (The New York Times)
“Julia Holter’s music has a stylistic fluidity and vulnerability that made her the perfect choice for this dreamy, unsettling story,” says Alex Temple. “The piece tells the tale of someone undergoing a mysterious transformation and ultimately finding a home in another world, superimposed on our own but invisible to the uninitiated. Many of the dreamlike images in the songs were inspired by my experience with gender transition. But my hope is that the story will feel familiar to anyone who has ever felt alienated from the broader culture.”
Temple’s story felt not only familiar to Spektral Quartet but also vital at a time when “othering” is on the rise—when trans stories remain largely absent from concert stages. While the ensemble disbanded last June (they played a farewell concert in their hometown of Chicago), Spektral still plans to release three more albums, and the group views Behind the Wallpaper, the first in the series, as essential to their legacy. | Posted on 14/Jan/2023 01:13:41
