Spring Summer is the recording project of San Francisco-based musician Jennifer Furches, who spent a large part of her career in the aughts making a name for herself by touring and playing with musicians like Cass McCombs, Coconut Records, and Ben Lee. About a year ago, in 2021, she finally launched her own solo career and released a couple of delicate, folksy guitar songs on Dangerbird Records. Now, Furches announces the arrival of her forthcoming debut album, TEARS, out July 15 and produced closely by friend Jenny lee Lindberg of Warpaint.

Below, NYLON exclusively premieres the video of the album’s lead single, “Mountaineer,” a sturdier and more robust version of the indie rock first previewed by the musician and multi-instrumentalist. Over shuffling guitar and drums infused with a crisp and clean feeling, Furches works through overcoming life’s obstacles with a partner while maintaining self-preservation through writerly, graceful lyricism. “I’m tough as nails/ I am a mountaineer/ I will climb these jagged peaks and leave the valleys for you dear,” she sings. Any hint of tension in its lyrics is tempered by the song’s grand and sweeping sound, like you’re also perched on the mountain peak next to her.

Of the song, Furches writes in an email: “There’s a running theme on the album of losing yourself in another person, and this song is about the push-and-pull between the feeling of ‘I would do anything for you’ and ‘ I can’t do anything for you, I need to be strong and do things for me.’”

In its miniature-filled music video directed by Jon Sortland, she captures that feeling of towering above everything else quite literally, recreating a haunting but cozy world through dollhouse sets and beautifully illustrated natural landscapes. Furches herself is seen interacting with the world through clever editing that makes it look like she’s inhabiting the sets, but is simultaneously caught setting them up in the first place — adding another meaningful layer to the song’s contemplation.

Watch “Mountaineer” below, and read on to learn a bit more about Furches. And be sure to catch her record TEARS when it drops on July 15.

What are you up to right now — describe your surroundings.

I’m sitting in my practice space in our garage in San Francisco. There’s nothing soundproof about it and I live on an echo-y alley, but luckily the neighbors don’t seem to mind that the kids and I have started a 90’s cover band.

What’s the story behind your new song, “Mountaineer”?

I wrote the first incarnation of Mountaineer before I had kids. I was 4 years into a relationship, and kind of passing that puppy-love stage where you want to just do everything for someone and be with them all the time… and starting to feel like I had lost — or forgotten — about myself. Then after kids, many more years into the same relationship, the same feelings were hitting me. It’s so easy in life and love to give yourself away. I had to make a very conscious effort to find some balance.

I had never done anything with that song, but it was suddenly resonating heavily with me again. I played it for my cousin Jason and he had all these great suggestions to make it something new which appealed to me. I loved the feeling of it having lived so long as one song, and then getting to transform it into another version of itself. As I guess I wished to do. (Thanks to Jen we recorded the old version, too — we’ll put that out one day!)

How did you land on the idea of ​​using miniatures for your “Mountaineer” video; they’re really having a moment right now.

I feel like miniatures have been heavily utilized forever! But I guess you mean maybe they’re being used in a more obvious way, as we did, rather than the old-school Hollywood trickery?

You know — I just loved Jon Sortland’s work so much! He made all these great videos for his band The Shins (a few of which use miniatures) and he is just constantly making things that make me laugh and reel me in. I feel like he finds a wonderful way of mixing the magical world and real life. So the miniatures came from his experience with them… but in the end when COVID hit and we ultimately had to call on my husband Roman to shoot my part of the video, I thought it was kind of a fun twist of fate because Roman has shot a lot of second unit and special effects work through his career which often involves miniatures — so I felt like there was a nice connection there between the two of them.

After spending a large part of your career playing with other artists, how does it feel to be releasing music of your own?

Great! For so many years I was scared to record my own music. It was so much easier to be a sort of hired gun (and of course also get to play with musicians I admired). But now I just want to do hard things. I want to learn and challenge myself. It’s all one big puzzle… and I love puzzles!

In the spirit of the song, what’s the last mountain you climbed and do you have a favorite?

Last summer: Chimney Rock outside of Asheville, NC with my dad and my sister Amanda. I’m from North Carolina and spent my life in those mountains. They hold a special place in my heart.

The post Spring Summer season Pronounces Debut Album ‘T.E.A.R.S,’ Shares “Mountaineer” Video appeared first on Los Gatos News And Events.

Spring Summer is the recording project of San Francisco-based musician Jennifer Furches, who spent a large part of her career in the aughts making a name for herself by touring and playing with musicians like Cass McCombs, Coconut Records, and Ben Lee. About a year ago, in 2021, she finally launched her own solo career and released a couple of delicate, folksy guitar songs on Dangerbird Records. Now, Furches announces the arrival of her forthcoming debut album, TEARS, out July 15 and produced closely by friend Jenny lee Lindberg of Warpaint.

