CARM – “Tapp” (Feat. Shara Nova) & “Soft Night”

CARM – “Tapp” (Feat. Shara Nova) & “Soft Night”

CJ Camerieri, the co-founder of the contemporary classic ensemble yMusic and inveterate collaborator who’s arranged and contributed horns to music from Bon Iver, Paul Simon, the National, and Sufjan Stevens, is releasing his debut album under the name CARM in January. But it’s far from a solo affair — Ryan Olson of Gayngs and Poliça produced the self-titled LP, and the star-studded tracklist is glittering with indie heroes including Sufjan.

We’ve already heard a couple tracks from CARM, “Already Gone” sung by Yo La Tengo’s Georgia Hubley and Ira Kaplan and “Land” with Justin Vernon. And today he’s sharing two more, including “Tapp,” which features My Brightest Diamond’s Shara Nova on vocals and guitar and synth from Mark McGee and Justin Vernon.

“I am careful to protect the listener’s point of view, and the ambiguity of the work,” Nova says. “It means what it means to me, but I am uninterested in prescribing meaning. The ambiguity is perhaps the easiest opening door for the listener.” Camerieri adds, “We knew she’d sing something beautiful over the horns, but we never could have imagined how powerful and timely the message of this song would be,” says CARM.

The other song out today is the instrumental “Soft Night.” “This is one of the first songs Ryan Olson and I made together and it serves as the benchmark sound of the CARM project — melodic brass used as the fundamental building block of the music, occupying the spaces normally reserved for guitars, bass, keyboards, and of course melody,” Camerieri explains. Listen to “Tapp” and “Soft Night” below.

CARM is out 1/22 on 37d03d. Preorder it here.

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