what are the natural forms? (2017)
I produced and recorded this EP for the fantastic Hannah Ross. You can find her full portfolio of artwork here.
We were really lucky to have ‘Fearing’ (the track on the player above) played by Mary Anne Hobbs on her 6 Music Recommends show as well as her weekend breakfast shows, who had this to say:
‘I really love the emotive and organic nature of this piece [...]
I just love the way the piece of music unfolds [...]
I predict that this piece of music will stop you in your tracks’
‘a beauty’
I predict that this piece of music will stop you in your tracks’
‘a beauty’
Here’s some more info from the press release...
what are the natural forms?, the debut EP of Manchester-based singer and artist Hannah Ross, is a collection of solo songs written about broken hearts and aching bones over a summer at home in her native North West. Experiencing the physical pain of a chronic health condition only recently diagnosed, alongside grief for the end of a relationship, her songs deal with how different kinds of hurt can be expressed at once.
Recorded over the space of one day, the songs are unpolished, punctuated by clicks, fuzz, and background noise, producing a sound that is both distinct and circumstantial. Hannah’s voice bears traces of a lifetime spent listening to R’n’B and Soul music, whilst nodding to more recent influences such as King Krule, James Blake and Mac Demarco.
The dreamlike quality of the music parallels the haze of opiates and painkillers, but her lyrics explore more sharply how pain reduces each activity to its starkest, with a heightened awareness of each action that had previously seemed straightforward.
Recorded two years ago with friend and producer David McFarlane and mixed by Jordan Peers, the music stands as testimony to the difficulty of articulating inseparable hardships.
Mary Anne Hobbs selected ‘Fearing’ from what are the natural forms? for her 6 Music Recommends show, then as the Sunriser track for her 6 Music weekend show, and had this to say:
‘in the very first conversation I ever had with her, she made me think more carefully about how people with disabilities can enjoy going to live gigs, and be properly provided for, and I’ll always thank her for that [...] well, I bought it immediately, and among the four stunning tracks is our Sunriser this weekend, it’s my favourite and it’s called ‘Fearing’.’