Through evocative, emotionally resonant music, American harpist and composer Mary Lattimore explores themes of universally shared loss, impermanence and unstoppable change on her latest album, 'Goodbye, Hotel Arkada'. Nothing will ever be the same again. At its center, the artist celebrates and laments the tragedy and beauty of the fleeting around her, of all that has lived and all that is lost in time. As on her previous albums, Mary Lattimore grows music from improvisations and conversations with collaborators such as Lol Tolhurst (The Cure), Meg Baird and Rachel Goswell (Slowdive).
"When I think of the songs, I think of wilting flowers in vases, melting candles, getting older, being on tour and things changing while you're away, not knowing how ephemeral things are until they stop happening, the anxiety about a planet we're losing to greed, an ode to art and music that help shape your life and take you back in time, with the desire to keep feeling and not fall into empty despondency," Lattimore says. It forms a guide to her meditative, elusively beautiful pieces, at the intersection of ambient, contemporary classical and new age. Armed with only her harp and a few effects, Mary Lattimore is one of the most powerful instrumental storytellers of her generation.
Mary Lattimore found Hotel Arkada on the island of Hvar in Croatia. Dilapidated, but with the grandeur of yesteryear contained in its walls. "Say goodbye to Hotel Arkada," a friend told her, "it probably won't be there when you return."
News later came that the hotel was being renovated into a shiny, modern building. 'Goodbye, Hotel Arkada' is a tribute to the ingredients that made it a special place and the echoes of elusive charm - and how, when these leave the world, as they inevitably will one day, it feels important to hold onto the thought of them. A document of nostalgic longing for bygone beauty, brought to life in the cozy Cactus Cafe.
"Lattimore's virtuosity goes beyond technical ability: She has the uncanny ability to pluck a string in a way that will instantly make someone remember the taste of their fifth birthday cake." - Pitchfork
