“A collection of songs crafted in the aftermath of a grief so profound it seemed to seep into anything and everything which comes in close proximity.” That’s how we described Trotter, the forthcoming album from Brooklyn’s Brittain Ashford on Misra Records. An album written in the aftermath of the death of Ashford’s father (and named for him too) which not only centred on the immediate loss but the impacts which unfolded thereafter. Aftershocks which reached other areas of Ashford’s life, derailing an engagement among other things, as single ‘Hold on Tight‘ explored. A track which, as we put it, “kicks through the ashes with a tangible regret, delivered from the perspective of a newfound distance, allowing a more reflective processing on a fundamentally personal experience.”
Latest single ‘Hand Wringing/In The Wings’ continues this exploration of grief by turning to Brittain Ashford’s background in commercial theatre. “For a long time I was stalled / Wringing my hands after the final curtain call,” she sings in the opening lines. “I didn’t know who I was at all.” The theatrical imagery is supported by a beguilingly rich yet always understated arrangement, evoking an intimate performance, a private slow dance after the lights have been lowered and the audience has gone home. But the space allows Ashford a degree of confessional honesty, examining her past self with an unerring eye and coming to the conclusion that the time for timidity has passed.
And I don’t want to fight this
My entire damn life I’ve been nothing but cautious
What’s it got me?
And I trusted you too much, we melted our rings
While I was waiting in the wings
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Watch the video directed and produced by Kelly Mena and choreographed by Reed Laplau and Justice Moore below:
Trotter is out on the 19th May via Misra Records and you can pre-order it now.
