Glass Heart String Choir
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Glass Heart String Choir

Seattle, Washington, United States | Established. Jan 01, 2018 | SELF | AFM

Seattle, Washington, United States | SELF | AFM
Established on Jan, 2018
Duo Pop Chamber

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"PREMIERE: THE CINEMATIC GRACE OF GLASS HEART STRING CHOIR’S DEBUT “WILDFIRES”"

Glass Heart String Choir’s debut single “Wildfires” is a tragically beautiful expression of depression and turmoil, longing, loss, and sadness.

My heart was always breaking, always mistaking sparks for wildfires…

Glass Heart String Choir’s debut single is a tragically beautiful expression of depression and turmoil, longing, loss, and sadness. An aching cry from darkness, “Wildfires” magnifies an individual’s intimate plight into a universal release from pain and suffering.

I was born beneath the moon,
was broken, out of tune;
In the middle of the night,
I was not made for the light

Atwood Magazine is proud to be premiering “Wildfires,” the debut single from Glass Heart String Choir. The Seattle-based duo of Ian Williams and Katie Mosehauer (formerly The Thoughts), Glass Heart String Choir channel fragility and beauty in both name and song. “Wildfires” introduces us to a magnificent chamber pop sound that blends bittersweet tones with folk-influenced warmth. Ian Williams’ pristine voice shivers and quakes as he laments his inability to capture life’s magic moments in anything more than substantial than a memory.

“Wildfires” was inspired by a hike through the Rocky Mountains. So the story goes, Williams “stopped to photograph an aspen grove near an idyllic mountain lake. He was later discouraged to discover the pictures failed entirely to capture the moment in a way that was true to his memory; a small disappointment that let loose a flood of memories about how often what he feels he has no quarter, and the rippling rings of inefficacy that follow.”
 
Speaking on the song, Ian Williams explains that “It’s a metaphor for the struggle to find and hold onto any feelings of self-value and happiness — fleeting moments that disappear when submerged in the depths of that unerring depression.” He’s raw, vulnerable, and totally exposed in a breathtaking, tearjerker chorus:

My heart was always breaking,
always mistaking sparks for wildfires…
I’d wake each morning,
shaking,
thinking I heard your voice
in the lyrebird’s choir

Williams continues, “Even though we’ve worked together for 10 years, Wildfires was like a new beginning. We approached this song as true co-writers, lots of back-and-forth, with Katie changing out chords and weighing in on lyrics and vocal melodies in addition to her usual orchestration and production. It quickly became a favorite song for both of us, and ushered in a new era of collaboration. It was really freeing for me to have someone take the sentiment of a song and elevate it to the next level, making it far more beautiful than I ever could have on my own.”

I did not possess your exquisite instrument;
All the words sit in my teeth
and become bitter and weak
My heart was always breaking,
always mistaking sparks for wildfires…
I’d wake each morning,
shaking,
thinking I heard your voice
in the lyrebird’s choir

Melancholy fills the air as Williams and Mosehauer give life to feelings of wanting; there’s the sense, from the narration, that something’s been taken from the narrator. Deprived of experiencing the fullness of a time long passed, Glass Heart String Choir dwell in a beautiful, humbling darkness. Their honesty strikes the heart with a fierce blow, beckoning us further into their world of wonder and woe.

This is but a new, extraordinary beginning. Though he couldn’t recreate a moment through the camera’s lens, Williams smile knowing he and Mosehauer have managed to translate an equally magical sensation through song. Stream Glass Heart String Choir’s debut single “Wildfires” exclusively on Atwood Magazine, and indulge in their heartwrenchingly sweet sound. - Atwood Magazine


"CLASSICALLY-INFLUENCED CINEMATIC SONGS: Glass Heart String Choir – “Your Voice” (Light EP)"

In a vast sea of disposable music, every once and a while something comes along that notches out its very own immaculately unique nook. Seatle’s Glass Heart String Choir has just released their debut EP ‘Light’. A five-track ode to the beauty of voice and the instruments that cradle it. Vocalist Ian Williams carries notes like a penetrating whisper, reminding me of the delivery sensitivities of Zach Condon and Markéta Irglová. Accompanied by the remarkable multi-instrumented Katie Mosehauer, these two are composing truly beautiful cinematic sounds. Breathing fragile breezes into existence.

