Listen: Renata Zeiguer - "Chega de Saudade"

photo by Katie Vogel

Despite releasing her debut full length album Old Ghost just last year, singer/songwriter/multi-instrumentalist Renata Zeiguer has already hard at work on its follow up. While the product of that particular effort remains to be seen for the time being, Zeiguer is offering up an EP called Faraway Business featuring two covers and two alternate takes of Old Ghost tracks "Gravity" and "Wayside".

"Chega de Saudade" is a cover but holds such a place in Zeiguer's musical DNA that not only has an English translation of one of its lyrics inspire the title of Zeiguer's interim collection of songs but she returned to it as a way to sort of center herself musically. Originally written by Antônio Carlos Jobim and Vinícius de Moraes and popularized by João Gilberto as a single and also by his album of the same name, Zeigeur tries to achieve a similar intimacy of the original while also experimenting with Ace Tone drum machine from the 60s. For old and new fans of Zeigeur alike, "Chega de Saudade" provides a raw glimpse of Zeiguer's musical influences and tendencies stripped free of Zeiguer's stellar layered arrangements. While Zeiguer's musical history in classical and jazz can be gleaned in her approach both to her own project and involvement in others, her sparse rendition of a bossa nova classic really snaps into focus how much musical styles that are widely characterized by their subtlety has informed Zeiguer's own approach to both songwriting and arranging.



Faraway Business is out April 12th on Northern Spy Records and is available for pre-order now.

Listen/Watch: Renata Zeiguer - "Follow Me Down"

photo by Chris Weiss

Late last year when New York based singer/songwriter/multi-instrumentalist Renata Zeiguer announced the release of her debut full length Old Ghost with first single "Bug", there wasn't really a sense of what might set the record apart from what fans of hers might expect from her previous Cantina project. "Follow Me Down" however rectifies that almost immediately. Where "Bug" was a sprightly straightforward guitar pop jam, "Follow Me Down" is a somberer, groovier piano based song that sees Zeiguer achieving a more emotive side than "Bug". Zeiguer's songcraft has always been varied in her songwriting subjects but though vague, "Follow Me Down" offers a glimpse at the raw emotion that can color her songs. "Follow Me Down" is a moody see-saw as Zeiguer essentially wrestles with her feelings: "How can I keep you from following me where I go as I go?" she sings before revealing the track's first interesting counterpoint: that she doesn't necessarily mind. It's a track that tosses and turns as she comes to grips both with a new reality as well as lingering feelings; an acknowledgement of the dangers of familiarity and reacquainting oneself with their misplaced individualism.

The music video, directed by Sam Bader, features Zeiguer engaging in a bunch of solo rituals: from solitudinous late night strolls to writing/composing alone in her apartment. However much like the pervasive feelings she's trying to process, there's a sense that all is not as it seems as figures flicker and fade out of view like ghosts in Zeiguer's empty apartment and appear to her on the street. But even as the song wrestles with loss, there's a contentedness to Zeiguer's solitude and also her acknowledgment of her complex feelings as if she's just happy to be feeling anything at all. In that way "Follow Me Down" is an ode to feelings: messy, difficult, but hers to have and navigate and Zeigeur's celebration of that is artfully arranged and pleasantly plotted. Hardly surprising given her previously demonstrated songwriting prowess but appreciated nonetheless.



Renata Zeiguer's debut full length record Old Ghost is out February 23rd on Northern Spy. You can pre-order the record now.

Listen: Renata Zeiguer - "Bug"

Despite the fact that Brooklyn based singer/songwriter/multi-instrumentalist Renata Zeiguer's last official release was her Horizons EP under her moniker Cantina (while releasing a series of bedroom demos intermittently after), it really hasn't been that long since you've heard her. From featured vocals on "Santa Carina" on Vensaire's final release JANUS back in 2015 and more recently, violin on Cassandra Jenkins' Play Till You Win, or back up vocals and strings on Landlady's The World Is A Loud Place, Zeiguer's been a quiet contributor to a lot of my favorite songs and albums all the while plotting the next course for her solo material. Enter "Bug", the first single from her debut full length album Old Ghost.

With "Bug", Zeiguer continues to offer up more of her delightfully melodic indie pop. Reclaiming Cantina as a project by her own name, "Bug" is a wonderful reintroduction full of clean melodic lines and similarly uncluttered harmonic layers. Zeiguer's songs have always balanced clear-sighted unfettered melodies and lush arrangements and "Bug" is no different as Zeiguer's vocals are largely unencumbered by her compositional aims. "Bug" is surprisingly spacious and free given Zeiguer's propensity for sudden bursts of textural complexity but that also highlights her winsome lyricism which continues to be dynamic in its originally and the unique timbre of her feather light vocals. A gifted composer as well as musician, Zeiguer knows her voice the best and her arrangement seek to elevate instead of muddle it. "Bug" is a swift moving slice of breezy guitar pop with subtly deployed pockets of rich textural depths. Zeiguer's solo debut has been a long time coming and "Bug" shows that she fully intends to make the most of it.



Renata Zeiguer's debut full length Old Ghost is out February 23rd on Northern Spy.