22 tracks for WILDBEAST!

Wildbeast! photo by Matthew Gregory Hollis

I have officially narrowed down my songs to 22 tracks for the new double album “Wild Beast!”

They are currently in adding mode...meaning, I am combining a lot of songs, editing and smoothing out sections as they slowly polish. I started with some 200 songs/snippets/textures and having been deleting and combining throughout the last couple of months.. So these are the strong and the mighty that remain.

WILD BEAST (A Witness To Beauty)

Words and Music by Hope Littwin

   1.     When It was over + Oh trampled Hearts

   2.     Tell Me What I Want to Hear + Slippery Girl

   3.     Bloody Mary, Bloody Mary

   4.     Boys Who Don’t Say “I Love You”

   5.     Beast Mode + Every Bullet I Doge Hits Me

   6.     Where Are you Now + Whose Gonna tame My Heart?

   7.     Black Eyed Raven + Runaway Cryin

   8.     White Flag

   9.     You Can Be My Drug until The Sun Comes Up

  10.  A River Doesn’t Struggle + Was It Always This Easy + In The Stillness Of The Water

  11.   You Underestimate My Capacity To Love

  12.   The Truth Is, I Chose You

  13.  I’m Not The Belle

  14.  Who Needs Me Now?

  15.  Concentration

  16.  Your Afraid I’ll Take It With Me When I Go

  17.  Forget your Misfortune + Choose Love

  18.   Not Loving You + Baby Make A place in your Heart For Me

  19.  Im Such A Fool for Love + One Day At A Time

  20.  Mr. Man With The Manipulative Mind + Oh no! Not Love!

  21.   Holding My Breath For What?

  22. It's You

GUEST ARTISTS! So Far signed up are:

John Nadel on Bass

Miranda Jean Sprague on back up vocals

Bryant Smith on Trombone

Jeremy Seeman on Cello

Dani Rabin on Lead Guitar

Stephanie Peilok on Violin

The Recording studio at Tribeca Flashpoint is booked for the first two weeks of August with Caleb Gray signed on again as recording engineer (woot!)

It has been very scary to write these songs. Admittedly most of them were written while crying in my guitar practice sessions…. they were extremely cathartic…. But it has been pretty gut wrenching to face my feelings of emptiness, loneliness, betrayal, anger of the past six months or so. It’s a lot-but that’s why we make art and stories-give all that a place to go…

Ironically my study of the inner beast and the beast nature represented in our mythologies have lead me to read A LOT of Zen Buddhist literature…Most specifically the work of Robina Courtin. More on that soon (that’s a whole other blog)

I do have a sense that this tumultuous transition period is coming to an end and the natural order of fall with school starting and a new life with new job and new friends is opening a beautiful, completely unknown future. It feels hopeful, it feels like light and I’m ready to tie this up with a bow (album) and release it <3 o:p="">

Ive got teeshirts coming for Wildbeast thanks to Alan Lerner and Aemivore! I am definitely considering touring this album (along with HUSK) although I’m still unsure of the timeline on that. More to come!

…….

In other news, I've been working on a brass quintet for Gaudete Brass (to be preimiered at the EAR Taxi Festival), am commissioned to write for Quince Contemporary Vocal Ensemble and for Alma Dance Theater’s upcoming Work, "CASK" an evening Length Dance, retelling Edgar Allan Poe's "Cask of Amontillado" So that is all keeping me very busy.

More news… I decided to get a waitressing gig and stop playing so much at Potbelly. I had been feeling really stuck with my guitar playing so I started taking some extra lessons (started up Bass lessons as well!) to shake me out of my stuckness. I’ve been working 14 hour days Friday through Sunday at the restaurant, crashing on Mondays, and working my songs and taking lessons Tuesday through Thursday. I would much rather work an unmusical gig for big money than play music on autopilot (reinforcing bad habits/unawareness) for little money, you know?

As some of you may know, I have had my eye on India with the intention of studying Indian Classical Music there for a good chunk of time. Well...I recently performed at Salonathon, an event curated by a group of wonderful artists/musicians, one of whom is an Indian Classical singer herself and put me in touch with her teacher here in Chicago. So, now that I have a connection, I have decided to apply for a Fulbright scholarship through Columbia College to study Music in India next year. Let the games begin.

FOLLOW YOUR HEART!

Hope