Flashes of Creation

The long-awaited return of Brooklyn's Beach Fossils, Somersault showcases a band in bloom. Charting into new musical territory with a refined songwriting style, it's an album that captures flashes of life in New York grounded in personal experience. As the band's first release on Dustin Payseur's new label Bayonet Records, which he co-owns with wife Kate Garcia - the group made the most of their newfound independence, investing ample time in expanding its range both musically and lyrically. While Payseur handled the bulk of the songwriting duties in the past, Somersault is a true collaboration between the founding member and bandmates, Jack Doyle Smith and Tommy Davidson. Augmented with more complex instrumentation, including string arrangements, piano, harpsichord, flute, and sax, the new songs offer multi-layered pop guided by sharp, poignant, and honest lyrics.

I have devoted this most recent recording to dance. The pieces that I perform here are all linked to the art of dance from different eras and different cultures.Throughout history and in most people's perception, dance has always been a source of entertainment and joy, but it can also represent more sombre occasions, with pomp and grandeur.The Chaconne, for example, has become both tragic and sublime over time and today it's rhythm has mellowed!Chopin's Mazurkas can be rustic and folkloric, haunting or lyrical, even dramatic. In short, dance can express diametric opposites and unite those opposites at the same time.That's why I also want to pay homage to Shiva's dance, for this god, the symbol of destruction, illusion and ignorance, destroys in order to awaken human beings and lead them to create a new world.Shiva's divine dance, Tandava Nritya, is regarded by Hinduism as the origin of the cycle of creation, preservation and devastation.Vagharshapat Dance is based upon a melody from 'Yerangi' found in "Six Dances for Piano" (1906) by the legendary Armenian composer Komitas (1869-1935).

I have devoted this most recent recording to dance. The pieces that I perform here are all linked to the art of dance from different eras and different cultures.Throughout history and in most people's perception, dance has always been a source of entertainment and joy, but it can also represent more sombre occasions, with pomp and grandeur.The Chaconne, for example, has become both tragic and sublime over time and today it's rhythm has mellowed!Chopin's Mazurkas can be rustic and folkloric, haunting or lyrical, even dramatic. In short, dance can express diametric opposites and unite those opposites at the same time.That's why I also want to pay homage to Shiva's dance, for this god, the symbol of destruction, illusion and ignorance, destroys in order to awaken human beings and lead them to create a new world.Shiva's divine dance, Tandava Nritya, is regarded by Hinduism as the origin of the cycle of creation, preservation and devastation.Vagharshapat Dance is based upon a melody from 'Yerangi' found in "Six Dances for Piano" (1906) by the legendary Armenian composer Komitas (1869-1935).