Monday, June 11, 2012

Since moving to California, I’ve been immersed in a community of creative, eccentric and brilliant people. This has been a blessing beyond measure, one that continually inspires me to push my own crafts further and to burn ever brighter in my artistic pursuits. One of these muses of mine, the extremely lovely and talented musician Ayla Nereo, recently released her third full-length album titled “BeHeld.” 

This lady!

I saw Ayla perform for the first time not long after I moved to Oakland. I remember standing in a completely packed and crowded room, and as she began to play I thought that she was probably just another folk singer, the same more or less as so many I had seen perform in coffee shops or house concerts. Within mere minutes, this assumption of mine was totally shattered. Watching her sing and finger-pick her guitar, deftly using a loop peddle to create rich harmonies and auditory textures, with a video projector behind her displaying her simple yet powerful footage of flames, waves, and sunlight through leaves- it was enough to move me to tears. 
Since then I’ve been a devout appreciator of her songs, which meld sagacious lyrics that carry a poetic lilt with melodies that return to play in my head throughout the day. I was honored when she asked me to accompany her on violin for a few songs at her album release party. 


Here’s a video of us performing her song “Thorny Rose” with another one of my beautiful muses, Emily Rose Frost, singing backup. The sound quality is a little lacking, so to really hear the song in all its glory, you should check out the album's website here.
Enjoy!


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