Today, Kelly Moran announces a forthcoming EP Origin, accompanied by the haunting new song “Night Music”. Origin will be released on Warp Records on May 17th, 2019.
The EP features a handful of demos and unreleased music from the writing sessions that her latest LP Ultraviolet emerged from. Its name a tribute to the drive, determination and perseverance of Yuzuru Hanyu, the world-renowned figure skater from Japan who Moran considers one of her idols, Origin features seven songs of largely stripped back and acoustic recordings, featuring the artist at her home piano and recorded in one take. The songs expose the roots of Ultraviolet, serving as both a companion piece to her Warp debut and an alternate view of its world.
“Night Music,” a song that nearly made it onto Ultraviolet, offers a darker take on Moran’s hypnotic sound. A brooding, powerful piece utilizing Moran’s prepared piano and masterful technique, it was initially improvised during the same session from which Ultraviolet emerged, as were “Water Music,” “Reflexive Music,” and “Halogen.”
“These recordings show firsthand my musical discoveries in real-time for when I was having my major creative breakthrough,” says Moran.
“Helix II”, a piece she composed for the iconic pianist Margaret Leng-Tan, offers another view of this period for Moran as she wrote it a week prior to the Ultraviolet sessions. A composition that speaks to the contemporary-classical side of Moran’s work, it’s also a piece that saw her implement a looser and free approach, with Moran saying “although I was still using a very methodical, formulaic way of writing music, my overall musical feel and timing were both starting to feel more wild and untethered.”
“Love Birds, Night Birds, Devil-Birds” on the other hand is a piece that speaks to where Moran is currently in her sound and nods to what’s next. Starting as a collaboration with visual artist Cassie McQuaters, it was initially written as a score for a 3-channel video installation debuted during Frieze LA Art Fair in February. McQuaters and Moran have since collaborated on a number of other projects, including the cover art for Origin and the live visuals for Moran’s recent performances.
Moran will be performing in North America and Europe in the coming months, with appearances at Mutek Festival in San Francisco, Sónar in Barcelona, and a handful of other dates. Full routing below.
- 04.27.19: Moogfest @ Carolina Theatre @ Fletcher Hall (Durham, NC)
- 05.03.19: MUTEK San Francisco @ Herbst Theater (San Francisco, CA)
- 05.11.19: END-to-END @ Camp North End (Charlotte, NC)
- 05.20.19: Roulette (Brooklyn, NY)
- 05.30.19: OBEY Convention (Halifax, Canada)
- 06.06.19: Villette Sonique (Paris, France)
- 07.20.19: Sónar (Grand Piano A/V Live) (Barcelona, Spain)
- 08.29.19 - 09.01.19: End of the Road Festival (Dorset, United Kingdom