"Olena" – New Single Released Today
Introducing Olena
“Olena" – the first single from my new album "Illuminator" – is now available on most DSPs and you can listen to it now on Spotify or Bandcamp.
The stunning cover art is a detail from a work entitled 'Interference Pattern #7531' by local artist Vivian Cooper Smith.
From an album one-sheet I commissioned by journalist Nick Buckley:
“Opening with a haunting, bell-like motif, digitally synthesised to evoke the centre’s chapel, the track is a tribute to human resilience and the moments of connection that can be found between strangers from opposite ends of the planet.”
About the composition
My daily view from the creative room of the Arvo Pärt Centre in Laulasmaa, Estonia.
"Olena" was one of several pieces written and recorded during my 2024 residency at the Arvo Pärt Centre in Estonia.
Each day, I would arrive at the centre as soon as I could get access, usually met only by bemused cleaners, clearly unaware of the important artistic journey being undertaken in the Creative Room of the APC.
Faced with the view you see in the photograph above, I would work from 8am until 5pm, usually stopping only for coffee or lunch. It was easily one of the most productive and emotionally charged periods of my life.
The track was inspired by a resident artist of the same name from Ukraine, whose courage and intense artistic intelligence captured my imagination.
I hope you enjoy it.
Credits
“Olena” was written, recorded and mixed by Andrew Keese at the Arvo Pärt Centre in Estonia. It includes an additional overdub by Julian Lyngcoln. Mastering by Shawn Joseph (Portishead, Jonny Greenwood, Jerskin Fendrix) at Optimum Mastering in the UK.