{"id":2123,"date":"2016-01-04T19:29:43","date_gmt":"2016-01-04T19:29:43","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/lbpost.com\/articles\/life\/music\/long-beach-singer-songwriter-sparrow-celebrates-each-passing-season-with-thematic-ep\/"},"modified":"2016-01-04T19:29:43","modified_gmt":"2016-01-04T19:29:43","slug":"long-beach-singer-songwriter-sparrow-celebrates-each-passing-season-with-thematic-ep","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/lbpost.com\/esd\/hi-lo\/music\/long-beach-singer-songwriter-sparrow-celebrates-each-passing-season-with-thematic-ep","title":{"rendered":"Long Beach Singer-Songwriter Sparrow Celebrates Each Passing Season with Thematic EP"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

\u00a0\"sparrow\"<\/p>\n

Photos courtesy of Dana Sparrow.<\/em><\/p>\n

For Long Beach singer-songwriter Dana Sparrow, the procession of the seasons is an invitation to turn inward.<\/p>\n

For each upcoming season, she will be releasing an EP, culminating in the debut of her first full-length album later this year, called Alchemy & Poetry<\/em>. She kicked off the yearlong project this past September with her Roots EP<\/em>, a celestial four-track journey through the fall season \u201cas if [she]\u2019s trying to find shelter for winter.\u201d With Sparrow on keys and harmonium, the EP features fellow Long Beach musician Alanah Ntzouras on clarinet and flute.<\/p>\n

\u201cI started the EP release with autumn because autumn is my favorite season,\u201d said Sparrow, who is also known by her birth name Dana Benedict. \u201cIt represents, death, hibernation and renewal \u2026 the leaves are falling, preparing the tree for a winter hibernation, but there is still life in the roots of the trees.\u201d<\/p>\n

Winter is now here, and Sparrow is marking the season with Aether<\/em>, a new batch of songs set for release on Jan. 10. Sparrow sings and plays both the piano and harmonium, accompanied by local violinist Laura Merryfield. Aether<\/em> is “more icy and cold,\u201d threaded by folklore-inspired stories of gypsy ladies, self-fulfilling prophesies and “Mary Shelley, if she were to create her own monster for her own pleasure,\u201d Sparrow said.<\/p>\n

The release of Aether<\/em>, recorded at AEA in Pasadena, will be followed by a full-length music video of her song \u201cWishing Well.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"aether\"<\/p>\n

\u201cMy music is very visual, so I\u2019ve been releasing photos and videos to go along with the music,\u201d she added.<\/p>\n

This yearlong project marks the first time Sparrow is officially releasing her own material. The UCI grad grew up dancing and actively participating in community theater and musicals. In 2000, she embarked on a seven-month nationwide tour as Annie in the musical\u00a0Annie<\/em>. The self-taught pianist began writing songs in high school, but she kept them to herself.<\/p>\n

\u201cI felt something completely different and fulfilling about songwriting that I had never felt from acting and singing in musical theater,\u201d Sparrow said.<\/p>\n

In 2011, armed with a degree in theater, Sparrow moved to Long Beach and got involved at the Long Beach Playhouse and Post Mortem Movement Theater. Naturally she became immersed into the music community, performing in other Long Beach-based music projects, including Panther Heart and mystical vaudeville group SEX MONEY POWER. She also performs every Halloween season at The Queen Mary\u2019s Dark Harbor<\/em>.<\/p>\n

After years of putting her solo project on the back burner, Sparrow now feels like her artistry and songwriting is at its height. This seasonal project is the \u201cfirst big representation of Dana Sparrow,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n