Multi-instrumentalist musician, dancer, choreographer, and filmmaker Andrea Ward is a one-of-a-kind artist who combines music and movement on her new album, ‘Ribbon of Water’, which was released on February 3rd.
The New York City artist is wholly unaffected by the fads and trends of today, and instead is inspired by a unique blend of musical genres and subgenres, such as Icelandic Pop, Norwegian Rock, Experimental, Alternative Pop, Permanent Wave and the Avant-Garde. All this allows Andrea to use her music as a tool by which to dig deep within her very psyche, and in so doing give listeners the opportunity to open up to the broken aspects of their being, by which to let go of those things out of their control.
The six track album, which can be streamed on Bandcamp and Spotify, will call to mind Icelandic artists Of Monsters And Men, and Bjork, while, in the case of track 5, ‘Visiting Rooms’, we are reminded of the keening laments of Ireland, so employed by Dolores O’Riordan in The Cranberries’ song, ‘Zombie’.
Speaking about the album, Andrea said,
“The album is influenced by water, and water is the ultimate guide for letting go, for yielding to forces beyond our control. I developed injuries this year and came to a point where my body broke down from anything, and my voice as well. Unable to do a lot of things and unable to speak, I was forced to relinquish control of life, and just flow. One song on the album is “Visiting Rooms,” inspired by Alzheimer’s which runs in the family. It’s just about visiting the different rooms of consciousness, and of life, as if we’re all walking each other through experiences that slowly teach us to let go, which is what we’ll have to do completely in the end. And each experience leaves a mark on us, mentally, physically, and I can look at a person and see the way that life has beaten them up, has shaped them. It’s made me proud of my broken-ness in a way. It makes life’s endeavors all the more meaningful when we’re dealing with limitations. When I think of life as something that’s slowly devouring me, slipping me away, it makes me want to give myself to life all the more.”
‘Ribbon Of Water’ makes great use of Ward’s innate knowledge of dance, as the listener can almost feel the movement in the music. Her creativity is on the border of the reality and the esoteric, and speaks to that sacred space we should dare to cross over to.
‘Ribbon Of Water’ could be described as being a literal phoenix. In December, the house in which Andrea recorded the album burned down. In the same week she had decided to let go of some massive ideas about life.
“I had just done a meditation that night of painfully saying goodbye to ideas and projects I had once held closely to my life plan. It was Dave Pelletier’s house, basically a majestic art sanctuary in the woods he had built 20 years ago. Jump ahead 20 years and I met Dave by such interesting means. I was traveling through Europe and needed a place to settle to record. I intended to stay for a few months, I ended up staying for a year. We were connected in really deep ways. I created absolutely everything there, the music videos, the underwater footage, I threw Dave’s drum set in the pool for some cool underwater shots, I healed my spine there, I healed my grief. Dave is like no other human being. His channels are all open, plants grow faster around him, technology goes haywire…That house, and the fact that it’s no longer there, makes the memory of my time there even more of an enigma. The way that art projects assembled quickly in that house was as if the Earth energy was stronger there, or maybe the house had escaped the modern conventional world. I feel that Dave saved my life. He saved my life and I burned his house down! Just kidding, we don’t know how the fire happened, but Dave was really strong through it all, losing such special works of art, incredible paintings and sculptures. The designer of the house (Steven Henry Lee) claimed it was his big “Magnum Opus.” For me the fire was like a wild animal, like nature throwing its divine fit. It’s not like the anger that throws dishes across the room. It’s simply a shove out the door, and a wordless thank you for the time spent.
Andrea Ward has released three official music videos from the album, and they can be watched on YouTube. Watch ‘Awake at Night’, and ‘Algorithm’. Watch the video for ‘Game’ below. You can find out more about Andrea Ward and her music online on her official website, Instagram, Spotify, YouTube, Bandcamp, SoundCloud, and Facebook.
Comments