Dresage, aka Keeley Bumford, has released an acoustic arrangement of her song "Renaissance" and we have your first listen/view here. Bumford is now based in LA, but grew up in a small town in Washington where her music interests steadily grew as she did. Since graduating from Berklee College of Music, she has been working on her debut album and giving us sneak peaks along the way.
This version of "Renaissance" – which was my introduction to Dresage – is just as stunning as the original, if that's possible. I thought, cool, someone is doing something really different by incorporating classical elements into pop. Then I checked out the original, and realized that Dresage is an eclectic pop genius. Her voice may at first indicate a familiarity that provokes folk-pop expectations, but those notions are swiftly swept aside by its versatile acrobatics through her beautifully inventive compositions. This is the kind of music that writes my words for me; all I have to do is listen and the paragraphs are written.
Shot at The Chalet in Culver City, the video was directed by Mattias Evangelista and shows Bumford performing in a classical set up: she is accompanied by The Orchid Quartet in addition to a harp, clarinet, and flute. It's all in one shot, with the camera floating around the room to showcase all the players while making swoops and twists in time with the music. This not only displays every performer's ability but also creates a very organic viewing experience. It's fun to go back and forth between this version and the original to hear how all the parts have been translated by Greg Martin into these new instruments. It's quite a feat to re-create a song in such a different context and have it work so well in its new incarnation. If you're looking for something you don't often see, you'll want to check this out.
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