It's not every day a harp player (harpist? Harper? What do you call a person who plays a harp?) lands in my PR folder.
It's not every day an interesting harp player lands in my inbox, either. Though I know this is not true — there are cool classical outfits out there; I have heard them — the majority of the classical artists I get in my inbox tend to be pretty stodgy and stuffy. Even when they try to bring their instruments into the 21st century, they only get about as cool as a dad attempting the latest YouTube dance trend at a wedding.
Not the case with Natalie Lurie. Take, for instance, her latest single, "I Was Gold" — the Nashville denizen uses her considerable chops (started training at age 7, spent her last year of high school studying harp abroad, and trained privately in France and Switzerland, as ya do) to craft forward-thinking dark pop that reaches as far as possible into the future. Dark and complex, there's nothing stodgy about "I Was Gold." It's pure pop, with a spooky chamber-music twist: the track swirls its way into a minor-key abyss, echoing and wavering along the way. The harp does get a little swallowed up in the production, but it provides a delicate — but bold — backbone.
She's currently prepping for the release of her EP, No Mercy In The Night. Once it's out, however, we are losing her to London — she's packing up to pursue her Master's across the pond. For now, bask in "I Was Gold" below.
