Shannon McNally - North American Ghost Music - COMPACT DISCS [CD]

Geist feels like a window - or a mirror - into possibilities of the self and beyond. Shannon Lay's new album is tender intensity, placeless and ethereal. It exists in the chasms of the present - a world populated by shadow selves, spiritual awakenings, déjà vu, and past lives.InchSomething sleeps inside us,Inch Lay insists on the opening track, and that's the guiding philosophy throughout. A winding, golden, delicate thread of intuition that explores the unknown, the possibility. It's title, Geist, the German word for spirit, is rife with an otherworldly presence, the suggestion of another. The promise that you are never alone.Lay tracked vocals and guitar at Jarvis Tavinere of Woods's studio, then sent the songs out to multi-instrumentalists Ben Boye (Bonnie Prince Billy, Ty Segall) in Los Angeles and Devin Hoff (Sharon Van Etten, Cibo Matto) in New York; trusting their musical instincts and intuition. She then sent those recordings to Sofia Arreguin (Wand) and Aaron Otheim (Heatwarmer, Mega Bog) for additional keys, while Ty Segall contributed a guitar solo on InchShores.Inch As a whole, Geist is both esoteric and accessible. Songs range from a concise, pared-back cover of Syd Barrett's tilt-a-whirl-esque InchLate Night,Inch to the meditative Dune-inspired InchRare to Wake,Inch to the mostly a-cappella InchAwaken and Allow,Inch which channels Lay's deep Irish roots, a moment of reflection, before a drop happens - it's intensity mirroring the anticipation and anxiety that come with taking the first step to accepting change for yourself.And the title track InchGeist,Inch a song about the power living in all of us, is a love song to the possibility of healing, an ode to falling into the arms of what you're becoming. It's a glimpse into the parts of yourself you have yet to meet. But you can, if you want to.

2018 . Shannon Shaw, the captivating vocalist, bassist, and founder of Shannon & the Clams, strikes out on her own for her first solo album, Shannon In Nashville. Produced by The Black Keys' Dan Auerbach at his Nashville studio, Easy Eye Sound, the album features a cast of revered old-school session musicians which have breathed life into notable records by Elvis Presley, Aretha Franklin, Willie Nelson, and John Prine, to name just a few. The album evokes the tear-jerking intonations of Brenda Lee and Patsy Cline and exudes a self-possessed melancholy that sets the scene for Shaw to comb through a personal history of love lost to time, circumstance, fear or neglect.

The English composer Benjamin Dale's compositions are relatively few in number but of great distinction. In particular it was his friendship with Lionel Tertis, the father of modern viola playing, which inspired a series of outstanding works for the instrument. The Suite for Viola and Piano in D major, Op.2 is large in scale, brilliant in execution, and youthful in feeling, whilst the Phantasy for Viola and Piano, Op.4 is a single span studded with sublime melodies. Written for Tertis and his pupils, the Introduction and Andante for Six Violas, Op.5 is a unique contribution to the repertoire.