Not long after releasing their powerful single ‘The Gift’, environmental indie pop warriors Shrinari presents will be releasing their debut album ‘Hold On To The Hope, Though’, a collection of deep, inspirational tracks accumulated over the past few years. Ahead of this, they present their single ‘Standing Rock’ featuring London-based Italian chamber-pop artist Heren Wolf.
Based in London, Shrinari is a leading duo on the British spiritual music scene, who 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.
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For ‘Standing Rock’, Lucidia worked with Heren Wolf, whom she met at university. Together with Basma Jabbar, they put Lucidia’s poem to melody and music, which was later developed and produced by Rafael Marchante Angulo. They also performed this song at the Extinction Rebellion protests in London and at the BBC Airwaves Festival.
“Standing Rock began as a poem inspired by the demonstrations in North Dakota. I was utterly devastated that the Standing rock Sioux tribe were being dishonoured and displaced by the construction of the pipeline that threatened to contaminate their water supply and indeed eventually did contaminate the water by leaking oil,” says Lucidia Omamori.
“I was contemplating what it would be like as a parent on the reservation, wanting to protect your children from the police violence and at the same time having to risk your safety to preserve your home for the future generations to inherit, knowing you can not stand by and allow this cultural obliteration and destruction of the natural environment to occur on your watch. I was humbled by the bravery and dedication of the protestors who stood in a freezing cold river facing a row of police, despite being fired at by rubber bullets to protect a burial site.”
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. Intertwining the personal and the collective, they give voice to the challenges we are facing in these changing times.
“This song means a lot to us. Both Lucidia and I care greatly about environmental issues and social causes and we both connect deeply with the native cultures of North America and their spiritual ways of relating to the planet and the elements that sustain us all. When the Standing Rock protests against the North Dakota access pipeline began in late 2016 we couldn’t be there, but we could use our artistry to echo the fight for indigenous rights to defend their culture and sacred sites from polluting industries and for the preservation of water sources,” says Rafael Marchante Angulo.
“Lucidia wrote the song as a duet with Heren Wolf, who’s a really beautiful singer and matches very well both the style of the song and Lucidia’s voice. I created the arrangement and then the song was on standby for almost four years until ‘Hold On To The Hope, Though’ began taking shape. In fact it was the last song we decided to include. We had the privilege to work with notable Spanish drummer Edu Olmedo, and the sublime horn section from Brixton’s reggae, dub and afrobeat band The Soothsayers.”
As of November 3, ‘Standing Rock’ is available everywhere online, including Spotify andApple Music. The full ‘Hold Onto The Hope, Though’ LP will be released on November 24 and is available to order via Bandcamp at https://shrinari.bandcamp.com/album/hold-on-to-the-hope-though with several tracks as instant grat downloads upon purchase. A percentage of profits from all the duo’s music goes to support projects aimed at protecting the earth and indigenous peoples.
ALBUM CREDITS
All lyrics written by Lucidia Omamori
Music written 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
All songs 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
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