Post 28: "One... Two... Why then, 'tis time to do it!" 🌘
Buzzing after a FABULOUS concert with the Music Inclusion Ensemble (watch it here). Plus, I just released TWO NEW SINGLES from my upcoming album, "Music From Macbeth". And my UK Tour starts May 11th!
NEW MUSIC ALERT — TWO SINGLES RELEASED TODAY!
Hello, Friends!
I hope this message finds you well as can be! Okay, so I’m supposed to be editing right now (Aaak! I do not recommend editing a book, planning a tour, and releasing an album simultaneously) BUT I wanted to let you know that I just released two new singles on Bandcamp! The full album, Music From Macbeth, will come out in early May.
I haven’t released any new music since mid-2020, and I must admit, this was not how I envisioned it — I had planned a big old release campaign — but my book took over my brain like a pumpkin plant takes over your garden… So here we are, and that’s life! There’s no point in waiting for perfect conditions; I’m releasing it without warning. No matter, I’m proud of this album and excited to share it with you. First, backstory!
This 7-track concept album is based on the original music I composed for the 2022 Broadway production of Macbeth, which was directed by Sam Gold and starred Daniel Craig and Ruth Negga. This "soundtrack" is the music as I originally imagined it, before the realities of live theater led to many significant edits and cue omissions.
It will be mostly instrumental in nature - one long track per act - but is book-ended by these two vocal songs. “Starving” was designed to be the first music cue (it was eventually cut from the live production). It is a warning call to Macbeth - that his karma is coming for him! “Perfect” was the very last music cue in the play — in the live production it was sung by a young cast member, Bobbi MacKenzie, but of course on the album you’ll hear my voice. This song is a personal one to me — it’s about marriage and not realizing what you have until it’s too late. It became Lady Macbeth’s theme song; there are instrumental hints of the song sprinkled throughout the album.
My hope is this album takes you on an epic audio journey that mirrors the winding and tragic path of Macbeth himself. This was such a massive, challenging undertaking and I am so grateful Sam asked me to get involved in his production — and I am so glad this music is finally being released, even if it feels a bit haphazardly executed!
While I was the main composer for this project, I was supported by an amazing group of artists in the creation of this album. Jake Larson was the recording, mixing and Atmos mastering engineer extraordinaire — he put in countless hours (thousands?!) getting this musical behemoth into order (so. many. tracks!) and sounding lovely. I would never have finished this album without him… Someone give that man a medal!
Dave Mehling crafted all the amazingly nuanced and textured keys, synth and piano parts. Al Church created all the drum and percussion parts, which added just the right amount of spooky texture and driving rhythm. Jeremy Ylvisaker composed the electric guitar parts, which were the perfect compliments to so many of the violin's melodic phrases throughout each act. Together, their creative instrumentation added so much more depth and variety than could have ever been achieved by my violin tracks alone.
Haley Brown, a disabled visual artist and illustrator whose work I love, created the amazing artwork (inspired by Lady Macbeth’s light). Robert Hadley did the stereo mastering. I have worked with him many times before and was glad he was available!
The singles are available for download now on Bandcamp (here and here) and on May 2nd they’ll be available for streaming everywhere, on every platform. The full album will be released on Bandcamp on May 2nd, and then it will available for streaming worldwide on May 9th. For you Apple audiophiles out there, the streaming versions will be in Atmos (surround sound) if you have that feature enabled on your device!
UK TOUR STARTS 11 MAY 2025 - GET YOUR TICKETS SOON!
Whenever you release an album, the next step is to plan a tour… And for an album called Music From Macbeth, what better place to start than the Bard’s homeland? I am so excited to report that I’ll be performing in England, Wales and Scotland next month! I was fortunate to receive a Whippoorwill Arts Fellowship that is helping make this tour possible. I haven’t been to the UK since before the pandemic started, so I would love to see some familiar faces at my shows when we’re overseas this May!
All the venues are wheelchair accessible and there’s a local opening act at every show (most of whom identify as Deaf or disabled). I will be performing excerpts from “Music from Macbeth” and digging into my back-catalog for some old favorites, joined by guitarist Richard Carter. It will be a lovely trip, and I hope to see you there!
UK TOUR DATES + TICKETS (ALSO ON GAELYNN’S WEBSITE):
✦ Sunday, May 11th: Brighton, UK at the Rose Hill Tavern with Kelli Blanchett (Hosted by Folkroom)
✦ Monday, May 12th: London, UK at Cafe OTO with Miss Jacqui (BSL and Captioning Provided — Accessibility is Supported by Attitude is Everything, Co-hosted by Folkroom)
✦ Tuesday, May 13th: Bristol, UK at Exchange with Q&A by Big Jeff Johns Art
✦ Thursday, May 15: Nottingham, UK at By Our Hands We Make Our Way with Kelli Blanchett (Hosted by Folkroom)
✦ Saturday, May 17th: Manchester, UK at Band on the Wall with James Holt (Matinee)
✦ Sunday, May 18: Birmingham, UK at Birmingham Symphony Hall, Jennifer Blackwell Performance Space with Elle Chante and GreenMatthews (Matinee)
✦ Tuesday, May 20th: Cardiff, Wales at Chapter Arts with Rightkeysonly
✦ Wednesday, May 21st: Leeds, UK at Wharf Chambers with Fig by Four (Hosted by Bomb the Twist)
✦ Saturday, May 24th: Edinburgh, Scotland at Wee Red Bar with Evie Waddell (Hosted by Drake Music Scotland)
✦ Sunday, May 25th: Glasgow, Scotland at Glad Cafe with Evie Waddell (Hosted by Drake Music Scotland)
STILL BEAMING AFTER THE MUSIC INCLUSION ENSEMBLE CONCERT!
Last weekend, I had the absolute pleasure of performing with the Music Inclusion Ensemble at Berklee School of Music in Boston. This fabulous group was started by my dear friend and collaborator Adrian Anantawan, and it is now creating a space for Disability Culture to thrive in the classical music world. For this show, we were joined by the wonderful community chorus called Cambridge Common Voices. A graduating student named Connor Valcy created almost all of the (STUNNING!) arrangements, including six brand new arrangements of my songs. Watch it above (with captions!), or here… You will get what I mean when I say that Disability Culture can make the world a better place... Society just needs to provide the support and resources disable people need to thrive!
Okay, that’s it for now, Friends! I have to get at least a chapter more edited before bed tonight (good thing I am a night owl) — the second round of edits for my memoir are due on May 4th! Take care of yourselves, and I’ll write again soon, once I’m done editing!
Truly,
Gaelynn Lea
I love the new releases.💖💖