Rituals of Mine, the electronic recording project of Los Angeles-based songwriter Terra Lopez and percussionist Adam Pierce, shares a new single, “Heavyweight,” from their forthcoming EP, SLEEPER HOLD, out October 4th on Carpark Records. It follows the lead single / video, “BURST.” “Heavyweight” is inspired by the after effects of grief and trauma in relation to the body and mind, particularly Lopez’s own surrounding her father’s suicide and the unexpected loss of her best friend. To accompany the single they share visuals by Hightechlowlife.
“Once the shock shifted away, my body started to feel the real, tangible effects of grief. For over 2 years, I felt a heavy ring around my temple. I couldn’t focus, I couldn’t concentrate. I had lost my ability to articulate properly,” says Lopez. “I was existing and actually was a very high functioning depressed person but my body and voice felt alien and lost to me. In 2018, I read a book that changed my life called The Body Keeps the Score. It is a detailed, scientific look at how trauma transforms, alters and ultimately changes not only your chemical makeup but your physical makeup. I thought I was going crazy for nearly 3 years and then here comes this book that validates every feeling, every emotion, every physical ailment I had felt but couldn’t prove. This song is the expression of grief work I had to do over the last 3 years in order to get to a place where I could see beyond the loss, beyond the depression and finally look at a life that will never be the same but that can be better if I let it.”
SLEEPER HOLD follows their minimalist debut, Devoted, and is as tense and captivating as its name suggests. Lopez began writing the songs that would eventually inhabit the EP during one of the most harrowing and self reflective times in her life. She flew from California to Florida to work with her longtime collaborator and producer Wes Jones, and began developing a brooding sound that would match the emotional intensity of her writing. Having the intimate space of a studio, occupied by only her and a producer, meant that Lopez could write from the heart in a way that didn’t feel possible when there were more people in the room. Over the course of a few months the two would craft some of the project’s most cavernous and vulnerable songs to date. “This new material is very direct and focused on what I want to express with things I’ve held in for so long.” says Lopez. “It’s finally me addressing all of that trauma because I finally had the space to do so.”
Rituals of Mine will tour across North America this fall. All dates are on sale and can be found below.
Watch “HEAVYWEIGHT” lyric video – https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7nq0Yf7iHsk
Watch the video for “BURST” – https://youtu.be/XpKZ1FtFmzk
Pre-order SLEEPER HOLD EP – http://smarturl.it/rom_sleeperhold
Rituals of Mine tour dates: Mon. Sept. 30 – Bend, OR @ Volcanic Theatre Pub – Tickets Sat. Oct. 5 – Sacramento, CA @ Harlow’s – Tickets Sat. Oct. 12 – Los Angeles, CA @ The Hi Hat – Tickets Sun. Oct. 13 – Oakland, CA @ The New Parish – Tickets Fri. Nov. 15 – Seattle, WA @ Freakout Festival – Tickets
Keep your mind open.
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