New York, NY (Top40 Charts/ Ari Hest official website) Sadness, Resignation, Lucidity and a Bit of Magic: A Thematic and Musical Experiment For Ari Hest on 'Shouts and Whispers', as Half the Album is Acoustic and the Other Half is Written with a Broader Sonic Palette
Opening For
Suzanne Vega on U.S. Tour
On his upcoming June 8th release 'Shouts and Whispers', singer-songwriter Ari Hest creates a non-typical collection of tracks that ultimately form a cohesive narrative. With songs of sadness and resignation giving way to lucidity and catharsis, Hest's introspection and intelligence are on display, creating moments of magic within his poetic, spare lyrics and backing them up with his ear for haunting melodies.
Hest conceived half the album as an acoustic set, while the other half took shape via keyboards, as he explains below. 'Shouts and Whispers' begins with the swirling, hypnotic 'Harvest', soon followed by a centerpiece track, the stunning, understated 'Into the Empty White'. 'How We'll Always Be' is perhaps a declaration of giving up the fight, and the melancholy 'No One Can Stay' has an elegant darkness. There's a glimmer of hope within 'Bona Fide', and finally a cathartic yowl as 'After The Thunder' builds to its crescendo.
Hest comments on the process of making the album:
"At first I wanted to write and record some songs where I put the guitar down and focused on keyboards…I've always been into music from
Tears For Fears,
Peter Gabriel, and Bruce Hornsby, and was excited to experiment in that direction. So I asked my buddy Carl Barc if I could invade his studio for a while to experiment with some ideas on his Juno and CP70 keyboards. I loved creating in a way I hadn't - using those instruments as the backbone of tracks and leaving guitar largely out of it."
"In the middle of working on those songs I began playing solo shows supporting Judy Collins around the U.S. and Europe. Her show and her audience beg for a more acoustically minded set, so I'd go on stage with just a guitar and occasionally play songs that were fresh out of the oven. I enjoyed being able to take a break mentally from what I was doing with Carl. I was able to focus on how I could arrange these other new songs sparsely."
Eventually Hest found the time to record a few of them with the help of producer Matt Pendergast at Q Division Studios in Boston, MA. Then he listened to both projects. "After hearing the two finished batches of songs I saw two distinct themes, not only in a musical sense but also lyrically. The vibe of the keyboard driven tracks is intense. I wrote a lot about the uncertainty of what I do for a living. On the contrary, the acoustic songs come from a place of lucidity. I started thinking it'd be cool to combine the two somehow."
The result is an album that isn't an album in the traditional sense, but it manages to flow like a complete thought.
As mentioned above, Hest has been honored to tour with the legendary Judy Collins, and is even featured in her new PBS special - JUDY COLLINS LIVE IN IRELAND, currently airing on PBS stations nationwide. On the program, the two of them join together to sing one of Ari's songs.
This May, Ari Hest will open for
Suzanne Vega for a month of concerts - an itinerary follows.
ARI HEST 'SHOUTS AND WHISPERS' TOUR
Opening for Suzanne Vega:
April 30, 2014 The Sinclair Cambridge, MA
May 1, 2014 Center for the Arts Natick, MA
May 2, 2014 The Bell House Brooklyn, NY
May 4, 2014 City Winery New York, NY
May 5, 2014 World Café Live Philadelphia, PA
May 7, 2014 South
Orange PAC South Orange, NJ
May 8, 2014 Ram's Head Annapolis, MD
May 9, 2014 The Birchmere Alexandria, VA
May 10, 2014 Carolina Civic Center Lumberton, NC
May 11, 2014 Booth Playhouse Charlotte, NC
May 13, 2014
The Ark Ann Arbor, MI
May 15, 2014 The Old Town School of Folk
Music Chicago, IL
May 16, 2014 Barrymore Theatre Madison, WI
May 17, 2014 Cedar Cultural Center Minneapolis, MN
May 19, 2014
Aladdin Theatre Portland, OR
May 20, 2014 Triple Door Seattle, WA
May 22, 2014 Center for the Arts Grass Valley, CA
May 23, 2014 Great American
Music Hall San Francisco, CA
May 24, 2014 El Ray Theatre Los Angeles, CA
June 6, 2014 solo Univ. of Fairbanks Fairbanks, AK
June 18, 2014 solo
Seven Steps Up
Music Spring Lake, MI
June 20, 2014 solo City Winery Chicago, IL
June 25, 2014 solo Eddie's
Attic Decatur, GA
More about Ari Hest
"I've always been the introspective type. I guess as a singer-songwriter you're gonna have some of that anyway in your makeup. My previous records were inward most of the time, but 'Shouts and Whispers' has another distinct angle, one of understanding the world I live in and embracing how I fit into it a bit easier than I used to."
Hest has released seven albums, three EPs, and "52" in 2008, an innovative project whereby he wrote, recorded and released a new song every Monday for a full year. In addition, Hest is half of the folk pop duo The Open Sea, along with longtime friend Rosi Golan.
His music has been featured on numerous television shows including
Private Practice, Army Wives, and One Tree Hill. Recently, Ari's song "The Landlord" appeared in an episode of NPR's "All Things Considered". He's also scored a film called 'Dreamriders,' which won several independent film awards. And throughout his career, he has toured worldwide to support his records, most recently in Germany as well as several European countries, and built the kind of loyal fan base any musician would envy.
While Shouts and Whispers is an excellent indication of what Hest is capable of, his live show may leave even more of an impression. Watching him play, one can't help but be thrust into his world, hanging on every word like a child listening to a ghost story.
Visit https://www.arihest.com/
