Mary Lattimore isn't your typical American indie artist. She's a classically trained harpist, graduate of the prestigious Eastman School of Music in Rochester, New York, and her new album, Goodbye, Hotel Arkada, went to No 4 on Billboard's New Age chart, where artists like Enya have permanent residency.
"Yeah, I'll take that," she says ahead of her New Zealand visit, from a tour stop in Detroit. "I'm happy with whatever they say because what I do is hard to classify.
I just make what I make." Lattimore's music and her connections are wider than the often pejorative "new age" definition and her classical training.
Goodbye, Hotel Arkada's guests include Lol Tolhurst (co-founder of the Cure), Rachel Goswell (Mojave 3, Slowdive) and Christchurch post-rock guitarist/composer Roy Montgomery (a founder of seminal Flying Nun band. Pin Group in 1980).
Lattimore's credentials are further enhanced by a sampling of those she's collaborated with: Thurston Moore (Sonic Youth), Meg Baird (psychedelic rockers Heron Oblivion and the psyche-folk Espers), London's indie-rock Clientele, Kurt Vile, Steve Gunn, experimental composer Julianna Barwick, Jarvis Cocker...
"I'm just part of their orbit and because I play an unusual instrument people are curious about how it would sound [with their music].
Denne historien er fra December 02-08, 2023-utgaven av New Zealand Listener.
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Denne historien er fra December 02-08, 2023-utgaven av New Zealand Listener.
Start din 7-dagers gratis prøveperiode på Magzter GOLD for å få tilgang til tusenvis av utvalgte premiumhistorier og 9000+ magasiner og aviser.
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First-world problem
Harrowing tales of migrants attempting to enter the US highlight the political failure to fully tackle the problem.
Applying intelligence to AI
I call it the 'Terminator Effect', based on the premise that thinking machines took over the world.
Nazism rears its head
Smirky Höcke, with his penchant for waving with a suspiciously straight elbow and an open palm, won't get to be boss of either state.
Staying ahead of the game
Will the brave new world of bipartisanship that seems to be on offer with an Infrastructure Commission come to fruition?
Grasping the nettle
Broccoli is horrible. It smells, when being cooked, like cat pee.
Hangry? Eat breakfast
People who don't break their fast first thing in the morning report the least life satisfaction.
Chemical reaction
Nitrates in processed meats are well known to cause harm, but consumed from plant sources, their effect is quite different.
Me and my guitar
Australian guitarist Karin Schaupp sticks to the familiar for her Dunedin concerts.
Time is on my side
Age does not weary some of our much-loved musicians but what keeps them on the road?
The kids are not alright
Nuanced account details how China's blessed generation has been replaced by one consumed by fear and hopelessness.
