The Human Project is the debut album from Bath-based singer, composer, producer and multi-instrumentalist Bethany Stenning, the first album release under her performing alter ego STANLÆY. The Human Project is a multi-faceted audio-visual project which involved over 70 musicians, artists, actors/actresses and videographers all under the direction of Bethany. In November 2018 Bethany released two singles from The Human Project, The Mountain Collector and Ode to Ovid, she released two further singles: Properties of Ice in February and Wooden Womb in April. Bethany is releasing The Human Project through her own STANLÆY ART imprint this week on Friday 31st May. Listen in full to the album below followed by her track-by-track guide:
The Human Project – track by track by Bethany Stenning
1) The Moon is a swelling, classical-esque track for vibraphone, string quartet, gliding saxophone and my vocal harmonies arranged to immerse the listener. Lyrically and musically, it is an unearthly lament telling the love story between a werewolf and the moon.
2) Wooden Womb is a folk song gone wrong. Musically the track begins with very bare and organic sounds but quickly mutates into a chaotic explosion of melody, chanting and pure noise. The video and lyrics narrate the journey of an engineer who creates a mannequin that comes to life. Despite his love for his creation she desires to escape such a superficial existence with him.
3) Eldur is a hip-hop inspired song I composed, featuring a rap performance from the brilliant Pedro D G Correia. Drum blasts, smooth horns and vocals lying between the gaps, and transitions. The lyrics and video are about the overarching concept of the Phoenix that burns, and then rises once more from the ashes.
4) The Mountain Collector is a chamber-folk track which is mystical and earthly in its musical nature. Its structure is very intricate with a lot of emphasis on the string quartet parts. There is a humorous break in the song/video where the string quartet has a solo chamber breakdown in the song. The lyrics are quite fun, and surround the idea that we are hugely influenced by our immediate landscapes/cityscapes, and hold the desire to re-connect with one’s natural surroundings.
5) Ode to Ovid is based around a circular motif played on the Hang drum, swelling strings and interwoven vocal patterns. Ode to Ovid is a song written based on the poem ‘The Golden Age’ written by Ovid. It circulates the theme of having an ‘Iron Twin’ as I you can hear in the lyrics, and these Iron twins are our shadows (implying we are in the Iron age/age of destruction) and we are seeking the age of gold (as again, sung in the lyrics). In the video, these Iron twins are quite literally present and shadowing the main characters as it tells the tale of their romance, and then downfall of the romance as it evolves into a complacent/phone fuelled marriage in a way.
6) Properties of ice is an ethereal sound world I wrote in fascination with the dualities of the natural world, in this case the ever-flowing nature of our identities, as reflected by the fluid relationship between ice and water. The video featured an acro-yoga routine which I thought would be a beautiful image to put in tandem with this idea – two people in physical harmony, balancing on one another and bringing this fragmented routine to life.
7) Aquarium is perhaps the most ambitious track on the album when it comes to composition. It is my sonic interpretation of water – the choir, harp and bass being water particles flowing in polyphony around one another. The track erupts for the choruses and ends with a long and epic ending to the album. The video and lyrics are about a fictional species who create fate for us, and hand it to us written in our tailored fate envelope.
8) Orbs is a kooky and spacey soundscape, with indistinguishable lyrics and ambient piano. This song was played during the credits of the official screening of The Human Project film.
The music of STANLÆY has been influenced by a diverse genre pool of folk, jazz and cosmic atmospheres, drawing inspiration from artists such as Joanna Newsom, The Dirty Projectors and Sigur Rós. The lyrical narratives of STANLÆY explore surrealist takes on how human life in the modern world is juxtaposed with our ancient relationships to nature. These ideas, alongside contemplations about consciousness and free will, are set to a series of hallucinatory, twilight soundworlds with virtuoso post-classical arrangements, haunting folk melodies and a deft palette of subtle and ever-evolving textures. Fairy tale chamber pop for the 21st Century. See overleaf a full track by track break down of the album by Bethany.
The STANLÆY live show has previously appeared in venues across the UK and Ireland. The Human Project film was premiered at Harbour Lights Cinema, Southampton Docks, May 22nd 2017. The music itself has since received the Southampton Hazel Muras-Osborn Composition award. The film for The Mountain Collector has received the TMCLFF Award of Recognition, won the Feel The Reel London film festival award, and received recognition from several international film festivals. The Human Project album was composed and recorded by Bethany, mixed by Bethany with London producer VVilhem and mastered by Oliver Baldwin, engineer at the legendary RealWorld studios. The STANLÆY project began in late 2016, when Bethany started to develop a creative vision which married her passion for composition, videography, mythology and story-telling. The Human Project embodies seven elements, within seven songs and videos where each song comes to personify an element in a unique and distinct way. Since the release of The Mountain Collector and Ode to Ovid STANLÆY has been lauded by the likes of Folk Radio UK, and the band have performed a live session for the legendary Dexter Bentley’s Hello Goodbye show on Resonance FM in London.
STANLÆY ALBUM LAUNCH TOUR 2019
28th May – *ALBUM LAUNCH* The Wardrobe Theatre, Bristol – with Alfi
30th May – The Prince Albert, Stroud – with Alfi
31st May – UCA Bar, Canterbury
1st June – The Lighthouse, Deal
2nd June – Sofar Sounds, London
More here: https://stanlaey.com/