‘Visitors’ consists of seven new, self-penned works, each based on a fictional female character. It evolves in that the abandoned old house in which the women have all lived at some point in time slowly releases during the night its memories of each of them: Eve, Heidi, Frances, Mary, Rebecca, Sarah and Dawn. As Warner notes: “The house becomes a place where the music they inspired lives on, even though the people are no longer there”. In keeping with this theme, one track will be released per month to slowly populate the house with one room dedicated to each character/track.
Delicately scored for piano and strings, the suite is mixed and produced by Warner’s regular collaborator, classically-trained Fyfe Dangerfield, of ‘Guillemots’ fame.
‘Visitors’ gives free rein to Amelia Warner’s sheer joy at the whole world of sound and her enjoyment in both the composition and production processes. She has spoken of the “transformative nature” of composition, whereby colour, texture and emotion allow themselves to be changed and to evolve and she clearly also revels in collaborating with other musicians, following the solitary act of composition itself. In ‘Visitors’, on which Warner plays both piano and organ, she has found a haven in which to express herself and presents here a suite of graceful, timeless music, scored for violin, viola, cello, double bass, piano and organ. Amelia Warner has created the perfect sonic landscape to help tell the stories of these seven women.
First known and admired for her remarkable acting skills of quiet insight and recently celebrated for the tender and eloquent score she composed for her first film music project, ’Mum’s List’, starring Rafe Spall and Emilia Fox, Amelia Warner is also well-known for her acclaimed work in the indie genre where she composed, collaborated and performed as ‘Slow Moving Millie’. One of her works for piano and strings from this period received much media attention after it was used in an advert by Orange and another was chosen in 2011 for the big seasonal moment in the John Lewis Christmas advert. She also worked with producer Fyfe Dangerfield from this project on her earlier ‘Arms’ release which reached #1 in the iTunes classical music chart.
Amelia Warner is currently composing the score for the forthcoming, eagerly-anticipated film ‘Mary Shelley’, based on the life of novelist Mary Shelley (1797-1851), her romantic relationship with poet Percy Bysshe Shelley (1792-1822) and her subsequent famous Gothic novel of 1818, ‘Frankenstein’. The film stars Elle Fanning and Douglas Booth and is directed by Haifaa al Mansour.
Amelia Warner noted of ‘Visitors’: “I love story-telling and responding musically to visual images. I had a vision of the big old house and a clear idea of each of these women and I enjoyed crafting their individual tales and telling their stories and representing their characters through music. Having been involved in films both on and off the screen, I felt I could bring that experience to bear here”.