Genderfluid U.S. composer and performer Holland Andrews arranges music for voice, clarinet and electronics that often explores themes around vulnerability and healing. As a vocalist, Andrews’ influences come from a wide and dynamic spectrum that includes contemporary opera, theater, and jazz, while cultivating her own unique style
Andrews’ “Wordless” EP was first released in February 2021 and reissued later that year by Nils Frahm’s Leiter label. The four-track EP offers profound catharsis through a series of electronic, vocal and clarinet-driven compositions. “Forgettings” is the second in a series of four digital EPs commissioned by Leiter
It’s an instinctive follow-up to “Wordless” that shares many of the characteristics of its predecessor while remaining admirably elusive. “Forgettings” draws from both electronic and organic sources – like Andrew’s remarkably adaptable voice and clarinet training – and opens with the blissfully ecstatic “Transform Forever,” which layers harmonies around crystalline synth patterns, while the title track picks up one of the vocal refrains from “Transform Forever,” on which it patiently builds a celestial, ultimately cathartic soundscape. “Green” is almost spiritual with its meditative use of field recordings, sublime drones, hushed voices and soothing synths, and the quasi-ambient “Far Place,” on which Andrews collaborated with Ryan Lott of Son Lux, gives haunting piano sounds free rein to unfold generously.
In addition to the digital release of Holland Andrews’ “Forgettings” EP, Leiter is offering a special vinyl edition that includes all tracks from “Forgettings” and the previously released “Wordless” EP.