Adventurous Harpist Lara Somogyi Weaves Time Patterns, In-Studio
California-based harpist Lara Somogyi may be classically trained, but there’s nothing classical about her approach to making music. She surrounds herself with several effects pedals to expand the sound of her harp into an otherworldly orchestra.
Between her technical skillset and deep understanding of electronic music production, Somogyi has carved a path of her own, both as a session musician recording for film and TV scores such as Hans Zimmer’s The Lion King and the Netflix series Bridgerton, as well as a collaborator to electronic experimentalists like Bonobo and Ólafur Arnalds.
On her new record, titled a [time] patterned, Somogyi reinforces the relationship between her existential contemplations and sound design adventures. “This record was all really born from my curiosity on how we experience time,” she says, adding that she experiences time in a sensory way, associating various periods of her life with the sounds she hears, like crickets or rustling birch trees in the summer. Becoming obsessed with the idea that “music can decorate our time”, Somogyi began to layer and alter the timing of her plucked harp sequences, stretching them into ambient soundscapes or crystallizing them into fragmented pieces through electronic processing. Every tool she used on the record was a time-based tool, and she brings some of them to our studio for an unforgettable performance, featuring a string quartet with Laura Metcalf on cello, Angela Pickett on viola, and Maria Im and Caroline Cassio on violin, for this episode of Soundcheck. - Sırma Munyar
Setlist: 1.mirabel 2.elsewhere 3.acceptances
