- 2022-07-06
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MUSIC
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Carmody Releases Debut Album “Imperfect Constellations”: Streaming
London-based singer-songwriter Carmody released her long-awaited debut album “Imperfect Constellations” on July 6, 2022.
The album follows up her 4 previously released EPs and her 2014 collaborative EP “Out To Sea”.
The album comprises 12-track, featuring guest appearances from Alfa Mist, Laura Misch and Tom Misch.
She co-writes and co-productions with Avi Barath, Calum Duncan, Conor Albert and Rahm Silverglade.
She has long been using music as a way to uncover her subconscious, examining the complex web of relationships that surround her.
In the face of memory and generational grief, Imperfect Constellations is split into four main parts and draws on her own experiences of alternative therapy, entering a world of discovery and recognition.
“A Family Constellation session starts by somebody picking out strangers in the room that remind them of a member of their family,” Carmody explained. “You create a constellation of people, position them in certain ways. The people who've been put in the position will say things that they're intuitively feeling, and it's usually pretty bang on to what the original person has experienced. It's very emotional, and the album is kind of based on that; the idea of what we pass down to each other, and who we become because of it.”- When her father passed suddenly in October 2019, the album process took on new meaning.
“I kind of regret it now, but the only way I could process it — as I process everything in my life — was by just writing a song,” she said. “It was a really strange experience, and it's strange now, these songs finally getting released, because the album is all about family. I've lost quite a few family members since I started it in 2018, so much has completely changed. I was examining what the family is, but now I've had to examine what it's become as well.”
She continued, “I guess with this record, I'm realising that I do feel like a spiritual person. I once heard Florence Welch say that songs for her are like prophecies, and it's always stuck with me. It's like a gift; it tells you something that your body has been trying to tell you for a long time, and when it comes out, you know about it. This album is really teaching me something about where I'm at and where I want to be.” -
Carmody explained track-by-track for the album.
“Hurricane”
“My Grandma once told me that she doesn't dream, and that if she does, it's not in colour. I was just like wow, that line has to go in a song. We have a strange relationship, because she's quite a difficult, but very loveable, woman. She's quite rude, she's really crass, she's got a lot of love but she can't often feel it. It's about me trying to get through to her, but also recognising that I feel like I am quite like her. I wouldn't call it depression, but I struggle with sadness, and there's a lot of sadness that she's had in her family that she's just carried. That hurricane feeling; I feel like I carry some of that too.”
“Moon”
“My great Auntie was a magical woman. She used to read people's fortunes in coffee cups, giving people advice about their futures. She recorded in Hebrew which I don't speak very well, but Avi [Dot Never] who helped produce the record, translated it for me; she' s saying, 'one day we'll all be together in Israel, God has not forgotten you'. My dad was Jewish and I still celebrate that, but I'm not always seen as a Jewish person, because my mum was brought up Roman Catholic. So it's about that confusion; the idea that Jews follow the moon and how intrigued I am by those traditions, but I'm not always seen as part of them.”
“Yosef”
“This song is about trying to get to the depths of someone who is afraid to throw themselves open and be unguarded. I am asking the person to unravel so we can begin a more intimate relationship and create a language, which we will only find the words for if we are both willing to be vulnerable.”
“Replace”
“'Replace' is about the chaos of grief and the realisation that you cannot recreate someone once they have disappeared. It explores the multiple forms grieving can take – questioning relationships, exploring spirituality, substance abuse, depression and a yearning to grow as you are forced to become someone you no longer recognise.
Initially it was written like a stream of consciousness. Without thinking too much about it, Patrick James Pearson and I both wrote down random images that could fit the melody. By making them non-linear it felt as if we were reflecting the inconsistent and unpredictable shape grief takes. The verses are in 6/4 which suggests this feeling of not knowing where you are. In the chorus we shift to 4/4 with the only certainty – that the person you loved cannot be replaced.”
“Morning”
“'Morning' is about grief and the way the world continues even after someone you love has died. It's also about hope, the idea that although they're not physically present you can carry them with you in your mind. I wrote the track with Tom Misch, who also produced it and recorded some eerie, but beautiful, high-pitched ooo's, as well as playing a solo guitar line. Conor Albert made the drum beat and also recorded some wondrous synth lines.”
“Trespasser”
“It's about the frustration you feel when your body still remembers, despite the passing of time. Even if you would like to forget them, there is always a constant pull towards their memory. I took this track to Conor Albert who produced it and added some beautiful piano lines that really brought the track to life.”
“Brother”
“'Brother' is about my brother, who was a refugee and came to live with my parents 4 years ago. Although he is not blood-related, he has become an integral part of our family and the song explores the idea of embracing strangers and welcoming them into your familial world. He speaks the words from the chorus in Persian on the track, which really brought it to life and emphasised the notion of creating wider communities.”
“Memory” featuring Alfa Mist & Laura Misch
“This song was written with Alfa Mist, we wanted to create a record exploring the concept of 'memory' and although it was never released, I recently contacted him and asked if I could use this song for my album. It is a song about carrying your memories with you and making them a part of your every day, in spite of the people or things you lose along the way. Laura Misch is playing a beautiful sax line in the chorus, which really brought the piece to life.”
Photo by Andrew Cotterill - source : Apple Music
