New York, NY (Top40 Charts) Acclaimed roots-rock duo Larkin Poe partners with innovative hybrid orchestra Nu Deco Ensemble for Paint the Roses: Live in Concert - a new album that reinterprets Larkin Poe's music, including their 2020 release Self Made Man and more, through an orchestral lens. The album's single, "Every Bird That Flies," is out today.
Paint the Roses documents a collaborative, streamed concert by the two artistic groups in December, 2020 at Miami's North Beach Bandshell. The performance was part of Nu Deco's 2020-21 virtual and socially-distanced concert season, which featured the ensemble's genre-bending orchestral music and its powerful first collaboration with Larkin Poe.
Larkin Poe - a Nashville-based sister-duo comprising multi-instrumentalists Rebecca and Megan Lovell - had recorded their fifth album Self Made Man (which topped the Billboard Blues Album chart and UK's Independent and Americana Albums charts) in the summer of 2020 but could not take the music on the road due to COVID-19 restrictions. Nu Deco Ensemble's collaborative concert provided the duo their first chance to play the new record's songs for a live audience. The tracks on Self Made Man (and now on Paint the Roses) draw on wide influences but are rooted in the creative heritage of Larkin Poe's beloved American South and Southern Gothic themes.
"During the challenging times of this past year, music served the critical purpose of connection to one another," say Nu Deco Ensemble Co-Founders and Artistic Directors Jacomo Bairos and Sam Hyken. "Among those valuable connections was our first collaboration with the amazing duo Larkin Poe and the live album that resulted from it. 'Every Bird that Flies' was a song that we immediately knew had to be a part of this collaboration. One of our favorite moments of production week with Larkin Poe was watching Rebecca and Megan's faces when they first heard how massive the lap steel solo section of this combined with an orchestra."
Larkin Poe added, "Before we could even speak in full sentences, our introduction to the language of music began with classical violin and piano lessons; ever since then, music has been the bedrock upon which we've built our lives. Over the years we have drawn inspiration from a wide range of genres, but it has always been a dream of ours to find a way to honor our classical upbringing. 'Paint The Roses' was born out of a fortuitous, one-night collaboration with Nu Deco Ensemble. In hearing our
Roots Rock n Roll repertoire reinterpreted through an orchestral lens, it felt like a creative circle was being completed; we wanted to share the performance on a grander scale and, thus, our first-ever live album came into being. We are deeply indebted to Sam Hyken for writing such incredible orchestra arrangements and also to Jacomo Bairos for conducting such a magical evening of music."
Paint the Roses launches today with the single, "Every Bird That Flies." Originally a somber, swampy bluesy song, this new version is reinvigorated with the sweeping orchestration of Nu Deco Ensemble. Together they build this slowburner skywards, escalating the hushed opening ambience into a full-blooded crescendo.
Larkin Poe says, "When we recorded 'Every Bird That Flies' for Self Made Man we wanted the song to feel like a journey. So when Nu Deco's team suggested working up a version together we were pumped to explore a new musical destination. The song is beautifully heightened by the cinematic soaring of the orchestra and we're so pleased to share this adventure with y'all." The orchestra also adds grandeur to Larkin Poe's southern rocker "Back Down South," which incorporates their take on The Allman Brothers' "Blue Sky." In addition, Paint the Roses features powerful collaborative versions of earlier Larkin Poe tracks including the electrifying album opener "
Sometimes" and "Mad as a Hatter" — a huge fan favorite with seven million YouTube views that pays moving tribute to the women's grandfather, who struggled with mental illness. It was previously unreleased, so this will be the first official version coming out with the album.
Called "self-made badasses" by American Songwriter and "a sister act with staying power" by NPR, the Grammy-nominated, multi-instrumental sisters Rebecca and Megan Lovell of Larkin Poe are creating their own brand of
Roots Rock 'n' Roll: gritty, soulful, and flavored by their Southern heritage. Originally from Atlanta and currently living in Nashville, they are descendants of tortured artist and creative genius Edger Allan Poe.
Formed in 2010, Larkin Poe has released five studio albums, including 2018's Venom & Faith -- nominated for the 2020 GRAMMY for Best Contemporary Blues Album --- and 2020's Self Made Man; both albums reached #1 on Billboard's Blues Album chart. Their latest album, Kindred Spirits, was released in November, 2020 and features covers of songs by Neil Young, Lenny Kravitz, Elvis Presley,
Elton John and others. Larkin Poe's performance at the 2014 Glastonbury Festival was cited as 'best discovery' by The Observer. They performed as part of the backing band for the 2017 MusiCares tribute to Tom Petty, accompanying
Don Henley and Jackson Browne, and were invited by producer T Bone Burnett to perform on the
New Basement Tapes album Lost on the River alongside Marcus Mumford,
Elvis Costello and Rhiannon Giddens. They have collaborated widely and toured the world, most recently headlining the 2020 Mahindra Blues Festival in Mumbai, India
Nu Deco Ensemble is a Miami-based, contemporary hybrid orchestra (called "a chamber orchestra for the 21st century by The New York Times) whose work has included collaborations with Wyclef Jean, Tune-Yards, PJ Morton, Macy Gray, Jacob Collier,
Ben Folds and others. The Ensemble has reimagined versions of tracks by artists including Daft Punk,
Outkast and classic rock artists as well as new music from some of today's most exciting living composers. Nu Deco was founded by conductor Jacomo Bairos (who has led orchestras including the
Boston Pops, San Francisco and St. Louis Symphonies) and composer/arranger/producer Sam Hyken (a composer commissioned by orchestras and artists including Angelique Kidjo, Bad Bunny, Tank and the Bangas, and many others) — two of classical music's most in-demand and adventurous figures.
Since its inception in 2015, Nu Deco Ensemble has exploded onto Miami's eclectic musical scene, captivating audiences in both traditional concert venues and alternative local venues, and fusing innovative, genre-bending orchestral performances and collaborations with the highest levels of musical artistry — leading Billboard to call their music "sonically spellbinding." The Ensemble released a self-titled debut album in 2019, and Humans vs Robots - An Orchestral Tribute to
Daft Punk in 2020. Nu Deco is reimagining what an orchestra can achieve today. It is a flexible and innovative hybrid orchestra that celebrates living composers, reimagines all genres of music, provides education programs for Miami's young people, and collaborates with a wide range of diverse musical guests, composers, choreographers, dancers, and mixed media artists.
