{"id":106499,"date":"2024-07-31T14:34:23","date_gmt":"2024-07-31T18:34:23","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.ludwig-van.com\/toronto\/?p=106499"},"modified":"2024-08-01T08:00:02","modified_gmt":"2024-08-01T12:00:02","slug":"interview-vocalist-pianist-composer-anastasia-minster-talks-upcoming-release-noir-chamber-pop","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.ludwig-van.com\/toronto\/2024\/07\/31\/interview-vocalist-pianist-composer-anastasia-minster-talks-upcoming-release-noir-chamber-pop\/","title":{"rendered":"INTERVIEW | Vocalist\/Pianist\/Composer Anastasia Minster Talks About Her Upcoming Release Of Noir Chamber Pop"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"Pianist,
Pianist, singer & composer Anastasia Minster (Photo courtesy of the artist)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Toronto based vocalist, pianist and composer Anastasia Minster<\/strong>\u2019s next album Song of Songs, her third, features a 30-piece orchestra and a jazz trio, and a style that fuses jazz and classical elements.<\/p>\n

Two singles from the upcoming album, \u201cDancing with a Ghost\u201d and \u201cSong of Songs\u201d, will be pre-released on August 16 and September 11, respectively. Both will be followed by a video. The full album, also titled Song of Songs, drops on October 8, 2024.<\/p>\n

We spoke to Anastasia about music, gigs, and the new album.<\/p>\n

Anastasia Minster: The Interview<\/h2>\n

She calls the music noir chamber pop, and her music could easily fall into a neoclassical bin as well. Building atmospheric layers of orchestral instrumentation, with the addition of a jazz trio, she adds her clear soprano on top. Despite the focus on vocals, though, she allows the orchestral colours to shine through the texture of the music.<\/p>\n

\u201cI wanted this record to flow from classical to jazz back to classical,\u201d Anastasia explains.<\/p>\n

Her background in terms of formal training lies in the field of jazz vocals. She\u2019s self taught at the piano and as a composer.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019ve been writing songs and composing and performing starting about 2016, 2017,\u201d she says. Her first studio album, Hour of the Wolf, was, overall, a jazzy pop release. Western classical music has always been on the horizon, however, inserting itself more and more into her work. \u201cIt\u2019s been an evolution,\u201d she says. \u201cIn 2020, I released my second album, Father. I have this idea to work with the orchestra, and explore that.\u201d<\/p>\n

Father incorporates as soloists cellist Raphael Weinroth-Browne<\/strong>, and JUNO-nominated trumpet player Tara Kannagara<\/strong>. The arrangements also include piano, strings, synthesizer, upright bass, bass clarinet, and percussion \u2014 a jazz ensemble with extra orchestration, in effect.<\/p>\n

\u201cMy journey with music, I started listening to classical music from a very, very early age \u2014 about five or six.\u201d Her very first collection of vinyl records included Tchaikovsky\u2019s Swan Lake, which left a big impression on her. \u201cI think it\u2019s just there,\u201d she says of the influence of classical music on her own compositions. \u201cIt\u2019s so deep.\u201d<\/p>\n

For Song of Songs, she wanted to push that idea even farther. But, just how do you put together a 30-piece orchestra? Let\u2019s just say it took a while.<\/p>\n

\u201cYes, it really did,\u201d she laughs. \u201cIt must have been three, four years ago,\u201d she says of when the idea first crossed her mind. \u201cI have always been fascinated by classical music. I\u2019ve always dreamed of incorporating it into my music, but I felt like I wasn\u2019t ready.\u201d<\/p>\n

That changed when she met Colombian-Canadian composer and orchestrator Felipe T\u00e9llez<\/strong>. \u201cWhen I met him, I felt like, this is someone who is going to help me.\u201d<\/p>\n

Discussions started in earnest about two years ago. \u201cAbout 2022, we really started to think about it seriously,\u201d she says.<\/p>\n

\"Pianist,
Pianist, singer & composer Anastasia Minster (Photo courtesy of the artist)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Felipe had a connection to the Canadian Studio Symphony and its leader Lorenzo Guggenheim<\/strong>. Lorenzo, a native of Argentina, founded the Canadian Studio Symphony in 2022 for the express purpose of exploring new material in a recording scenario. He\u2019s also the Music Director of the Oakville Symphony and founder of the University of Toronto Campus Philharmonic Orchestra, and a graduate of the National Arts Centre Orchestra mentorship program. He\u2019s conducted the Orchestre Symphonique de Qu\u00e9bec, Greater Toronto Philharmonic Orchestra, and Scarborough Philharmonic Orchestra, among others.<\/p>\n

