Author: sistersai

Video Premiere for “Inertia” via Immersive Atlanta

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More than simply the title track from her last LP, “Inertia” is an exploration of stasis and a reminder of our cosmic relativity. “While we are standing still, the world is still moving,” Raza explains via email. “From afar, the earth can seem slow and lumbering, but up close, there is frantic motion happening everywhere.” This wisdom is translated by the Johnson’s vibrant video collage; a sensory wellspring that is neither hurried nor sporadic, but rather perfectly cued to knock the viewer into Sister Sai’s orbit.

 

inertia
Click here to see the video and review via Immersive Atlanta

 

Ali McGhee’s Detailed Review of INERTIA

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Ali McGhee wrote a fantastic and detailed review of INERTIA for Asheville Grit and Sensible Reason.

Cover Art for INERTIA

Your Sacred Life: The Mysteries of Saira Raza’s Inertia

Saira Raza ‘s new LP, , is a lovely, meditative, experimental album that explores themes of transformation and stillness on the individual as well as the planetary level. It’s the rare kind of album that reveals its secrets slowly, unfurling more with each listen until you feel profoundly, deeply touched.

 

Interview with Creative Loafing about INERTIA

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From the staccato ambiance of ‘Gilgamesh,’ to the spacious boom of ‘Mercurial Mirror’ and closing number ‘Breadcrumbs,’ Raza raises the bar high with an album of cavernous beauty that settles in on the outskirts of jazz, ambient, and experimental music.

Read my interview with Atlanta music editor Chad Radford for Creative Loafing’s CribNotes Blog.

Saira Raza
Photo credit: Roni Nicole for Moving Pictures

Immersive Atlanta’s take on INERTIA

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Inertia is somewhat of rarity in that it is conceptually unified, but musically diverse. Throughout the record, Raza traverses various interpretations of jazz, from the psychedelic to the ambient, with a lavish dose of exotica. However, in its truest form, Inertia is a folk album. In a broad sense, traditional folk provides cultural insight and lessons without preaching or lecturing, and that is precisely what Raza reinvents throughout the course of the record. Here, Raza is the performer and the audience, and the listener is drawn into her internal village as she wrestles with the collective truths of her past.

Read Russell Rockwell’s full review of INERTIA on Immersive Atlanta’s website.

Saira Raza
Photo credit: Roni Nicole for Moving Pictures

10th Letter Ensemble — Open Circuit Session: Live at Aisle 5

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“Jeremi Johnson, the writer and producer behind 10th Letter, gently guides and directs the album through a variety of synthesizers and Ableton Live. However, it is his fellow performers who innovate on Johnson’s themes and paint over his lines, turning musical suggestion into a colorful universe. Saira Raza, one of Johnson’s most frequent collaborators, plays vibraphone in her trademark ethereal fashion alongside Dan Friedman (guitar), Gage Gilmore (bass) and Eric Grantham (drums). Together they explore new directions within Johnson’s songs, inundating the album with spirited surprises.”

Read Russell Rockwell’s full review of the record on Immersive Atlanta’s website.

10thletter-aisle5

 

Photos from “Dandelion’s Voyage” performance for Art on the Beltline

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dandelion's voyageThanks to a grant from Art on the Atlanta Beltline, my friends and I performed a multimedia show entitled “Dandelion’s Voyage.” Set to my original music from Ephemera, First Flight, and some unreleased tunes, 10th Letter created live visual projections, while Sanam Studio Dancers and hula hooper Becky Katz brought the music to life with their original choreography. John Becker captured the performance in photos, which you can see here.