Below, NYLON exclusively premieres the video of the album’s lead single, “Mountaineer,” a sturdier and more robust version of the indie rock first previewed by the musician and multi-instrumentalist. Over shuffling guitar and drums infused with a crisp and clean feeling, Furches works through overcoming life’s obstacles with a partner while maintaining self-preservation through writerly, graceful lyricism. “I’m tough as nails/ I am a mountaineer/ I will climb these jagged peaks and leave the valleys for you dear,” she sings. Any hint of tension in its lyrics is tempered by the song’s grand and sweeping sound, like you’re also perched on the mountain peak next to her.

Of the song, Furches writes in an email: “There’s a running theme on the album of losing yourself in another person, and this song is about the push-and-pull between the feeling of ‘I would do anything for you’ and ‘ I can’t do anything for you, I need to be strong and do things for me.’”

In its miniature-filled music video directed by Jon Sortland, she captures that feeling of towering above everything else quite literally, recreating a haunting but cozy world through dollhouse sets and beautifully illustrated natural landscapes. Furches herself is seen interacting with the world through clever editing that makes it look like she’s inhabiting the sets, but is simultaneously caught setting them up in the first place — adding another meaningful layer to the song’s contemplation.

Watch “Mountaineer” below, and read on to learn a bit more about Furches. And be sure to catch her record TEARS when it drops on July 15.

What are you up to right now — describe your surroundings.

I’m sitting in my practice space in our garage in San Francisco. There’s nothing soundproof about it and I live on an echo-y alley, but luckily the neighbors don’t seem to mind that the kids and I have started a 90’s cover band.

What’s the story behind your new song, “Mountaineer”?

I wrote the first incarnation of Mountaineer before I had kids. I was 4 years into a relationship, and kind of passing that puppy-love stage where you want to just do everything for someone and be with them all the time… and starting to feel like I had lost — or forgotten — about myself. Then after kids, many more years into the same relationship, the same feelings were hitting me. It’s so easy in life and love to give yourself away. I had to make a very conscious effort to find some balance.

I had never done anything with that song, but it was suddenly resonating heavily with me again. I played it for my cousin Jason and he had all these great suggestions to make it something new which appealed to me. I loved the feeling of it having lived so long as one song, and then getting to transform it into another version of itself. As I guess I wished to do. (Thanks to Jen we recorded the old version, too — we’ll put that out one day!)

How did you land on the idea of ​​using miniatures for your “Mountaineer” video; they’re really having a moment right now.

I feel like miniatures have been heavily utilized forever! But I guess you mean maybe they’re being used in a more obvious way, as we did, rather than the old-school Hollywood trickery?

You know — I just loved Jon Sortland’s work so much! He made all these great videos for his band The Shins (a few of which use miniatures) and he is just constantly making things that make me laugh and reel me in. I feel like he finds a wonderful way of mixing the magical world and real life. So the miniatures came from his experience with them… but in the end when COVID hit and we ultimately had to call on my husband Roman to shoot my part of the video, I thought it was kind of a fun twist of fate because Roman has shot a lot of second unit and special effects work through his career which often involves miniatures — so I felt like there was a nice connection there between the two of them.

After spending a large part of your career playing with other artists, how does it feel to be releasing music of your own?

Great! For so many years I was scared to record my own music. It was so much easier to be a sort of hired gun (and of course also get to play with musicians I admired). But now I just want to do hard things. I want to learn and challenge myself. It’s all one big puzzle… and I love puzzles!

In the spirit of the song, what’s the last mountain you climbed and do you have a favorite?

Last summer: Chimney Rock outside of Asheville, NC with my dad and my sister Amanda. I’m from North Carolina and spent my life in those mountains. They hold a special place in my heart.

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The post Spring Summer season Declares Debut Album ‘T.E.A.R.S,’ Shares “Mountaineer” Video appeared first on Los Gatos News And Events.

“Chance nothing – gain nothing.” So said Helgi Tomasson in his typically succinct fashion as he stood onstage at the War Memorial Opera House surrounded by over a hundred cheering dancers, choreographers, artistic directors, musicians and other artists whose careers he has so profoundly impacted. The man clearly knows whereof he speaks. Way back in 1985, San Francisco Ballet took a huge chance of hiring Tomasson into his very first leadership position as Artistic Director. In turn, Tomasson perhaps took an even greater chance in coming to lead this well-established, if rather scrappy, regional ballet company that was ripe for a new direction. 37 years later, I think it’s safe to say Tomasson and SFB chanced everything and gained everything.

