- 2023-10-04
-
MUSIC
-
-
Donate to support families affected by the crisis in Ukraine ➔ Olivia Reid Releases New EP “TO BE NAMED BY THE PEOPLE”
New York-based singer-songwriter Olivia Reid released sophomore EP “TO BE NAMED BY THE PEOPLE” on September 15, 2023.
It is her first EP in two years since the 2021 debut EP “Earth Water”.
The EP comprises 6-track, including a trilogy “Madness (Act I)”, and “Madness (Act II + III)”.
The EP was produced by Olivia Caitlin Reid, Ryan Delis Jones, Bastian Paul Rocco Testori, Joseph Jaemoon Lee, So Wylie, and The Grand Mess.
Olivia Reid sought the opinion of her fans to title her latest record, at first “TO BE NAMED BY THE PEOPLE” as a title placeholder.
To her surprise, fans overwhelmingly agreed that the working title should stay, creating a project name that allows listeners to choose their own title based on what the songs mean to them.- Olivia Reid said of the EP, “It's a very introspective project, trying to describe how the journey to healing can feel so foreign and isolating, especially after traumatic experiences. There's this illusion that some emotions are arcane or inexplicable, but this project is the result of me trying desperately to break those layered emotions down, to truly dissect and unpack them, and turn them into a form a listener could feel.”
-
Olivia Reid explained track-by-track for the EP.
“Runner's High”
“When I heard the early instrumental, I was so inspired. I immediately asked if they wanted to collaborate on it. The concept for 'Runner's High' came so quickly. This song feels like that moment when I'm sprinting, and my legs finally seem to move faster than my thoughts. My mind is free. At that point, the high, the bliss - feels earned - and it's most definitely addicting. I'm so grateful that Ry sent that Instagram message. It was such an organic creative process.”
“Wounds (Healing)”
“I recognized how much I had to heal from, but simultaneously feared that truly healing it would leave an absence or a blankness in me. When I'm in fight or flight mode long enough, wounds in the form of anxiety or sadness can mistakenly feel like a crucial part of who I am. The wounds feel familiar, so starting the healing process made me feel so much weaker at first.”
“Central Park West”
"I wrote and produced Central Park West to honor the memory of my Uncle Chris when he passed away. My great Aunt Stevie, who had a long battle with Alzheimer's, passed away soon after. They lived on Central Park West for decades, and I cherish the days I spent in the park with them in the park. Walking hand and hand, dancing in the square, watching the mini sail boats on the pond. This a song for anyone mourning the loss of someone or something, where the mix of joyful memories coexist with grief and gratitude. It's hard to let them go, but those memories are warm and comforting to hold on to."
“Nightmare Machine”
“I've always had very lucid dreams, and that lucidness can very quickly become terrifying whenever my dreams would turn into nightmares. The horrifying shooting in Las Vegas had just happened at the time, and thinking of what those families and survivors had gone through - the fear of shootings completely took over my nightmares. The next few years, especially during the pandemic, seeing the gun violence, racism, police brutality, and divisiveness that's plagued the US - it all seeped into my subconscious, into these nightmares. While the song started as this sort of general plea for a good night's sleep, I think it has become a plea for peace and rest in general.”
“Madness (Act I)”, “Madness (Act II + III)”
“A few years ago, I wandered into a conversation about madness at a neuroscience convention in Berlin. One of the speakers was talking about how 'madness' doesn't have a true definition, and anyone who we may deem 'mad' as a society may very well just be living within a different way of being, in their own universe. I started to write a story from the 3rd person in three acts, detailing this fictional character losing their mind. But midway through writing I found moments of non-fiction within the story, and I changed the 3rd person pronouns into 'I' statements. Suddenly it was me who was losing my mind alone in the woods in Act I.”
Photo by Josh Campbell - source : Apple Music
