New York, NY (Top40 Charts) XXIM Records/Sony
Music Masterworks is proud to announce the signing of Montreal-based pianist and composer ALEXANDRA STRÉLISKI, the latest addition to the label's impressive international roster of exceptionally talented musicians.
A major artist in the alternative classical space, the signing of STRÉLISKI is a significant coup for XXIM Records. She is a trailblazer in the modern classical world, and her minimalist, emotionally striking music has enthralled listeners worldwide and garnered no end of critical acclaim and commercial success.
Her 2010 debut album Pianoscope, went on to reach Gold status in Canada and was featured in Dallas Buyers Club (2013), Demolition (2016), and during the Oscars (2014). The 2018 follow-up INSCAPE, was another stunning success, reaching Platinum status in Canada and winning multiple awards, including Instrumental Album of the Year at the 2020 JUNO Awards, alongside global streaming success.
Now a household name in Canada's vibrant music scene, and with over 300 million audio streams and 140,000 album sales to her name, signing to XXIM Records represents the next stage of STRÉLISKI'S artistic development.
That begins with new song "The hills," set for release on Friday, November 18th and her first new music in four years. Accompanying the track will be a video created in collaboration with Montreal-based director Laurence Baz Morais offering both a view back and a glimpse into STRELISKI'S visual world for the future.
"'The hills' is a piece about the ups and downs of our human condition," says STRÉLISKI of the song. "It's about our drive to evolve, to come out of our shells, and to feel at peace with the world in all its contradictions. I wrote it with a very strong impulse following the death of someone I loved, as though I was trying to reconcile the magnitude of my grief with the beauty of the life that had been there."
This will be followed by a much-anticipated new album - her third - in spring 2023, alongside extensive touring in Canada, the USA, and
Europe throughout next year, news of which will be shared in due course. All upcoming music will be released worldwide, excluding Canada, by XXIM Records/Sony Masterworks, in partnership with Montreal-based Secret City Records - her label home since the release of 2018's hit album INSCAPE - which will continue to release STRÉLISKI in her home market.
Of signing with XXIM Records, STRÉLISKI says: "This is a very exciting new chapter of my musical career and I feel grateful to be adding such passionate and dedicated people to my team. It's great as an artist to work with such an international bunch of people that love music and are interested in propelling it further. I'm also happy to have a European label too, as I now live part time in Rotterdam and my new music is heavily influenced by my European roots and ancestors."
Per Hauber, President of Sony Classical and Co-Head of Sony
Music Masterworks, comments: "I'm really looking forward to working with
Alexandra Stréliksi on XXIM Records. The new album will surely be another important milestone in Alexandra's career. The entire Sony
Music Masterworks team is honoured and excited about the opportunity to bring her music to a wide audience across all borders."
Alexander Buhr, SVP of International A&R at Sony
Music Masterworks adds: "Alex is a unique voice in modern classical music. With her emotional depth, artistic integrity, and her ability to connect with people, she has already formed a bond with many music fans in Canada and beyond. We are very excited to work with her on new music and on bringing it to ever more people around the world."
Pronounced 'Twenty-One M' and headquartered in Berlin, experimentation and collaboration lie at the heart of XXIM Records' ethos, with the ultimate goal of providing a strong platform for the creative development of a new generation of artists whose work explores and integrates, among other realms, neo-classical, post-rock, electronic, and ambient sounds.
Manchester-based trio GoGo Penguin, Icelandic pianist and composer Eydís Evensen, Franco-American composer, conductor, producer, and arranger Uèle Lamore, and Icelandic post rock duo Hugar are just a few of the talents that currently call XXIM Records home.
