It’s no surprise Luke Seomore has an ear for cinematic music given he’s also a celebrated filmmaker. When not working on feature films, music videos, television or art installations he makes music under the moniker of Blessed are the Hearts that Bend, creating deeply textural, detailed and engulfing instrumental music that often feels like it’s plucked straight from the screen. “It’s like a soundtrack to a non-existent film,” he says. “Listeners can create the film in their head as the album washes over you – a film without pictures.”
The album came to life in a very intimate and isolated manner. “Some of the demos were written when I had to isolate with Covid in a hotel room on the edge of a desert,” he recalls. “It came as a reaction to the void that we were all feeling – but it’s not a Covid album. I wanted it to be something more universal than that. The album is an antidote to loneliness, exploring the contradiction that you can be in love or living in a bustling city but still feel alone. It tries to elevate or battle against those feelings through the atmosphere and flow of the songs.”
These themes are also ones linked to our ever-increasing time wrapped up in a digital world. “In Patricia Lockwood’s book ‘No One Is Talking About This’ she writes so beautifully about modern existence, about our digital lives and that sense of being lost in the void of the internet,” he says. “The idea of isolation in the album is also about being saturated by an online existence and how you can become engulfed. I wanted the songs to have this tangible, tactile quality to break through that, voices and light that can liberate you from the repetitive perpetual scroll.”
While traditionally this has been a solo project for Seomore, on this album he brought in a wider pool of collaborators. Such collaborators include Nashville guitarist Luke Schneider (Third Man Records), Emma Smith, who is part of Jarvis Cocker‘s new band JARV IS and Italian cellist Belaqua Shua.
Unfolding over one day, Cactus explores a multitude of lives across the capital, revealing unseen and hidden moments of introspection and connection. A visual representation of devotion, this is a celebration of daily life in all its messy humanity.
“I wanted this song to capture that sense of connection to someone, a deep bond you experience no matter how many miles are between you. Cactus reveals that feeling of something embracing you, holding you tight, the swirl of emotions, that can engulf you in a beautiful, ecstatic manner.”
Tracklist
1.Present
3.I feel weird all the time
4.Altered Alters
5.The Flood
6.The Pines are laughing
7.Staeee
8.A perfect circle
9.Minor Rejoice
Follow Blessed Are The Hearts That Bend:
Instagram / Twitter / Bandcamp / Spotify
