South London-born saxophonist, singer-songwriter, electronic producer, and field recordist Laura Misch has shared her new single ‘Alchemy’, which she aptly describes as “a song about our capacity to alchemise loss into love. It’s a song to send to anyone in the depths of heartbreak or shedding an old self.”
you’ve become so tender
stopped trying to mend her
and now you hold your own
your body’s feeling better
skin begins to shed her
till these bones feel like home
letting go
off all you know
tear apart our elements
and they’ll recombine
The creation of Alchemy is just as fascinating as the song itself, for which blends the organic with the synthetic, as well as emphasising her deepening exploration of breathwork and sound modulation.
Alongside the tranquil visualiser for Alchemy below, Laura made a short documentary in which she demonstrates and talks through her creation process. Anyone who has made field recordings will know how how in tune and deeply aware you can become of your surroundings. The effects of this deep listening are that different to experiencing Alchemy.
In the accompanying documentary we see Laura not just making field recordings but also bringing nature into her studio setting: using moss as a sound insulator and elemental percussion made from shell, stone, and grain. The track also weaves in the acoustic warmth of Marysia Osu’s harp plucks. It’s all these individual and carefully considered elements that make Alchemy so richly detailed and the soothing balm she crafted it into…one that is both melancholic and euphoric.
The single serves as the perfect introduction to her upcoming Slow Tour, see dates below.
Save: https://lauramisch.lnk.to/alchemy
Starting in March, Laura continues her exploration of music’s potential for self-soothing, and returning with elemental sounds and beings in urban environments, inviting her audience into a space where live performance and conscious living converge. Through traveling by train, walking, and spending more days grounding in each city, the tour extends Laura’s practice of being engaged with community and environment at home, and hopes to cultivate these practices on the road, in response to her experience of burn out and travel anxiety with previous touring. Expanding her electro-acoustic palette and drawing from a lineage of female pioneers in electronic music, Laura’s one-woman show invites deep listening and contemplation through songs and sonic environments inspired by nature.
Live dates
6th Mar – FR, Paris – Le Hasard Ludique
8th Mar – NL, Amsterdam – Bimhuis
11th Mar – NL, Utrecht – TivoliVrendenburg
15th Mar – DE, Berlin – Silent Green
18th Mar – DK, Copenhagen – VEGA
21st Mar – UK, London – Eventim Apollo (supporting Ry X)
22nd Mar – UK, Bristol – Bristol Beacon (supporting Ry X)
23rd Mar – UK, Manchester – Albert Hall (supporting Ry X)
25th Mar – UK, Dublin – 3Olympia Theatre (supporting Ry X)
