Heather Woods Broderick isn’t scared to be exposed.
The Oregan-based multi-instrumentalist and composer spins sounds as if out of thin air, and her latest track 'Hummingbird Skylight' is stunningly stripped back while conveying an intense depth of feeling.
Sparse beats and keys give space for delicately layered harmonies and husky spoken-word segments, in a reworking of a track that's both close to her heart and resonates with the wider current climate emergency.
"'Hummingbird Skylight' was written by my partner and his band Tallest Poppy,” Heather explains. “From my first listen I was drawn to the beautiful melody and repetitive nature of the original version. I reworked the song and gave it to my partner as his birthday gift.
“Over the course of working on the song, the lyrics took on a special quality and sense of timelessness and independence. They revealed themselves to be universally relatable and adaptable. The ‘she' in the song became Mother Nature and her struggles during the Australian fires. The words also spoke to relationships in my own life that, over time, have become something I didn’t expect.
“I produced and recorded the song myself with an extremely minimal setup. The stripped down, more exposed production style is something I’ve been wanting to work more in for quite some time, so I felt like reworking the song in this style was a good opportunity to experiment and lean further in that direction."
Following the release of her LP 'Invitation' last year, Heather is set to play UK shows later this month. 'Hummingbird Skylight' is our track of the day, check it out now…
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Catch Heather on tour:
February
27th – Crofters Rights – Bristol
28th – Old Cinema Laundrette – Durham
29th – The Hug and The Pint – Glasgow
March
1st – Adelphi – Hull
2nd – The Castle Hotel – Manchester
3rd – Werkhaus – London
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