Artist, athlete and activist Rachel Garlin will be published The state we are in on June 25th. The EP produced by Jonny Flaugher (The Weepies, Dan Bern, Joshua Radin) contains four originals and a singular version of Clapton's classic "Layla". Garlin recorded The state in which we are in remote collaboration with producer and bassist Flaugher, drummer Michael Jermone (Better than Ezra) and flute player David Ralicke (Beck) among others; the EP was remotely mixed with Veronica Ferarro (Emily Saliers) in Paris.
The state we are in is the successor to Garlin's 2020 LP, Mondegreens. Garlin did the title track for. written The state we are in in the weeks leading up to the election when her songwriting flowed naturally on issues such as electoral justice and climate change. "I wrote it out of solidarity with everyone who pushed for change while trying to stay balanced through the troubles of the pandemic," says Garlin.
“Towards the end of the song there is a reference to the 'I & # 39; m speak' print by Vice President Kamala Harris: 'We're not tired, we don't despair, are not resigned / we don't count on the roof to stop the leak to repair … and we are, we are, we will speak. ”The song reminds us that we are not stuck in the state we are in. It is temporary and we can actively influence the next state we create. Music can be part of it. "
Bay Area filmmaker Dan Foldes directed the video for the title track, which follows Garlin through urban and rustic landscapes in her hometown of San Francisco.
A lifelong athlete and former Harvard Division 1 basketball player, Garlin took on a new challenge this year by participating in season 13 of the NBC sports show American Ninja Warrior. The obstacle course show challenges the athletes to perform various stunts and thereby activate strength, flexibility and a sense of balance. Garlin first learned the sport this season, realizing that it required many of the same skills an indie musician needs – flexibility, improvisation, resilience, and a spirit of adventure.
The same skills apply to Garlin's activist work in San Francisco, where she was quarantined nurturing poetry, social action, and compassion in her community. As a mentor of young songwriters at Sunset Youth Services and regular sidewalk sessions (with which she played music from the edge of her garage alongside neighbors, friends and her own wife and three children), she caught the attention of the timeline and earlier Rolling Stone Editor Ben Fong-Torres on his MondAlice Radio station.
With her old Gibson J50 guitar, Rachel dedicated the month of February to writing a new song each day and sharing the creative process – spontaneous and vulnerable – during an interactive process with fans across the country. She's now hosting a weekly livestream concert called Swing & let go (Wednesdays at 4:00 p.m. PT), where she interweaves songs and stories about her work as an artist, athlete, and activist in her own community and beyond.
Don't Miss Rachel:
June 20 – Burren Pub – Sommerville, MA
July 2 – Blueberry Hill – Goshen, VT
July 29 – Rockwood Music Hall Stage 3 – New York, NY
