Jesse Crowe of Toronto band Beliefs makes solo electronic music under the moniker Praises, and she's just unveiled her debut full-length album.
In This Year: Ten of Swords hears Crowe playing and recording all instrumentation, as well as co-producing with her Beliefs bandmate Josh Korody. This time around, she's added piano, modular programming and synths to her musical repertoire that already included guitar.
The solo project gives Crowe the opportunity to tap into her "most personal demons," allowing her to express the themes of love, loss and lessons that aren't as free-flowing in collaborative setting. The result is a dark electronica sound, though Crowe's airy croon adds some levity to the mix.
"I was in a year of turmoil, between questioning my powerlessness in my femme body and the loneliness of depression," Crowe tells Exclaim! about the album's conception. "I would say my only hope in 2017 was creating this record. It came about after being locked in a studio space a few friends and I had rented that happened to have a piano, and was set to be demolished."
Elaborating further about the album, she said, "With the time limit, one mic, and a computer, I challenged myself to make something more personal than I could do in a studio with others. With the mixing skills and rhythmic editions added by Josh Korody, my body feels now like it's been wholly dissected and left open for everyone to touch, taste and hear."
Hear that emotional rawness translated into music by streaming In This Year: Ten of Swords below.
It's officially out December 7 via Hand Drawn Dracula.
In This Year: Ten of Swords hears Crowe playing and recording all instrumentation, as well as co-producing with her Beliefs bandmate Josh Korody. This time around, she's added piano, modular programming and synths to her musical repertoire that already included guitar.
The solo project gives Crowe the opportunity to tap into her "most personal demons," allowing her to express the themes of love, loss and lessons that aren't as free-flowing in collaborative setting. The result is a dark electronica sound, though Crowe's airy croon adds some levity to the mix.
"I was in a year of turmoil, between questioning my powerlessness in my femme body and the loneliness of depression," Crowe tells Exclaim! about the album's conception. "I would say my only hope in 2017 was creating this record. It came about after being locked in a studio space a few friends and I had rented that happened to have a piano, and was set to be demolished."
Elaborating further about the album, she said, "With the time limit, one mic, and a computer, I challenged myself to make something more personal than I could do in a studio with others. With the mixing skills and rhythmic editions added by Josh Korody, my body feels now like it's been wholly dissected and left open for everyone to touch, taste and hear."
Hear that emotional rawness translated into music by streaming In This Year: Ten of Swords below.
It's officially out December 7 via Hand Drawn Dracula.