Portland Artist & Composer Ann Annie Shares New Song “Willows” off Forthcoming LP ‘The Wind’; Announces US Tour

As Ann Annie, Portland composer and multi-instrumentalist Eli Goldberg makes quietly transformative music. Today, he shares another glimpse into his breathtaking new album The Wind with “Willows,” a sparse yet inviting song clocking in at only 1-minute and 24-seconds but somehow it contains a world of emotions. From a lonely piano line springs an echoing orchestra of clarinets and strings that bubble to a blinding and blissful peak only to dissipate just as fast. Listen to “Willows” on all digital retailers (here).

Eli explains: “The continuation and second movement from a previous track of mine, ‘memoir,’ ‘Willows’ was one of the first songs I recorded & wrote clarinets and cellos with. ‘Willows’ is also part of the opening movements of the first few shows I played with a string section / chamber orchestra this year.”

Known as a purveyor of modern ‘ambient-country,’ taking the sound into “uncharted new worlds” (Bandcamp Daily), Ann Annie is excited to take his live show on the road this March starting in his hometown of Portland and traveling through parts of the southwest. Dates include performances at Treefort Fest in Boise, ID, SXSW Spillover Fest in Denton, TX, and In Sheep’s Clothing’s Sound & Vision  Find the full list of dates below and find out more at www.annannie.com.

PRE-ORDER THE WIND HERE: 
https://annannie.ffm.to/thewind_album

LISTEN & SHARE “WILLOWS” HERE: 
https://annannie.ffm.to/willows

Ann Annie’s The Wind is quietly transformative music that achieves a rarified intersection of subtlety and pure transcendence. The fourth record and Nettwerk debut from Portland-based musician Eli Goldberg conjures pastoral ambience through delicate yet weighty arrangements and warm, enveloping melodies—all possessing the entrancing effect of watching snow fall slowly on the horizon, or leaves spiraling in a miniature ground gust. These eleven songs are a showcase for Goldberg’s deeply felt songwriting and accomplished musicianship, charting new territory for the Ann Annie project while also refining past influences in search of blissful unvisited horizons.

The Wind is the latest sonic evolution for Goldberg, who started playing music at the age of 5 after a babysitter brought over a Casio piano to his house. After graduating early from high school to focus on music full-time, he dove headfirst into self-recording with his sad. rad project, which started as an exploration of indie rock’s trappings before Goldberg discovered the wonders of modular synthesizers. “I’ve always loved synths since I saw a picture of Daft Punk’s modular synth setup,” he recalls. All the while, Goldberg continued to gravitate towards the world of ambient music, taking particular cues of inspiration from the Album Leaf’s seminal 2004 classic In a Safe Place: “I didn’t even know it was ambient at that point, I just knew it was music I’d never heard before.”

The Wind represents the convergence of Goldberg’s ambient leanings, his lifelong love of classical music, and the radiant tones of cosmic instrumental folk music like James Blackshaw and William Tyler. It was recorded in his Portland home (“I love to weave in house sounds”) and the creative process was inspired by time off from making music, which allowed him to rethink what Ann Annie represented to him as a project. “I started to expand my idea of what it could be, which was an exciting experience,” he explains. “It gave me time to think about how things change and how to move through change—what that looks like for me. I wrote a lot of these songs in an attempt to let go of a lot of things, while being OK with doing so.”

Ann Annie – The Wind TRACKLIST:

1. Opening
2. With Violet
3. Sweet Coast
4. Aviary Reverie (Waltz in No. 2 in C)
5. Introduction
6. The Wind
7. Lamb’s Ear
8. Interlude
9. Willows
10. Drift Creek
11. Silver Creek
12. Cottonwood
13. Three Chords