Experimental composer Elori Saxl preps new soundtrack album ‘Earth Focus’
Peter Coccoma

Experimental composer Elori Saxl preps new soundtrack album ‘Earth Focus’

Alan Pedder

Following her mini-album Drifts and Surfaces from earlier this year, NYC-based electronic composer and Emmy-nominated filmmaker Elori Saxl has announced the 15 November release of a new LP, Earth Focus, via Western Vinyl.

Conceived as a soundtrack to season 5 of the PBS SoCal television series of the same name, which focuses on the ongoing revitalization of the LA river, Earth Focus continues Saxl's exploration of sound in relation to bodies of water, first heard on her 2021 debut The Blue of Distance.

Written, produced, recorded, and performed by Saxl, the album also features processed woodwind parts played by TV on the Radio collaborator and Superhuman Happiness founder Stuart Bogie. The first track to be shared from the soundtrack and the series' unofficial theme song is “Grows Along the River Slow”. Writing in a press release, Saxl says:

"It was inspired by the languid flow of the LA river and the plants that grow within and alongside it, pushing through cracks in cement and finding ways to flourish despite the human-built landscape. The track features analog synths with synthetic harp and flute samples that eventually give in to real acoustic flute performed by Stuart Bogie. I would say this track is me leaning into the psychedelic and floaty sounds of Californian music a bit beyond my comfort zone as a New Yorker, but it felt right for the series to lean deep and create music evocative of the musical scene past and present in Southern California."

Watch the video, made by Saxl using footage from the series, below:

Earth Focus tracklist:
1. Concrete River
2. How We Got Here
3. Shorter Lifespan
4. Architectural Plans
5. Scale the Model
6. What Gets Out
7. Taking Action
8. Grows Along the River Slow
9. Grows Along the River Fast
10. In 50 Years
11. Love of Sea and Air
12. Alternative Futures
13. Changing Neighborhood
14. Generations and Generations

Saxl has a couple of shows coming up, opening for Half Waif: 

10/05 Chatham, NY @ PS21
10/09 Brooklyn, NY @ Brooklyn Made


The Needle Drop may earn an affiliate commission via purchases on ticket links through this article.

Alan Pedder

Södra Öland, Sweden

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