SHANNON LAY - “MIRRORS” - [SELF-RELEASED]

PRESS:

"Shannon Lay continues to entrance"

- Folk Radio

“Focused on spiritual shifts and ruptures... A quiet, lovely, undramatic rendering of the dramatic. The kind of songwriter who doubles as a spiritual guide."

- Pitchfork

"Lay's voice is a thing of burnished beauty, quiet and warm with a certain gravity"

- Uncut

"Quietly elegant songs with hidden depths"

- The Observer

"Unreal in the best ways"

- Mojo

"Stirs the soul"

- Record Collector

"Drenched in brilliant Californian sunshine, beautifully layered harmonies and an all-around feeling of loveliness [..] Divine"

- God is in the TV

"Sensational"

- Beats for Minute

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Shannon Lay's music iOS shored by radical empathy. After 15 years of writing, recording and performing her singularly gentle songs in venues around the world, the self-taught singer-songwriter is most concerned with how her music may help people in emotional and spiritual need. In a world of persistent change, Lay's goal is to have concentrations of love and energy in her work that double as a helping hand or a voice whispering "everything is going to be ok." The singer's abiding belief is that immense change also means invaluable transformation and permanent relief. Intention is her North Star. Hailed by publications such as Pitchfork, The Guardian, SPIN and Uncut magazine, Lay's solo albums, including "Geist," "August," "Living Water," and "All this life goin' down" are noted for their thoughtful and entirely tender reflections on life's big questions. Her seraphic voice has drawn comparisons to British folk icons Anne Briggs, Sandy Denny and Vashti Bunyan. Though an old soul, Lay aims to meet her listeners in the present. For her, creating a song, a recording or a live performance that is relatable and communal is of the utmost importance for we are constantly in flux and those unknowns, met with compassion, can be beautiful.

- Written by Erin Osmon

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"Mirrors" explores the idea of learning to recognize what we are holding and decide if it is serving us or not. It takes radical vulnerability to see and recognize your whole self in a compassionate light. To accept that you deserve peace and to realize it's right on the other side of being with what you resist. There is nothing wrong with us, we are unique and beautiful and chaotic just like the stars we come from. Love is available at all times and you are its strongest source. Admire your growth as you would any other part of nature. Look up and see your reflection in the sky.

"Mirrors" was created the first day that Rob Shelton and I sat down in the studio to write together. Rob is one of the amazing owners and engineers of Altamira Sound in Alhambra, CA, a place I fell in love with as I watched it be built during the pandemic and that further won my heart when I records Covers Vol. 1 there. Rob started playing piano and I started writing lyrics and from there "Mirrors" expanded into such an incredible collaboration. Produced by Rob Shelton, who also handled synths and piano, featuring Jill Ryan on Flute, Doug Stuart on stand up bass, Carly Bond on electric guitar, Jesse Quebbeman-Turley on drums, and myself on acoustic guitar. Mixed by Rob Shelton and Shannon Lay and mastered by Dave McNair.