Baroque Pop Artist Reid Jenkins Shares “Strange Lover”; Debut EP Set For April 23rd
March 19, 2021 BY Nettwerk
Today, Baroque-pop, multi-instrumentalist, songwriter, and producer Reid Jenkins shares his heartwarming new track “Strange Lover.” The track is the second single off of his debut solo EP, A Beautiful Start, which will be released on April 23rd.
The official video, which premiered on The Bluegrass Situation, features a scenic drive that takes some unexpected and even aquatic twists and turns. Reid elaborates on the meaning behind the track, “While most of my songs start while I have an instrument in my hand, ‘Strange Lover’ started as a title that I later put to music. I was struck by the ambiguity in the word ‘strange’ — how it means both unfamiliar and bizarre, and how those two senses of the word have different meanings, but often feel the same when you’re faced with new experiences, such as falling in love. I wanted to write a song that suspended itself in that ambiguity and explore the tension between avoiding the unknown while being drawn in by the thrill of beauty and discovery.”
WATCH (AND SHARE) “STRANGE LOVER:
Reid is one-half of the indie-folk band Morningsiders, who are known for their single “Empress,” which reached the #1 spot on Spotify’s U.S. Viral 50 playlist. On his debut EP, A Beautiful Start, Reid Jenkins explores a colorful medley of emotions and musical influences, drawing from his roots in folk music as well as his fascination with sound design and production. Born into a family of musicians, it’s no exaggeration to say that Reid’s childhood was like The Royal Tenenbaums meets The Carter Family. Raised in Manhattan’s Upper West Side, Reid, who is trained in violin (jazz & classical) as well as fiddle-music, grew up playing in a family band with his parents and two older sisters Cassandra Jenkins and Stephanie Jenkins. His family became well-known in musician circles for hosting a longstanding house concert series, as well as for opening their home as a stopover for a patchwork of touring musicians, from indie rock royalty to opera singers. Immersed in this exposure to a wide variety of artists from an early age, music has always played a central role in Reid’s life.
Working closely with mixer-engineer Jake Lummus, Reid wrote, arranged, orchestrated, and co-produced all the songs, as well as performed many of the parts on the recording. The four tracks act as a snapshot of his various internal dialogues as well as his polymath abilities. For Reid, the production tells a story as much as the songwriting does: “I like to use real sounds, like recorded violin and guitar because they have a certain resonance as ‘authentic.’ But I also like to contrast these sounds with stuff that is obviously inorganic.” So, for example, he might contrast real horns with a heavily altered tuba sample, or a real drum kit with percussion samples from a Casio keyboard. Reid adds, “you don’t have to be austere to be intelligent. Intelligence can be whimsical, ecstatic, silly.” In other words, you don’t have to take yourself so seriously to create emotionally resonant work, and that is just what Reid has achieved on A Beautiful Start.