As he steps down as Artistic Director of SFB, Tomasson leaves behind a company of internationally renown. His transformation of the company is truly one of the great success stories in American arts. Back in the mid-80’s, even those of us who enjoyed SFB eagerly awaited the annual visits by American Ballet Theater or whatever Russian company was touring so we that we could get a fix of some “real” ballet. While we loved cheering on our home team, they just didn’t dance with the sophisticated technique of the higher-profile ballet companies. Within a few years of Tomasson’s tenure at SFB, it was clear that this was no longer the case. He had an uncanny knack for attracting promising young dancers from around the world and then developing their individual talents to help them become the supremely distinctive dancers they were meant to be.

On Sunday, April 24th, SFB hosted a gala, “Helgi Tomasson: A Celebration” to honor Tomasson for his astonishingly successful tenure at the helm. It was an evening of gratitude, congratulations, more than a few tears and above all spectacular, spectacular dancing. The program consisted entirely of works choreographed by Tomasson, but the focus throughout was squarely on the remarkable SFB dancers, and I presume this is as Tomasson would have it. While his choreography may indeed live on, his dancers and the immense pleasure they have given audiences around the world are his true legacy.

Frances Chung and Wei Wang in Helgi Tomasson’s “Chaconne for Piano and Two Dancers”
(photo by Erik Tomasson)

The performances kicked off with Wei Wang moving in spotlight on a darkened stage to some glorious Handel music in “Chaconne for Piano and Two Dancers.” Wang is a shining example of a Tomasson discovery, one of so many we’ve been treated to over the years. The Chinese-born and trained dancer was visiting family in Northern California a dozen or so years ago when he auditioned for SFB on a whim and immediately accepted into the school. Wang soon became an apprentice and worked his way up through the company’s ranks to become one of its best all-around dancers. Wang danced the opening solo of “Chaconne” with such clean, unfussy technique and sensitive musicality that it took my breath away. Then the ever-sensational Frances Chung (another Tomasson protégée who rose through the ranks at SFB) took over and possibly raised the bar even higher. As the two danced together in the final section, perfectly matching each other beat for beat and seeming to float across the stage as they responded spontaneously to the music, the effect was heart-stopping. In a nutshell, this is exactly the kind of refined artistry and deep connection to music that Tomasson has brought to SFB for almost four decades.

Lonnie Weeks in Helgi Tomasson’s “Concerto Grosso”
(photo by Erik Tomasson)

And from there, the dancing continued at a spectacularly high level. One moment, we had Lonnie Weeks and Mingxuan Wang amazing us with their impeccable line, superior extension and perfect air positions in “Concerto Grosso.” The next, we had a beguilingly rakish Isabella Devivo and Esteban Hernandez romping through the astringently percussive “Two Bits.” And Sasha De Sola and Joseph Walsh saucily tearing through excerpts from “Blue Rose.” Then it was on to Yuan Yuan Tan and Tiit Helimets breaking our hearts with the sheer beauty of their tender, melancholic pas de deux from “The Fifth Season.” Throughout the evening, every dancer onstage seemed to be performing at the peak of their powers, perhaps not wanting to be the one who might let the proceedings down.

Tiit Helimets and Yuan Yuan Tan in Helgi Tomasson’s “The Fifth Season”
(photo by Erik Tomasson)

When the dancing was finished, Tomasson was escorted center stage by his senior ballerina Yuan Yuan Tan and then gradually surrounded by the entire company, plus many former SFB dancers who in no small part owe their remarkable careers to him. It was incredibly moving to see the amazing current SFB roster sharing the stage with much-missed stars from the past such as Tina LeBlanc, Gonzalo Garcia, Damian Smith, Joanna Berman and Gennadi Nedvigin. But perhaps the most heartfelt moment came earlier in the evening at the top of the show. Ashley Wheater, an especially gallant former SFB principal dancer who then apprenticed under Tomasson when his dancing career was over and eventually became Artistic Director of the Joffrey Ballet, broke down in the middle of his spoken tribute to Tomasson and struggled to regain his composure. Those of us in the audience could easily empathize with Wheater’s feeling of emotional overwhelm. After all, how do you adequately thank a person who has had such a profound impact on the trajectory of your life? How can you possibly put that into words? For me as a relative ballet neophyte who has who has come to cherish the artform so dearly, I would just like to say, “Bravo, Mr. Tomasson!” Because of what you brought to SFB, so many of our lives have been made all the richer these past 37 years.

San Francisco Ballet Artistic Director & Principal Choreographer Helgi Tomasson
(photo by Erik Tomasson)

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