‘The Dove’ by Holy Matter | New Album, ‘Beauty Looking Back’
Exclusive track premiere of ‘The Dove’ by Holy Matter, from the upcoming album ‘Beauty Looking Back,’ set for release on Royal Oakie Records on October 4th, 2024, with a physical release in the UK/EU to follow on December 6th, 2024.
Holy Matter is Leanna Kaiser, a Los Angeles-based musician and experimental filmmaker. Her debut album ‘Beauty Looking Back’ is a psych-folk, hypnagogic pop, and experimental noise trip, with nine tracks steeped in the cyclical nature of time. Originally from St. Louis, Kaiser cut her teeth in the ambient duo Frances With Wolves before heading west to study filmmaking. Along the way, she crafted music videos for the likes of Jessica Pratt and Dean Wareham, all while nurturing her own sonic experiments.
The album’s title, borrowed from a Hishikawa Moronobu painting, perfectly encapsulates Kaiser’s thematic exploration of life’s seasons and the passage of time. Tracks like ‘Autumn’s Envy’ and ‘Eve’s Hollywood’ swirl with nostalgia, offering a comfort in looking back even as they acknowledge the future’s uncertainty. For Kaiser, everything in life is cyclical, and this record is her way of making sense of it all.
Drawing from both her L.A. crew and her roots in St. Louis, Kaiser pulls together an impressive roster of collaborators. Former bandmate Andy Kahn, Kate Bollinger, and her partner Matt Popieluch all leave their mark on the record. One standout, ‘The Spirit of St. Louis,’ features Kaiser, Kahn, and Popieluch intertwining their guitar work in a reflection of her past and present.
Executive producer David Glasebrook, known for his work with Patti Smith and Sugar Candy Mountain, handled mixing and mastering, with contributions from drummer Raphi Gottesman and bassist Josh Housh. Most of the album was recorded at Kaiser’s home studio in L.A., with additional overdubs laid down in Oakland and St. Louis.
Today, we are premiering a video for another track from the upcoming album. ‘The Dove’ was directed by Yun Chen.
Reflecting on the project, Kaiser says, “Holy Matter comes from Leonard Cohen’s ‘Beautiful Losers’—there’s a line, “I change; I am the same,” that sums up the essence of this album.”
Headline photo: Danielle Wakin
Holy Matter Official Website / Facebook / Instagram / Bandcamp
Royal Oakie Records Official Website / Facebook / Instagram / Twitter / Bandcamp
