On October 26, Julia Holter will release her fifth album, Aviary. Ahead of its release, the magnificent composer and multi-instrumentalist has released the second single from the album, titled ‘Words I Heard’, which you can watch the video for above.
The video was directed by Dicky Bahto, a frequent collaborator of Holter and director of the first single from Aviary, ‘I Shall Love 2’.
Holter used a quote from Lebanese-American writer Etel Adnan’s ‘Journey to Mount Tamalpais’ as an inspiration for Aviary:
"Tall trees of so many kinds, from redwoods to manzanitas, oaks, madrones, maples and elms, plants and bushes, flowers and seeds, acorns and grass, they all are the last chance of the earth and they all make a thick and permanent coat, a cover, a bath of perfume, a touch of healing, a royal procession, music and fanfare, they rise and talk to Tamalpais, and sing lullabies and songs of love."
In response, Bahto shared: “When Julia told me that the title of her album was inspired by Etel Adnan, one of my favorite writers, I felt that I had to make a film for one of the songs on Mount Tamalpais, a recurring subject in both Adnan’s visual art and her writing. I filmed on a few hikes down the Dipsea trail, and in the last section of the song combine this with footage made during the studio sessions of the album.”
‘Words I Heard’, is expansive and cinematic—an alluring glimpse into what’s to come on Aviary. As Holter explains: “I think this album is reflecting that feeling of cacophony and how one responds to it as a person – how one behaves, how one looks for love, for solace. Maybe it’s a matter of listening to and gathering the seeming madness, of forming something out of it and envisioning a future.”
At the end of this year, Holter will perform a set of live shows in the UK. The dates are as follows:
DECEMBER
06 Gorilla, Manchester
07 Fiddlers, Bristol
08 Button Factory, Dublin
10 Summerhall, Edinburgh
11 Howard Assembly Rooms, Leeds
12 December – Hackney Arts Centre, London
