‘First Sounds’, out November 1st via Envision Records in North America and One Little Independent in the UK and the rest of the world, is the debut album from a trio made-up of cellist Rebecca Foon, violinist Sarah Neufeld and multi-instrumentalist Richard Reed Parry. The group originally met in Montreal, Quebec, during the late 1990’s while independently finding their footing in the local arts and culture community. For two years, Rebecca, Sarah and Richard collaborated in various capacities before embarking on their respective musical careers.
The LP collects nine compositions, with dynamic minimalism, sweeping crescendos and rich harmonies. The expressive instrumentation, experimental undertones, and ambient textures are crafted with expert musicianship and technical symbiosis.
Richard and Sarah’s musical careers have been deeply intertwined over the past twenty years; best known for their involvement in Grammy-award winning indie-rock group Arcade Fire, and recently revitalized instrumental outfit and Juno-award winning Bell Orchestre, both musicians have spent the better part of the past two decades writing and releasing music and touring the globe.
Similarly, composer and cellist Rebecca Foon has been a fixture of the Montreal music community for two decades, performing and recording in a wide array of contexts, most notably as co-founder of the modern chamber post-rock ensemble Esmerine, as a member of Thee Silver Mt Zion Memorial Orchestra (2001-2008) and Set Fire To Flames (2001-2004), and more recently at the helm of her electro-acoustic songwriting project Saltland. With these four entities, Foon has performed around the world and released over a dozen albums on various imprints. Esmerine’s 2013 album Dalmak won the Canadian music industry’s Juno Award for Best Instrumental Album and the band’s 2015 album Lost Voices was a finalist in this same category, along with winning the award for Best Album Package.
While each of the members have crossed paths in different and unique ways over the years, they have never truly collaborated as equal partners. Moreover, they have always felt as though the connection they shared as a trio – both as friends and musical collaborators was special and everlasting. And so, 25 years later, the trio are reuniting to pick-up where they left off. This time, with the wind at their backs.
The trio is focused on writing cinematic music with a connection to classical and orchestral music – a new world they’re on a journey to explore together.
The ‘First Sounds’ album artwork is by Olafur Eliasson, an award-winning Icelandic–Danish artist known for sculptured and large-scaled installation art employing elemental materials such as light, water, and air temperature to enhance the viewer’s experience. Since 1997, his critically acclaimed solo shows have appeared in major museums around the world, such as the Museum of Modern Art in New York, Tate Modern in London, Martin-Gropius-Bau in Berlin, SESC Belenzinho and Pinacoteca do Estado in São Paulo, Louis Vuitton Foundation in Paris, and the Venice Biennale.