The Canadian Studio Symphony<\/strong> (CSS) is a flexible group that assembles for specific projects. The musicians include members of the National Ballet of Canada orchestra, including NBC Associate Concertmaster Lynn Kuo (who serves as Concertmaster of the CSS). For Song of Songs, the orchestra includes a full complement of strings, brass, woodwinds and percussion.<\/p>\n

While she describes Felipe as a skilled organizer along with his musical talents, Anastasia knew what her job would be. \u201cI had to take care of the funding,\u201d she says. Naturally, the scope of the project demanded considerable capital to get off the ground.<\/p>\n

The album was funded by the Toronto Arts Council, the Canada Council for the Arts, and a successful Kickstarter campaign. \u201cIt went very well,\u201d she says. \u201cIt was a little bit over funded.\u201d<\/p>\n

It\u2019s also essential to secure the right space, and the right engineers who understand orchestral music. She recorded the album\u2019s eight tracks at Union Sound, Revolution Recording, and Genesis Sound studios, all in Toronto.<\/p>\n

\u201cThey know how to record the orchestra,\u201d she says. In fact, the orchestral parts were done in a three-hour session. \u201cWithout any prior rehearsal,\u201d she says. \u201cThey\u2019re so amazing, those musicians.\u201d<\/p>\n

The orchestra played to a pre-recorded grand piano and vocal track, along with a customized click track that accounted for her stylistic interpretation. \u201cThey did a great job.\u201d<\/p>\n

She added her favourite soloists to the mix.<\/p>\n

\u201cRaphael [Weinroth-Browne] is an absolutely incredible cellist,\u201d she says. They have been frequent collaborators over the years. \u201cHe has a signature sound.\u201d He created multi-layered arrangements for cello for a couple of the tracks on the album.<\/p>\n

Singer and trumpet player Tara Kannagara is also back on the new album. \u201cShe\u2019s a wonderful musician,\u201d Anastasia says. Tara performs as a soloist on the new album on the trumpet and flugelhorn.<\/p>\n

The Song of Songs is a conceptual album, and takes its inspiration from the titular poem in the Bible. Along with the Biblical source, the album\u2019s lyrics were inspired by ancient Greek mythology, the films of Wim Wenders, and the literature of Hermann Hesse. As a whole, the release looks at love from different angles, from its joy to its darker side. She\u2019s spent a considerable amount of time researching the psychology of both romantic and non-romantic love.<\/p>\n

\u201cI have a deep interest in psychology,\u201d she says. \u201cI wanted to plan this album, in a way, as a kind of journey.\u201d The songs begin with a view of love that\u2019s innocent, then experiencing trauma and loss, to circle back to unconditional love.<\/p>\n

See & Hear<\/h3>\n

Prior to the release of either single, Anastasia will be performing a solo piano gig of originals and covers on August 7 <\/strong>at Reids Distillery.<\/strong> Find out more [HERE<\/a><\/strong>].<\/p>\n

You\u2019ll find Anastasia\u2019s earlier releases, and the new singles and album when they\u2019re released, [HERE<\/a><\/strong>].<\/p>\n

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Toronto based vocalist, pianist and composer Anastasia Minster\u2019s next album Song of Songs, her third, features a 30-piece orchestra and a jazz trio.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":64,"featured_media":106501,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"om_disable_all_campaigns":false,"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[40967,29,41373,41221,51,63],"tags":[41374,41376,41375,41377,41378],"yst_prominent_words":[14728,21533],"acf":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/www.ludwig-van.com\/toronto\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2024\/07\/Copy-of-NEWS-38.jpg","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p9bakr-rHJ","amp_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.ludwig-van.com\/toronto\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/106499"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.ludwig-van.com\/toronto\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.ludwig-van.com\/toronto\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ludwig-van.com\/toronto\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/64"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ludwig-van.com\/toronto\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=106499"}],"version-history":[{"count":10,"href":"https:\/\/www.ludwig-van.com\/toronto\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/106499\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":106548,"href":"https:\/\/www.ludwig-van.com\/toronto\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/106499\/revisions\/106548"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ludwig-van.com\/toronto\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/106501"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.ludwig-van.com\/toronto\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=106499"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ludwig-van.com\/toronto\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=106499"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ludwig-van.com\/toronto\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=106499"},{"taxonomy":"yst_prominent_words","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ludwig-van.com\/toronto\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/yst_prominent_words?post=106499"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}