Hannah Epperson - Slowdown (2018)

Hannah has been travelling and touring Europe for the past two years and those who have accompanied her sure have experienced more than a few adventures. Every single one of her more than 90 concerts and festivals has its unique and special moments and stories. With her violin, her looppedal and her voice, Hannah has the ability to get lost in her own worlds without ever leaving her audience behind.
Fittingly, her albums are not conceptualized as a mere succession of individual songs: There are two distinct versions of each piece – one extremely reduced and minimalist (Iris), the other a crystal clear pop interpretation (Amelia). Upsweep, which was released in October 2016, is the first album of this cycle. Slowdown, the eagerly awaited second album, will come out in February 2018.

In Epperson’s universe, the names Iris und Amelia represent two fictional characters whose opposing worlds coalesce to form the likewise fictional character of a narcissistic and alienated young man with a severe and (potentially) life-threatening obsession. Iris und Amelia stand in clear contrast with each other. The lyrics transport that oscillation between the two characters and merge the real and the surreal, the finite and the infinite.
In both versions, Epperson, the Canadian with a US passport, creates a unique soundscape. Assigning a genre is thus a rather difficult task. Conceptionally, however, Hannah Epperson can certainly be called an avant-garde pop artist. Considering her artistic engagement with images and political issues, Epperson joins ranks with the feminist pop giants of our time. A very straighforward person, she exposes gender inequalities and other social ills and destroys prevalent notions of feminity: “i can’t believe they’ll have me back after i confessed on air to pissing in a local public park last time… „ Epperson said after the second invitation of a radio station – and (subsequently) disappeared for several months to live and work on a friend’s farm in Montana. Hannah Epperson’s Individuality and restlessness are always met with a profound political and social consciousness.

A Jill of all trades, Hannah is also a successful ultimate frisbee player for Canada’s national team. During last year’s world championship in Royan (France), she and her team came in a close second. This is only further proof for the (polarity?) of this artist. Moving tirelessly from one project to another, you will hardly find her in a period of rest.
So it is all the more astonishing, how much ambition and love for details one finds in her Album Slowdown. It almost sounds as if she devoted herself with rigor and deceleration to her most important project so far. Slowdown can certainly be called her personal masterpiece – the culmination of an exciting and productive period full of concerts and festivals. With her new album, Epperson will be on fewer, but special stages such as Elbphilharmonie in Hamburg or Silent Green in Berlin.

Born in Salt Lake City, raised in Vancounver – Hannah Epperson is a ‚traveler between worlds’ both in an artistic and in a biographical sense. So it comes as no surprise that she calls the melting pot New York City her home. Hannah draws her inspiration from her travels as well as from frequent collaborations with other musicians and artists from New York. All of these impressions and inspirations come together to form her very unique and refreshing repertoire.



Tracklist:
1. 20/20 (Amelia) (4:15)
2. Cats Cradle (Amelia) (4:23)
3. We Will Host a Party (Amelia) (6:19)
4. Tell the Kids It's Gonna Be Alright (Amelia) (3:51)
5. 40 Numbers (Amelia) (5:17)
6. 40 Numbers (Iris) (3:32)
7. Tell the Kids It's Gonna Be Alright (Iris) (3:19)
8. We Will Host a Party (Iris) (5:41)
9. Cats Cradle (Iris) (4:49)
10. 20/20 (Iris) (3:56)