roadS to then
tour / project information
Access the journey’s secret blog: www.soranasantos.com/hejira-blog - password ‘refugeoftheroads’
TALK & PERFORMANCE SAMPLE - WILTONS MUSIC HALL, 22ND MAY 2023
video
quotes
"A panoramic epic of an album... Sorana Santos, lady of myriad magical voices." Max Reinheardt, BBC3
"One of the best Jazz vocal offerings to date... A great talent." Adrian Pallant, London Jazz News
"Took my breath away." Tom Robinson, BBC Introducing
British Composer Award Nomination
London Jazz News - Wishes for Individuals
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100-word project description
To mark the 40th anniversary of Joni Mitchell’s seminal album Hejira, musician, writer, and researcher Sorana Santos recreated Mitchell’s 4200-mile round-trip from Portland, Maine, to LA, on which Hejira was written. Returning to re-create Hejira as a collage of the music, sounds, and experiences Sorana encountered en-route, 'Roads to Then’ blurs the frameworks of time and memory through soundscapes drawn from the Great American Songbook, contemporary composers such as Adams and Cage, the 90’s activist and Grunge scenes, and Sorana’s own catalogue, presenting them alongside short talks on how they interlace Mitchell’s thematic worlds.
[NB: the talk can include powerpoint slides and/or photos from the trip if the venue wishes. Please see above for examples of images.]
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100-word bio - music venues
Recognised for her music’s ‘fresh originality and power’, BASCA-nominated performer and composer, Sorana Santos, brings together elements of the jazz, songwriting, and contemporary music worlds to create work exploring semantics and structure. ‘Roads to Then’ brings the collage of music, sounds, and experiences Sorana encountered re-creating Joni Mitchell’s seminal road-trip from Maine to LA, on which she wrote most of Hejira, into a re-imagining of Mitchell’s work that blurs the frameworks of time and memory, presenting it alongside short talks on how these interlace with Mitchell’s thematic world.
100-word bio - music/literature venues & events
Recognised for her music’s ‘fresh originality and power’, BASCA-nominated musician & writer Sorana Santos, brings together elements of the jazz, songwriting, contemporary, and electronic music worlds to create work exploring semantics and structure between music and literature. Roads to Then’ brings the collage of music, sounds, and experiences Sorana encountered re-creating Joni Mitchell’s seminal road-trip from Maine to LA, on which she wrote most of Hejira, into a re-imagining of Mitchell’s work that blurs the frameworks of time and memory, presenting it alongside short talks and performances on how these interlace with Mitchell’s thematic world.
400-word bio
Recognised for her music’s ‘fresh originality and power’, BASCA-nominated musician and writer Sorana Santos, brings together elements of the jazz, songwriting, contemporary, and electronic music worlds to create work exploring semantics and structure across music and literature. Her portfolio includes commissions from and work with the BBC, ORA Singers/Tate Modern, The Rose Theatre Southbank, as well as national and international broadcasts across the Sky and BBC networks.
Seeking to sing Joni Mitchell’s Hejira more authentically, Sorana marked its 40th anniversary by recreating the lengthiest of the three journeys that Mitchell is said to have written Hejira on, visiting some of the album’s landmarks, including the now-closed Staten Island guitar shop, as well as recreating some of its other events. Returning from her 4200-mile solo trip recompose Hejira based on her sonic and semantic experience of the journey as a collage work, ‘Roads to Then’ blurs the frameworks of time and memory through the soundscapes of music drawn from the Great American Songbook, contemporary composers such as Adams and Cage, the 90’s activist and Grunge scenes, and Sorana’s own catalogue, to produce a montage then-and-now that warps time and place.
In this performance Sorana (voice/piano/prepared piano) presents the collage of songs alongside talks on her research into Mitchell’s thematic worlds and how they interlace with the collage, alongwith original songs, poetry, and prose written en-route.
trip photo examples…
For venues who would like the talk to include photos of the trip alongside the talk/performance.
photos
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download low res
