New York, NY (Top40 Charts) Volary is the work of Australian-born singer/songwriter, Samantha Lien. When she moved to San Francisco in 2001 to pursue a scientific career, Lien did not play any musical instruments. However, the discovery of a city bursting with the artistic intimacy and honesty of singer/songwriters was the inspiration for her to say: �OK, nobody�s ever going to write the songs that I hear until I learn to play the guitar and write them myself.�
After recording several singles, Lien engaged in her first full-length studio project Out of
Shadows in 2009. �You might compare it to a sculpture of delicate flowers made out of barbed wire,� she mused when describing her debut record. The album takes flight through a land of mixed human emotions. Most of the songs delve into the darker sides of the human psyche, but as in a chiaroscuro, there is always light again. This dichotomy, yet juxtaposition of elements is an apt parallel to the name Volary - an obscure English term defined as a flight or flock of birds, or the cage you keep them in.
Just as the album was nearing completion, Lien's life took a tragic turn. She was diagnosed with breast cancer. Despite multiple surgeries and aggressive treatment, she pushed forward to get the album made.
While in remission, Lien joined forces with multi-instrumentalists Sam Mollica on bass and Josh Jones on percussion and performed as a rock trio around the San Francisco Bay Area. During this time the band won the San Francisco heat of the 2011
Battle for
America (a national
Battle of the Bands). Shortly thereafter, they were selected as part of the R Life LIVE! music roster. Other highlights included being nominated for the 2011 Best Artist of the Year Award by MSI:
Music Scene Investigations, and for Best Singer/Songwriter, Best Acoustic/Folk Artist, and Best
Music Video in the 2013 Artists in
Music Awards. Lien also continued to write new material exploring more hopeful, playful themes.
But in 2012 her cancer returned and metastasized. Still, she kept writing, now tackling themes of grief and uncertainty. In 2013 Lien returned to the studio, determined to share her journey in her second album.
Lien lost her battle with cancer in November 2013, leaving behind a collection of vocal tracks, demos, and ideas.
Following her passing, Lien's partner Alex Kushner set out to produce her unfinished work as a complete, full-length studio album. He enlisted the talent of Minna Choi (Magik*Magik) to curate and orchestrate Lien's unreleased material. The resulting album, titled The Light, is a powerful emotional journey through a complex musical landscape that bridges rock, classical, and environmental music - a truly unique work that reflects the complexity of life, death, suffering, and hope. It mirrors the complexity that resides within the soul of an artist struggling creatively and physically with the largest of questions.
The Light is being released both digitally and on vinyl on October 16, 2016. It will the the second and final album from a talented artist taken away too soon.
