Laura Misch has announced Lithic (Live at the Barbican), a live recording of her second album captured at her largest headline show to date. It’s out September 4th via One Little Independent Records. Lead single Soften (Live at the Barbican) is available now (watch the live video below).
Lithic came out on June 5th — Misch’s second album, recorded across caves, quarries and coastlines in Cornwall, the Cyclades and Dungeness. KLOF covered the Barbican show announcement last November. For the performance itself, she and musical director Eliza Oakes rebuilt the material for a five-piece ensemble: Marysia Osu on harp and piano, Kat Newlon on cello, Tim Gardner on violin, Matt Davies on drums.
“I wanted the live performance to feel very ritualistic,” Misch says. “We really thought about the Barbican like it was this kind of cave. We’d built this whole visual world and then it became this question of: how do we bring those elements into the Barbican? It became about all coming together.”
Handcrafted sound ran through the set. Water dripped into microphones. An ocean drum conjured waves. An 180-year-old lithophone and a handmade goatskin drum grounded everything in something tactile and ancient.
“We were trying to be inspired by nature, rather than relying on the electronics, pulling it into something human,” Misch says. “The voice is really raw. With the live album, I feel like you can feel the presence of the musicians at all times. It’s very human, even though it’s inspired by the elements.”
All twelve Lithic tracks are here, from the intimate Breathing through the communal Scrolls to the expansive Spiral.
Pre-Order/Save: https://lauramisch.lnk.to/lithic-live
Misch heads out on a European tour this autumn:
Live Dates
Sep 10th – Denmark, Aarhus – Alter Festival
Sep 24th – Sweden, Malmo – Inkonst
Sep 26th – Denmark, Copenhagen – Concerthuset (Studie 2)
Sep 27th – Sweden, Stockholm – Fasching
Oct 1st – Poland, Warsaw – Jassmine
Oct 2nd – Germany, Berlin – Heimathafen
Oct 4th – Netherlands, Amsterdam – Concertgebouw
Oct 7th – Italy, Milan – Arci Bellezza
Oct 8th – Switzerland, Zurich – Kirche Neumünster
Oct 13th – Spain, Madrid – Villanos del Jazz
Oct 14th – Spain, Barcelona – Piñata
Oct 16th – Portugal, Porto – Mouco
Nov 29th – Portugal, Lisbon – Cultural Centre do Belem