Experience their newest single “Your Voice” and its Chris J. Cunningham filmed (edited by Mosehauer) video below. - Global Texan Chronicles


"VIDEO PREMIERE: GLASS HEART STRING CHOIR, “YOUR VOICE”"

As subtle and beautiful as the song itself, Glass Heart String Choir’s latest video for their track “Your Voice” is a stunning journey through lavish landscapes. The perfect pairing of Ian Williams and Katie Mosehauer take a somewhat minimalistic approach to their lush, hushed folk music.

Williams’ soothing voice has an inexplicable ability to wash over the listener, instilling comfort and contempt. The fluid, resonating sound of Mosehauer’s strings swell and bring a big sound to a tiny band. Pairing this aural experience with the breathtaking scenery of the high plains, the vivid forests, and the rustic farm home truly invites the listener on a journey with Glass Heart String Choir.p - PlaylistPlay


"Glass Heart String Choir - 'Light' EP"

Despite what their name suggests, Glass Heart String Choir is actually a duo made up of Ian Williams and Katie Mosehauer.

They're dropping a new EP, called Light, a collection of classically-influenced chamber pop, aka ork-pop (orchestral pop), a subgenre of rock that grew out of the lounge pop sound of the 60s. Many cite the Beach Boys' Pet Sounds as the genre's seminal work.

The theme of Light is uncertainty, anxiety, and the inability to truly define the concept of beauty. The duo blends the scope of rock music with lushly layered classical textures and Williams' gleaming, sensitive voice.

The EP is made up of five tracks, opening with "Wildfires," a gentle, delicate tune swelling with strings exuding soft filaments of color. There's a baroque, liturgical feel to the song; almost sacred. "Darkest Day" rides tender rolling harmonics atop the tantalizing pluck of strings and elusive piano coloration. Williams' tones reflect simple sophistication and lustrous timbres.

The title track features a dramatic piano and melancholic violin. As the strings elevate, surrounding Williams' voice, the tune takes on an intense suffusion of anxiety. The harmonic flow undulates with pensive tendrils of nuanced uneasiness. "Winter" integrates layers of strings softly radiant. The feel presented embraces alt-folk and classical flavors. The resulting music is smoothly beautiful.

"Your Voice" recalls Joni Mitchell backed by refined strings that achieve elegant muscularity as the harmonics expand to blooming hues. The spiritual ambience of this tune imbues it with exaggerated grace.

Light glows with complex luminous colors, supple textures, and a gorgeous liturgical aura. - PopDust


"5 Mellow and Moving New Singles"

Brace yourself. This quiet song about the internal disquiet that often seems to go along with being human is startling for both its beauty and its honesty. The Glass Heart String Choir only includes two players but you’d never be able to guess that from listening to the song’s orchestral quality. Much of that has to do with multi-instrumentalist Katie Mosehauer who provides the violin, viola, cello, harp, and piano on “Wildfires” while songwriter and vocalist, Ian Williams, layers on the hurt with his exquisitely expressive voice. Check out the Seattle musical duo known as Glass Heart String Choir and their new single, “Wildfires”. - YabYum Music + Arts


Discography

Light released November 2018

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Light glows with complex luminous colors, supple textures, and a gorgeous liturgical aura.” —PopDust

Glass Heart String Choir’s debut single “Wildfires” is a tragically beautiful expression of depression and turmoil, longing, loss, and sadness.” —Atwood Magazine

“Brace yourself. This quiet song about the internal disquiet that often seems to go along with being human is startling for both its beauty and its honesty.” —YabYum Music + Arts

Ian Williams’ and Katie Mosehauer’s meticulous songwriting and production make up the centrifuge around which Glass Heart String Choir’s music spins.

The roles have been established over ten years of collaboration: Ian writes the lyrics, assembling songs into rawbone skeletons. He sends them to Katie, who adds flavor and layering. The song bounces back and forth, back and forth: Ian, the messenger, Katie the interpreter. Eventually, all the pieces are in place. Having built their own studio four years ago in hopes of creating a space where they could freely experiment with technique and sound layering, Glass Heart String Choir are able to take their time engineering and mixing, capturing every feature flawlessly.

New EP Light – engineered to perfection – deals in many ways with insecurity. Threaded primarily around uncertainty, anxiety, and the feelings of inability that come alongside not being able to capture beauty in a way that does it justice, Glass Heart String Choir nonetheless gorgeous EP is lush and layered, playing with surging vocals over baroque musical sheets, weaving together intricate stories that express leveling doubt. Pieced together meticulously by two classically trained composers, it’s a testament to the band’s sensitivity and work ethic: a tonal masterpiece that grounds listeners in reality as it flies them away with wonderment.

Band Members