ALEX ST JOAN

https://alexstjoan.bandcamp.com

ALEX ST JOANALEX ST JOAN is the multi-faceted creation of musician, producer and writer Alexia Peniguel. Born next to a flooded valley in drought-prone Australia and raised on Greek myths and disco, she has been based in Berlin since 2004.If I Forgive, released 02 October 20201. Born To be Gentle2. If I Forgive3. O Jupiter4. Nothing To ForgiveALEX ST JOAN burst onto the scene with 2019's "Kick & Rise", a slow-motion explosion of colour and resonance that sounded as if it had been created in an underwater grotto with synthesised saxophones and a mellotron orchestra. Bold and tender, it explored what it meant to be an adult: full of aspirations, prone to mistakes and vulnerable.Her new EP “If I Forgive” takes that vulnerability one step further and assumes the act of making mistake as its starting point. It is a four-song pop suite that sees failure as a beginning rather than an end, something uncomfortable to most people at the best of times. From first track to the last, Alex St Joan takes us on a journey through shame and regret, to recognition, revelation and ultimately release. If “Kick & Rise” sounded like St Vincent and James Blake making music underwater, "If I Forgive" sees them emerging from the ocean and shooting up to the international space station, picking up Massive Attack's melancholy, Christine and the Queens' bravado, a church choir and a truckload of synths on the way. Musically, “If I Forgive” casts its net wide but recognisably so; there are distinctive nods to that Whitney Houston electric piano sound, whispers of Björk and her army of glitches, a hint of Everything But The Girl's mournful balladry, and half a dozen other early 90s pop references. The voice, however, is entirely Alex St Joan and entirely now – clear, present and compelling. "I'm not really interested in truth, as such," explains Alex St Joan, "because everybody has their own. I'm far more interested in the stories we tell ourselves, and the way in which we then interpret certain experiences as mistakes or failures, simply because they deviate from those initial stories."In “Born to be Gentle” she sings about the moment when the battle turns and it becomes clear that she has lost. Where once there were guns and flags flying, now only shame and failure remain. Fighting that shame only fuels it, and so the warrior must take off her armour to let her wounds heal. In contrast, “O Jupiter” gently tilts our faces up and away from earthly woes towards the heavens for insight and encouragement. Inspired by recordings from NASA space missions, Alex St Joan uses space probe sounds, synths and celestial vocals to create an ode to the universe. “O Jupiter” is a love song, but of a different art; one that gazes in wonder up at the night sky and finds joy and freedom in how small and immaterial the cosmos reveals us to be."If I Forgive" is more than simply four songs bound together under the moniker of "EP". It is a discourse on forgiveness, in particular the difficult art of self-forgiveness, and a reminder to be gentle with ourselves, especially when we are at our lowest. As Alex St Joan reminds us, "Oh my stars! We love plain and simple... Oh my sun! We were born to be gentle..."

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Category: Arts & Entertainment

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Currency : EUR

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Platform: Bandcamp

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