WITH acclaim for her last single, the elemental, soul-in-free-flight expressive “The Water”, garnering attention from across the board, earning playlisting on both Radio 1 and Radio 6 Music, Welsh chamber-folk singer Thallo has returned to maze us further with a new single, “Pressed And Preserved”.
Rich with woodwind a gathered company of acoustic nuance, it invites absolutely fair comparison to Aldous Harding, Kate Bush at her most pastoral; there’s even moments of Mark Hollis in there. It’s mellifluous and hazy, gradually and gently enveloping.
A reflection on times gone by, it plays with the imagery of pressed flowers – the final images of a dying plant and a dead love, preserved forever.
“I remember giving these pressed flowers to a person as a farewell gift and I think only in hindsight did I see the irony,” says Elin Edwards, the talent behind the Thallo guise: “Because sure there’s a beauty in the fact it’s preserved, but there’s also a real sadness as it’s no longer with you in the form you once loved it.”
The song showcases the mellow woodiness of the clarinet, an instrument with a palette that surely demands more widespread usage in the contemporary scene. Elin says:“Unlike most, clarinet is my main instrument; it’s where I write my arrangements, and it’s where each song stems from.
“Growing up it was either that or the flute that I could learn and I didn’t want to copy my friends on the flute. Clarinet is something really important to me, it keeps this sense of pride in my music.”
Thallo’s “Pressed And Preserved” is out today, May 28th, on all digital streaming platforms via Recordiau Côsh Records.
Connect with Thallo elsewhere on the web at Spotify and on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter and Bandcamp.
