Brooklyn composer, singer-songwriter, poet Arlen Hart Ginsburg
I receive my fair share of instrumentals, probably a lot more than you might think. Most are fine. There are so many talented songwriter and soundscape sculptures out there. Some step over some artistic threshold (I guess my threshold) that pushes past the background and invades my brain, pushing those certain synapses that might make me think of tiny moments in my life or imagine moments of other people's lives. One such song submission is the beautifully evocative, transporting "August Carousel" by Brooklyn composer, singer-songwriter, poet Arlen Hart Ginsburg. Sometimes I can be hard on songwriters, harder than I make out on written reviews but there is no need to be quiet regarding this song. It is literally perfect in the way it spins a tale in your head. There is no false step, a telling arc of the story is there and like any well told story there is a wonderfully rendered beginning, middle and end.
I love the core sounds dancing around acoustic piano and what feels like melodeon sounds. Which ever kind of melodeon it is doesn't really matter but that kind of sound filtered into all kinds of genres just kills me every time. I don't know why but it's warmth with hints of grit, of distortions, of tension is unmistakable. My mom played an accordion when I was really small and maybe there is a touchstone now that I think about it. There are many other orchestrations of sound in "August Carousel" like a baby xylophone, low horn sounds, percussions of some sort or what feels like percussive things happening. The song rests and then runs, it has moments of reflectiveness, it spins (sometimes on the verge of losing control but not) and lays in repose on cold green grass.
Arlen Hart Ginsburg composes for music for film, TV and theater so it is my hope that "August Carousel" graces some filmic project. It could be some sort of Mike Nichols-esque (RIP) East Coast complex romance tale but I secretly hope it will be against type, maybe a film about an indie rock band traveling across country and having complex adventures (and relationships). Hey, a guy can dream.
Arlen Hart Ginsburg on "August Carousel"
"The song is a journey through summer from a child’s perspective. The instruments weave melodies together like memories. Can you go back to an earlier time in your life and listen to what your younger self would tell you about the feeling of summer?"
-Robb Donker Curtius
THE FACTS AS WE KNOW THEM
https://www.facebook.com/arlenhart/
https://www.instagram.com/arlenhartginsburg/
Brooklyn based artist, Arlen Hart Ginsburg has spent the last two years honing his expression as a solo artist. Listeners describe his style as reminiscent of Leonard Cohen, Randy Newman, Dr. John and Raffi. After spending the last decade touring with Lady Moon & the Eclipse, the pandemic ignited a fire to connect communities virtually by hosting 100+ Instagram Live Shows that reflect a combination of his styles in composing music for theater, dance, film, and podcasts. What has emerged is a new voice for Arlen as a meditation-singer/songwriter, telling stories of his ancestry and his reflections on the ever changing world. Mordechai is a reflection on the story of Purim, it explores the nature of karma, oppression and diaspora, was released on all streaming platforms May 3, 2022.
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