The Bite Magazine - Autmn/Winter 2020 - Issue 28

Samantha Morgan checks out some of the recent and soon-to-be- released singles covering various genres of music. bitenewmusic G erman violinist, singer, and composer Johanna Burnheart released her latest single ‘Silence Is Golden’ in October, taken from her much anticipated debut album Burnheart. Speaking about the track and video, the artist said,“The melody of this track appeared to me while cycling to my primary school teaching job.The metre of this melody proved to be almost like a game - which is fitting as the song reminds me of some sort of nursery rhyme accompanied by a clapping game. “I incorporated some of this imagery in the video in the form of each member of my band clapping on the wall with the sequence I developed. It is also a portrayal of the lockdown at that point. The other scenes in the video were artistically directed by Sorcha Kennedy, who tied in the imagery with the artwork she made for this single specifically.The cage-style top I’m wearing was handmade by her for the original photoshoot of the album artwork.We played with mirrors, layers, and blend modes to achieve the video in this form and the cage really elevates the images, in my opinion.” The artist has spent much of her life absorbed in the Berlin Image courtesy of Prescription PR Silence Is Golden JOHANNA BURNHEART sound of techno and house scene resulting in this particular influence permeating her compositions. Her work exists at the point where modal jazz and left-field electronica meet.This is an ever-developing venture as technology allows the acoustic sound of the violin she plays in the music video to come alive electronically without compromise. Her multifaceted music education, including jazz, has allowed Johanna to change genres definitively. She spent two years in Berlin studying with some of Germany’s most renowned jazz musicians, with monthly trips to Paris for lessons with Didier Lockwood at his jazz school. Her love for Berlin clubs and the music played there was manifested during this time, forming the foundation of her current musical style. In 2013, she enrolled at the Guildhall School of Music and Drama in London as the first jazz violin undergraduate student of the school. Since then, Johanna has performed at theWomen’s Day concert with Tomorrow’s Warriors ‘Nu Civilisation Orchestra’ where she debutedYazz Ahmed’s Polyhymnia suite at Queen Elizabeth Hall in 2015. She played support for Pharaoh Sanders at Ronnie Scott’s with Rosie Turton in 2018, and a tribute show to the Blue Note Label at Queen Elizabeth Hall for the EFG London Jazz Festival 2019 in collaboration with Total Refreshment Centre. She also joined London Garage Orchestra in 2019. The debut album Burnheart is out now on Ropeadope Records. https://johannaburnheart.bandcamp.com

RkJQdWJsaXNoZXIy NjEzMzI=