Artist: Elias Alexander, Maura Shawn Scanlin, Ramblxr
Hometown: Portland, OR
Song: “Wildflower”
Album: Wildflower (single)
Release Date: June 1, 2023 (single); June 7, 2023 (video)
In Their Words: “‘Wildflower’ combines a fiddle tune with a lo-fi disco groove to take the listener on a journey through a field of wildflowers to a sunset dance party with friends. I’ve always loved the presence and emotionality that Maura brings to her fiddle playing. When she sent me this newly composed reel that she had written within the bagpipe scale, I took a lot of time to listen to the tune and tease out the corners of the melody. Like many tunes in the bagpipe scale, the tonality could be interpreted a number of different ways, but as I played around with it, I found this sort-of disco counter melody emerging.
“During the lockdowns of 2020 and 2021 I became obsessed with music production, in the way that term is used in pop and hip-hop (i.e. beatmaking), and I’ve been most drawn to the kind of lo-fi groovy bedroom pop sounds of artists like Clairo or Dominic Fike.
“Electronic drum beats, synths, and other pop production techniques are often eschewed in folk and traditional music, but I think it’s time we re-evaluate that. These tools are technology, in the same way that the violin is technology, and they all serve as tools for expression of the human spirit. I started my project ‘Ramblxr’ as a way to bridge the two worlds of acoustic traditional music and electronics, with the goal of staying true to my musical roots, taste, and evolving sensibilities.
“Maura laid down some beautiful strings, and we both hummed the countermelody to bring the track to a climax that feels like a sunset dance party with friends in a field of wildflowers in early June. I hope you enjoy the ride!” – Elias Alexander
Photo Credit: Elias Alexander by Anna Colliton; Maura Shawn Scanlin by Louise Bichan.
