New CD by Leah Kardos – Feather Hammer available online Sept 19

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Feather Hammer is a collection of short pieces that explore the composerʼs relationship with the piano, her first instrument, as a source of familiarity, expressing warmth, pain, repetitive stress injuries, muscle memory, and a way to communicate with the outside world. The music crosses genre boundaries between contemporary classical, folktronica and ambient styles, and has been constructed from acoustic and prepared piano sounds and location recordings, making special use of the unique strummed, plucked, ambient and percussive tones of the instrument.

Leah Kardos is an Australian composer and producer working in Bedford, England. Her past projects include film scores, chamber work commissions, collaborations with bands and a trip-hop tribute to David Bowie. Feather Hammer is the first album project that she has released under her own name as the sole composer, performer and producer. The album bears the marks of Leahʼs diverse influences; from the tiny, intimate, percussive beauty of Bjorkʼs Vespertine to the prepared piano works of John Cage, via the sampling and cut-up work of Amon Tobin, the cyclic minimalism of Glass and Riley, the disjointed grooves of Graham Fitkin and the expansive ambient textures of Brian Eno.

DIY in every aspect of its creation, Feather Hammer will be released online via Bandcamp (http://music.leahkardos.com) on the 19th of September 2011. Leah will be promoting the launch with a live radio spot on Resonance104.4fm on Friday the 16th of September from 8 - 9pm, where she will talk about her creative practice and influences, play tracks from the album and share the stories behind their creation. A live premiere of the work has been developed in collaboration with video artist Matthew Greasley and will be staged on the 25th of November 2011 at The Wilmington Arms in London; the Ligeti Quartet and improviser and drone artist Sam Grinsell will present support performances.

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