Words by Emma Warren
The harp has long been a go-to instrument to evoke a certain mood, particularly an angelic evocation of heightened emotion. Of course, there is more to the harp than cherubic glissando as these innovators are proving. Meet the new generation of harpists who double up as beat-makers and modular synth heads that are bringing a range of new influences from hip hop and spiritual jazz to electro-acoustics to one of the oldest instruments in the world.
NALA SINEPHRO
Who are they? Composer, harpist and synth player Nala Sinephro was raised in Belgium before moving to London in 2017. She got a job at Cosmos record shop in Hackney and immersed herself in the interconnected south London community of players taking part in jazz jams, recording her luminous debut album Space 1.8 with friends including saxophonist Nubya Garcia, Sons of Kemet drummer Eddie Hick, Ezra Collective’s James Mollison and the unmistakable keyboard and synth bass player, Wonky Logic aka Dwayne Kilvington.
What are they doing differently? Nala brings sonic influences from the Belgian forests and the mountains of Martinique, along with a preference for improvisation – one of the tracks on Space 1.8 comes from a meditative jam lasting three hours. She plays pedal harp alongside modular synths and a Prophet 08 polyphonic synthesiser, adding layers of audio processing to create music that is both meditative and restorative.
What should I watch or listen to? ‘Space 1.8’ was recorded between 2018 and 2019 when Sinephro was 22, in her house and in a tiny shed studio near Epping Forest. It was released on vinyl with Warp Records and quickly sold out. Pitchfork described it as ‘less like a player seated at her instrument than a source of light’. A very limited edition one-sided 12” recorded at Peter Gabriel’s Real World with Eddie Hick and Dwayne Kilvington is only available to those with large sums to spend on Discogs.
BRANDEE YOUNGER
Who are they? This New Yorker composer, bandleader and classically-trained ‘harpista’ was Grammy-nominated for her recent Impulse! album ‘Somewhere Different’. She can be heard in Beyonce’s ‘Homecoming’ documentary and has been featured as a soloist with The Harlem Chamber Players and the Hartford Symphony Orchestra. She leads the Alice Coltrane ensemble as part of her teaching role at NYU. Additionally, she regularly works with drummer Makaya McCraven and is part of the creative community linked to Chicago’s highly regarded International Anthem label.
What are they doing differently? Brandee grew up listening to hip hop and R&B on the radio and brings those influences into her compositions and repertoire as well as drawing from the lineage of American greats like Dorothy Ashby and Alice Coltrane. She uses a Nova delay ND-1 for live performances, favouring the reverse delay.
What should I watch or listen to? During the first part of the pandemic she and her partner, bassist Dezron Douglas, live-streamed a series of Friday ‘brunch in the crib’ sessions from their East Harlem apartment. Mostly, they reinterpreted favourite songs by Pharoah Saunders, Kate Bush or The Jackson 5. A selection of the music – and their between-song commentary – was released under the title ‘Force Majeure’ and gained attention from such disparate outlets as Forbes, NPR and The Wall Street Journal. Join their Patreon to access the sessions and more music.
MARYSIA OSU
Who are they? Harpist-beatmaker Marysia Osu moved to London from Poland at age 12. She graduated from South London’s Trinity Laban conservatoire in 2020 and began dabbling with beat-making after borrowing a flatmate’s Ableton Push. She plays with Levitation Orchestra, who just released their second album ‘Illusions & Realities’, as well as a series of collaborations that include live beat-making and electric harp with poet Ma.Moyo, Ghost In The Tapes, and multi-disciplinary collective Scrapbook Mixtape. She occasionally DJs with jazz-drill innovator XVNGO.
What are they doing differently? She uses Ableton as a compositional tool to produce and process her harp sounds as with her recent Bandcamp release ‘Loop Collection 1’. Like an increasing number of harpists, she’s working with pedals and has developed a hybrid live set-up using delay pedals and her Ableton Push to build on the layers of texture she produces acoustically.
What should I watch or listen to? Brainchild Festival has been an important incubator for London’s new wave of jazz-related composers, producers and bandleaders. Marysia’s set at one of Brainchild’s pandemic streams gives you a sense of her style and sonics in advance of her debut album, due late 2022.
LARA SOMOGYI
Who are they? LA-based, Hawaii-born performer-composer who featured as harp soloist on Hans Zimmer’s score for Blue Planet II and the Netflix smash Bridgerton, as well as The Lion King (2019) and Daniel Pemberton’s Marvel film Birds of Prey (2020). She’s collaborated with The London Symphony Orchestra as well as artists including Nils Frahm and Mark Ronson. Her live CV includes Anderson.Paak, Lauren Hill and Rufus Wainwright.
What are they doing differently? Using electronics, looper and FX pedals, she has cultivated her own extended technique. On a recent horror film session, she used prepared harp sounds using alligator clips, blu tack and bowed bass wire strings.
What should I watch or listen to? Lara appeared in one of Spitfire Audio’s Ones to Watch episodes, showcasing both her dynamic and powerful compositional and playing style as well as her use of electronics and FX pedals, including a Big Sky and Boss looper. You can also hear Lara on Bonobo's latest track, Tides.