Julianna Barwick & Mary Lattimore (USA)
Experimental
Szervezés:
Julianna Barwick and Mary Lattimore are, each on their own, two of the most outstanding ambient creators of the past 15-plus years. Now they have joined forces, and in early 2026 they released a collaborative album that is one of the most beautiful releases of the year, featuring special instruments, ethereal sounds and vocals. Fortunately, the tour for the album Tragic Magic is coming to Hungary as well, where at the House of Music we can experience the earthly and cosmic journey of the human soul.
On the ambient, chamber-folk Tragic Magic album, Julianna Barwick and Mary Lattimore, two celebrated American creators of contemporary ambient and experimental music, intertwine their respective musical worlds within the walls of the Philharmonie de Paris in Paris. In collaboration with the French label InFiné, they received an exceptional opportunity to work with the extraordinary instrument collection of the Musée de la Musique. The record contains seven captivating compositions with powerful atmospheres, with the human soul at their center: the pieces are personal, rooted in friendship, earthly and cosmic at the same time. They become part of a larger process, showing how artistic creation can offer solace and transform us across generations.
Created with the production involvement of Trevor Spencer (Fleet Foxes, Beach House), Tragic Magic – which also touches on the realms of neo-classical new age and post-minimalism, and includes a Roger Eno composition written for them as well as a Vangelis cover from the score of Blade Runner – was completed in just nine days, aptly conveying the “musical telepathy” that has developed between Barwick and Lattimore over the years through their joint tours and friendship. They arrived in Paris from Los Angeles not long after the 2025 wildfires, so during the recording sessions, improvisation also became intertwined with the emotions and experiences they had brought with them, all within an inspiring and supportive environment. Lattimore chose harps that trace the evolution of the instrument from 1728 to 1873, while Barwick opted for several iconic analog synthesizers, including the Roland JUPITER and Sequential Circuits PROPHET-5 models. In the free, unconstrained dialogue between sound and instrument, they create a musical meditation on tragedy, wonder, and the healing power of shared experience.
Julianna Barwick began making music in the 2000s; her first major album was released in 2011, and the peaceful, hypnotic LP The Magic Place, which achieves the effect of an otherworldly choir through layered vocals, immediately placed her at the forefront of contemporary ambient. In her later, likewise excellent works (Nepenthe – 2013, Will – 2016, Healing Is a Miracle – 2020) she continues to explore the relationship between vocals and complex yet clear arrangements.
Mary Lattimore began her career as the harpist of the psych-folk band The Valerie Project, and her first solo album with free-folk, electroacoustic, drone and ambient elements was released in 2012. Among the classically trained harpist’s own albums and collaborations, the 2016 release At the Dam was the first to attract greater attention, along with 2018’s Hundreds of Days. Her 2020 album Silver Ladders was produced with the involvement of Neil Halstead of Slowdive, but Lattimore in general enjoys and frequently engages in collaborations with other artists.
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