Propelled by a deeper turmoil, Foster maneuvers from his delicately sinister oration into something more captivatingly honest, and raw.“ – American Songwriter
Today, Alex Henry Foster shares the first single „A Silent Stream“, off of upcoming LP Kimiyo, out April 26. „A Silent Stream“ is a contemplative journey within ourselves, designed for us to discover the purpose of days passing by, beyond the illusion of control over „time“ and the meanings we’d like to believe in.
Watch the visualizer here: https://youtu.be/u26tnsq356c?
Says Foster about the upcoming LP, “I have always been looking for a pretext or an excuse to work with Momoka. She’s got a very unique spirit, and she’s a very inspiring and insightful person.We have a common view about life in general and spirituality in particular, but most of all, she is a fantastic artist for whom I have the utmost admiration. When it became obvious to me that I would be in no way capable of singing or speaking on the songs we had sketched, Momoka was in my opinion the only person able to transcend the project’s spirit. The poetry of Voyage à la Mer was to be the core holding the whole project together, but I wanted Momoka to make her own interpretation of the lyrical undercurrent and to express herself in her native tongue, so she wouldn’t have to be my voice or try to emulate what my words might convey. We set the canvas, laid down the color palettes, but it was for her to express herself and be the painting.”
Alex Henry Foster’s new project Voyage à la Mer is an artistic multidisciplinary endeavor based on the asymmetry of human emotions. While the project refers to the title of a self-searching poetry and meditative notebook he started writing during a trip to Japan back in 2010, it also symbolizes the fundamental connection that individuals and communities nurture with water, the beginning of time, ritualistic pilgrimages, redemptive processions, purification, the incarnation related to the flow of life, birth and death, the passage to afterlife, transition, and rebirth.
The 2010 trip to Japan forms the basis of the project, in particular a conversation with the parents of a young Japanese fan who, prior to taking his own life, had been corresponding with Foster via letters the two sent back and forth. As time passed, Foster underwent a life-altering cardiac surgery. He spent months recovering, unable to talk, and unsure he would have the ability to sing in the future. Foster writes: “I was in no other position than to either feel sorry for myself or have a prolonged look with myself to figure out who I was beyond the distressing sensation of losing my identity. The introspective clarity brought me right back to Japan, in what had been for me a transformative experience almost 15 years ago, highlighted by the long-forgotten fragments of film, photographs, and people’s testimonies I had the privilege of witnessing.”
Slowly starting to regain energy, Foster contacted his friend and longtime creative accomplice Ben Lemelin to assist him in writing and creating. With Foster still regaining his voice, the duo invited fellow artist Momoka to be the voice of the first incarnation of the project, titled Kimiyo.
Alex Henry Foster has crafted four different creative entities; the albums Kimiyo and A Measure of Space and Sounds, the film Voyage à la Mer, and the in-public conversations & live musical improvisation affair Of Flashes and Other Currents, all due to be released over the span of 2024.
About the musicians:
Alex Henry Foster is a Canadian musician, author, producer, and composer, formerly the frontman for Juno Awards nominee Your Favorite Enemies. Alex Henry Foster released his first solo album Windows in the Sky in 2018. The album is a “dreamy blast of post-rock” (NME) that “brings to mind artists like Hammock and Asche & Spencer with heaping helpings of Mogwai and Explosions in the Sky”. His second album consists of a live reinterpretation of his solo material, recorded at a sold-out performance at the 40th Festival de Jazz de Montreal.
Ben Lemelin is a Canadian multi-instrumentalist, songwriter and music producer. He and Foster have partnered on many projects together. Lemelin is part of The Long Shadows, Foster’s band, and was bass player in Your Favorite Enemies.
Momoka, a Japanese artist from Tokyo, established herself in Montreal 10 years ago and has been a consistent collaborator with AHF, and is also an artist in her own right. She has a solo record set to be released in early 2025.
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