Alex Sopp: The Hem & The Haw
The Hem & The Haw is a collection of 10 songs written by the flutist, composer, vocalist, and visual artist Alex Sopp during a “fit of stillness.”
The flutist, composer, vocalist, and visual artist Alex Sopp released her debut album, The Hem & The Haw, on April 19th, 2024 via New Amsterdam Records. Sopp’s playing has been praised by the New York Times as “exquisite” and “beautifully nuanced” and is a founding member of yMusic, The Knights, NOW Ensemble, and the Berlin-based Between Worlds Ensemble.
“NewAm is an incredible community of artists…that I feel like I grew up in and with as a flutist. For me, it’s really exciting to continue my evolution as an artist on New Am with this record of my songs.“
- Alex Sopp
The Hem & The Haw is a collection of 10 songs written during a “fit of stillness” resulting from “the fresh batch of time” experienced by Sopp in 2020, accompanied by visual art that evokes a hypnotic and mystical feel to the record and its creation. This work, ranging from meticulously detailed pen drawings to evocative paintings, has been used by musicians and cutting-edge organizations like Castle of Our Skins, giving their work an exciting, new artistic dimension.
Woodwinds, synthesizers, strings, vocal layers, pianos, percussion, and creative production create dynamic, intricately woven, and highly textured songs brought to life with the help of co-producer Thomas Bartlett (Yoko Ono, St. Vincent, Norah Jones), who “walked right into these landscapes and instantly understood not only how to elevate my vision but how to honor my quirks,” Sopp says. Her songs find depth in their playfulness while keeping everyone guessing what’s next.
The vocal work and lyrical expression are beautifully decorated by a palette of acoustic and electronic timbres, highlighting the main instrument of the record, which is not the flute but, rather, Alex’s voice. Her goal, she says, is to “sweep you away, even if just for a moment.”
“The Hem & The Haw”
Alex's first single "is a dance between the voice within urging you to move in infinite directions and the terrifying fear of said infinite directions...a see-saw for yourself and yourself, on one side is the version who does, and on the other is the version who does not.”
The dance Alex describes arrives in her self-made music video for the title track, "The Hem & The Haw," recorded in Prospect Park with an iPhone. “A few years ago, I started making really kind of crude stop-motion animation involving cutting out pieces of paper, my artwork, and then making them move. I became obsessed with this idea of spending time in transit making these little films, so on a tour bus, on an airplane…I decided to take inspiration from old-school dance-step instructions and chased them around the park.”
“Ah Said Rosita”
When asked what her favorite song on the record is, Alex chose “Ah Said Rosita.”
“The inspiration for this song originally came from a bit of dialogue, from a short story that I don’t particularly like at all, by Truman Capote. I…condensed it down to this little kernel:
“How do you feel if you're in love? she asked. Ah, said Rosita with swooning eyes, you feel as though pepper has been sprinkled on your heart, as though tiny fish are swimming in your veins.”
― Truman Capote, House of Flowers
Alex suggests the idea that Rosita is an older woman with a severe case of melancholy. On one hand, Rosita desires to relive her past, but "on the other hand, she kinda just wants to open up the windows and let all the wild animals come in and eat her, like you do when you’re wistful.”
Sopp has learned that she thrives off “being a creative shapeshifter.” However, making a flute record is not off the table. “I still love playing Beethoven, and I still love playing Phillip Glass. I love painting in my studio just as much as I love drawing on airplanes. I love it all.”
Listen to the The Hem & The Haw [HERE]
Tracklist
The Hem & The Haw
North Pole in Summer
Like A Vine
Ah Said Rosita
Rodin’s Hands
Bougainvillea
Door
Roses
Mourning Dove
Loon
Credits
Voice, flute, whistles, synths, piano, drum programming: Alex Sopp
Piano, op-1, mellotron, prophet x, percussion, rhodes, floor tom, drum programming: Thomas Bartlett
Vocals: Sam Amidon
Violin: Austin Wulliman
Viola: Nadia Sirota
Flugelhorns: CJ Camerieri
Trombones: Dave Nelson (*additional trombone arrangement for “Door” by Dave Nelson and Thomas Bartlett)
Clarinets: Hideaki Aomori
Horns: Michael P. Atkinson
Bass: Shawn Conley
Electric bass: Shawn Conley
Drums: Michael Caterisano
Percussion: Jason Trueting
All songs written by Alex Sopp
Produced by Thomas Bartlett and Alex Sopp
Mixing by James Yost
Mastered by Fritz Myers