Presenting the most ambitious 4AD Session to date, Daughter have unveiled a very special 5-song performance recorded in London's iconic Air Studios with composer Joe Duddell and a 10-piece classical ensemble. The Session will be released as a digital EP on April 16th.
Daughter launch the first track from their 4AD Session, 'Shallows' and will reveal the remaining four tracks ahead of the digital EP release. Scroll down to view.
Last summer, the London-based trio and acclaimed composer/arranger Joe Duddell were brought together by Festival No.6 to participate in a unique project. As the festival's Composer-in-Residence Duddell - whose impressive CV has seen him collaborate with Elbow and compose for the BBC Proms - approached Daughter with an idea for the band to perform their songs enhanced by a classical ensemble. Daughter, who have always wanted to explore this area, agreed to his proposal immediately. With the green light given, Duddell set about crafting classical arrangements for five tracks from Daughter's debut album If You Leave, which the band, together with an 8-piece ensemble, performed in front of a tiny audience in Portmeirion.
4AD Session filmmakers Jane Pollard and Iain Forsyth were lucky enough to witness that mesmerising performance, and both they and the band were keen to re-enact that sense of intimacy for a wider audience.
"Daughter is a special band - there's a unique chemistry and a work ethic, an effortless, instinctive talent between these three people," Iain and Jane say. "We knew we needed to find the optimal conditions and collaborators to ensure that everything was aligned to allow the same magic to happen - the same musicians, Joe Duddell at the helm - but this time in the country's best recording studio and recorded by the acclaimed Olga Fitzroy amidst a delicate set by art director Sal Pittman."
After further developing the arrangements for those same five songs for the Session, Duddell handpicked and assembled a talented cast of young musicians to make up a 10-piece classical ensemble, all of whom are either current students or recent graduates of the Royal Northern College of Music. Art director Sal Pittman was also drafted in - her delicate paper birds hang serenely in the space above and around the musicians. In the acoustically and visually stunning Air Studios, Pollard and Forsyth captured the trio of Elena Tonra, Igor Haefeli and Remi Aguilella plus Duddell and the RNCM ensemble performing 'Shallows', 'Tomorrow', 'Still', 'Youth' and 'Amsterdam'.
Daughter's 4AD Session is released digitally on Tuesday 16th April. Pre-order the EP on iTunes and receive a download of 'Shallows' instantly. It will also be pressed on 12" vinyl and released on May 26th.
Daughter play the opening night of the Summer Series at Somerset House on July 10th. Tickets for the 3,000-capacity show sold out within a day.
DAUGHTER - 4AD SESSION
12" / DL - BAD 3418
1. Shallows
2. Tomorrow
3. Still
4. Youth
5. Amsterdam
4AD Session - Production Credits
Elena Tonra - vocals, guitar
Igor Haefeli - guitar
Remi Aguilella - percussion
Joe Duddell - arrangements, conductor
Amy Welch - Violin
Tory Clarke - Violin II
Laurie Dempsey - Viola
Josh Lynch - Cello
Angelina Warburton - Harp
Delia Stevens - Vibraphone
Graham Proctor - Marimba
Tom Wood - Horn
Kai-Li Yang - Flute / Alto Flute
James Noble - Bass Clarinet
Directed by Iain Forsyth & Jane Pollard
Recorded at Air Studios by Olga Fitzroy
Mastered at Abbey Road by Geoff Pesche
Director of Photography - Leon Henry
Art Director - Sal Pittman
Gaffer - Joel Rainsley
Camera Assistant - Warren Forster
Production Assistant - Tom Wood
Band Management - Matt Brown
Band Technician - Gordon Allison
