Americana Highways is pleased to premiere this video of Anna Larson’s “Where Were You” from her upcoming album, Shifting Sand, due to be released Feb 9th. Larson has provided a short peak at this, but now you can watch it in its entirety! Shifting Sand was recorded at Ramble Creek in Austin, and co-produced by Larson and Britton Beisenherz. The album features Anna Larson (piano and vocals), Mikey Best (drums); Derek Kinsaul (slide guitar); J.J. Placensio (cello, bass guitar, upright bass); Jon-Michael Rogers (acoustic guitar, antique pump organ) and Jenni Wieland (french horn, trumpet).
The cinematography is mesmerizing in the video for “Where Were You,” which was directed by Anna Larson. “She was only six years old the day you went away,” begins a painful, poignant lyrical story down by the river. The camera shots strike a balance between darkness and light, as the song swells to strike similar chords within the listener. Strings and piano carry the message of the purity of soul searching as though the very music understands the human condition.
Written in a national moment where it seemed the sky might start falling, this song is how I asked myself if I’d manage to live in truth and strength if things really did fall apart- and could I show anyone else the way? Its tightrope we’re walking, through beauty and chaos. This video tires to capture that swing between darkness and peace, uncertainty and strength- not to mention the solitary nature of looking for answers when the world doesn’t offer easy solutions. When I write songs, I tend to think in pictures, like mini-movies. Maybe it comes from my time writing for live theatre. So I make most all my videos in a collage style, kind of like when I made pictures from magazine cuttings as a kid. I take various bits of stock video to match the flash of images that are already in my mind. There’s something very satisfying about matching sound to the perfect image, like finding just the right word to match a note. I may not have answers for the question posed by the song, but I hope I can immerse my listeners in sight and sound as we contemplate it together — Anna Larson
Pre-order here: https://itunes.apple.com/us/album/shifting-sand/1449319954 while you’re watching here: