Join Troy-based pianist and composer Sophia Vastek as she celebrates her first album under her new moniker, Sova. The new LP Alight! is out September 4th via Hout Records and marks an exciting and significant expansion of her sound. In live performance and in collaboration with audio engineer Sam Torres, Sova has become known for her intimate and highly-detailed sound design, welcoming listeners into the complex sound of the piano itself.
For Sova, the piano has always been home. A second generation pianist, she holds a deep reverence for her history, coupled with an exploratory ear, and moves quietly between musical worlds. Described as performing with "passion and profound tenderness” (Second Inversion) and “serene strokes and lyrical beauty” (Brooklyn Rail), her intuitive playing style has evolved into a dynamic, cinematic sound that blends neoclassical, ambient, and jazz sensibilities.
The new record Alight! extends the breakthrough Sova achieved on her last LP In Our Softening, a sublime solo record of original music, performed on a modest 1902 upright piano with softened hammers and a cracked soundboard. Here, she broadens her conception to accommodate contributions from a clutch of noteworthy fellow travellers: Spencer Zahn (fretless bass guitar), Clarice Jensen (cello), Evan Chapman (drums & electronics), Max Yassky (drums), and Sam Torres (saxophone and more).
Alight! closes with one last appearance by the storied upright piano of In Our Softening: “Vast,” whose title simultaneously refers to Sova’s given surname while also signaling the huge new horizons the artist has opened up by finding her own personal musical voice. Along with the instrument’s intrinsic noises, the track preserves other intimate audio artifacts that testify to the hands-on humanity of this music.
Listen closely and you’ll even hear Sova draw breath as she prepares to embark on this final statement: a tender benediction that acknowledges everything that came before, while also signaling her courageous acceptance of change. The music is wise and tender, elusive and direct.
