British-Spanish indie folk duo, Shrinari, present their highly relevant single ‘Listen Up’.
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- January 22, 2022
London-based, Shrinari are a leading duo on the British spiritual music scene and also tour internationally. Formed by Lucidia Omamori and Rafael Marchante Angulo, they incorporate harp, guitar and vocals into their music, which has a strong spiritual component and carries a message of hope, unity and connection. The duo present their highly relevant single ‘Listen Up’ – a timely message to take care of what we have before it’s too late. The accompanying video was created by Frida Wiita, based on footage that Scott Murden filmed of the Huni Kuin tribe of Brazil.
This song is found on their new long-player ‘Hold On To The Hope, Though’, a collection of deep, inspirational tracks, bringing the listener on a surrealistic journey on a path of discovery. You could call this music Genre Fluid, Sacred Funk or Spirit Soul. You could call it High Frequency Music or World Folk Pop. This beautifully-crafted collection is full of love, light and positivity.
These eight tracks intertwine the personal and the collective, giving voice to the challenges we are facing in these changing times. Always delivered with a Shrinari sense of optimism and hope filled wonder, their music reflects the point of no return that we are living through historically, together with the timeless themes of human existence and evolution.
“I read a book as a teenager, which incorporates two speeches by Native American Indians called “How can one sell the air?” (A manifesto for the Earth). It evoked an innate understanding in me as I always had a strong passion towards environmental causes. I really felt strongly about protecting the Earth and could not understand the choices we were making to go against this“
Lucinda Omamori
Lucinda goes on to say, “this book came to mind when I was writing the song, further influenced by our time shared with Huni Kuni people and Native Americans whose interconnectedness with Earth and respect for her as our mother rings true throughout my being. It was beautiful to share this at the Extinction Rebellion protests in London. I do hope the song inspires people to take environmental action in whatever ways they are able to.”
Earlier, the duo released the singles ‘The Gift’, the cinematic ethno-folk-pop ballad ‘Desert Path’ and ‘Standing Rock’ featuring London-based chamber-pop artist Heren Wolf, notable Spanish drummer Edu Olmedo and the sublime horn section from Brixton reggae, dub and afrobeat band The Soothsayers.
Shrinari make music that brings hope, fuels a positive outlook on life, and promotes ecological and spiritual awareness. With their new musical output, Shrinari continue their transcendent adventure in consciousness and celebration of love and life through the synergy of sound and song.
“Creating ‘Listen Up’ was a beautiful adventure, it came out as quite experimental to start with, the initial version was a good 90 sec longer and featured an extended middle section. We decided to cut it down and then we reworked it completely, adding Idris Rahman’s lush horn section and recording some instruments again to take advantage of my improved recording skills two years on”.
Rafael Marchante Angulo, speaking about the song’s development, since first playing it on Kerrang radio in 2019
He adds, “This song is about the obvious fact that, when you live in immediate and constant touch with nature, you have a naturally unshakeable connection with it and there are things you’d never do, let alone destroy the environment the way it is being destroyed due to our industrial level blindness. Again it’s not about some idilic idea, even though we love things idilic: our very survival is in question. This is a recurring theme in our songs because it’s such an important issue. Probably the most important together with human rights violations around the world, which the indigenous defenders of ancestral lands and ways of life suffer constantly.”
The ‘Hold Onto The Hope, Though’ album is out now, available digitally everywhere, including Spotify, Apple Music and directly from the artist via Bandcamp. A percentage of profits from their music goes to support projects aimed at protecting the earth and indigenous peoples.
ALBUM CREDITS
Lyrics by Lucidia Omamori. Music by Lucidia Omamori and Rafael Marchante Angulo
Lead vocals: Lucidia Omamori
Melody to ‘Standing Rock’ co-written by Heren Wolf and Basma Jabbar
Male vocalist in Standing Rock: Heren Wolf
Cello for ‘New Light’ and ‘The Gift’ recorded and played by Asha McCarthy
Cello for Desert Path: Ailsa Mair Hughes
Viola for ‘The Gift’ recorded and played by Jocelyn Pook
Backing vocals on ‘The Gift’: Tega Mendes and Andriah Arrindell
Violins: Preetha Narayanan (New Light, Reminisce) and Jahnavi Harrison (Soul Calling)
Drum kit: Edu Olmedo
All horns recorded by Idris Rahman
Trumpet and Trombone: Robin Hopcraft.
Clarinet and saxophone: Idris Rahman
Quena (Andean flute): Herbert Quinteros
All guitars: Rafael Marchante Angulo
Produced, recorded and mixed by Rafael Marchante Angulo and co-produced by Lucidia Omamori
Vocals, guitar, cello and violin for ‘Soul Calling’ recorded at Iguana Studios by Jagannatha Suta
Mastered by Andy Hippy at Metropolis Studios in London
Photography and single covers by Jethro Tanner
Album cover by Vessi Ves Photography featuring artwork of Nick Mindscapes
‘The Gift’ cover photograph by Kai Ohio
‘Standing Rock’ photograph by Jethro Tanner. Layout by Ryuho Omamori
TRACK LIST
01. New Light
02. Ancestral Fire
03. Desert Path
04. Reminisce
05. Standing Rock
06. Listen Up
07. Soul Calling
08. The Gift
Keep up with Shrinari: Website | Facebook | Bandcamp | Instagram | Twitter | Soundcloud | YouTube | Spotify | Apple Music
