Philadelphia-based harpist Mary Lattimore will release her solo LP At the Dam this March via Ghostly International, and today we listen to the strange and beautiful “Jimmy V.” Playing a 47-string Lyon & Healy harp, often with effects, Lattimore creates contemplative and haunting music. Talking about the instrument, she explains:
“You’re sort of hugging it when you play it, so it’s very intimate and personal. The vibrations are right there up close to your heart, physically.”
For her new solo work, the musician used funds from her 2014 Pew Center for Arts & Heritage Fellowship and traveled across the United States recording in various rural environments like Joshua Tree, Marfa, Texas, and the mountains of Altadena, east of LA. While “Jimmy V” is often evocative in a lilting and dreamy way, it also contains dramatic passages that skip and scrape along with a more strident demeanor.
Interestingly, Lattimore reports that “Jimmy V” was recorded with the great college basketball coach Jimmy Valvano in mind. Having watched a documentary about him before her road trip, she explains that she found him a “really interesting and complex, inspiring character;” though she concedes it’s probably the only harp song written about a basketball coach!
