…Solitary, flawed and still, CHRISTINA WHEELER Asleep at the Wheel
Christina Wheeler – Asleep at the Wheel is available at Bandcamp, Spotify, more.
by Walter Price
The forthcoming LP, ‘Songs of S + D’, from multifaceted Berlin-based performer Christina Wheeler is inspired by an event that affected millions around the world and left indelible memories of destruction and loss. We all have our personal experiences formed from the events of 9/11, but if you were in New York City or the surrounding Boroughs on that fateful morning, the ordeal is near indescribable.
In a quote provided to the GTC, Wheeler shares the backstory for the new album, “It’s a deeply personal album long time in the making. Inspired by my experience of having lived through 9/11 in New York City and the subsequent attempt to negotiate the aftermath of that time once I moved to Berlin, I began to write a series of songs addressing the larger human experience of life, loss, joy, ecstasy, sadness, and the connecting, universal condition, framed through the context of vivid, intimate vignettes.”
To introduce you to her inspired album, Wheeler has dropped a vast new single called “Asleep at the Wheel”. The songwriter is calling her individual style of alt-pop, “Soul-gaze”, and it’ll make sense once you hear the multi-layered sound she’s crafted. On this single, imagine if Grace Slick and Siouxsie Sioux were producing a Bond theme for a Broadway production. Drama, intrigue, like dagger lyrics, psychedelic, and that unforgettable beat all melded together to form this track’s extraordinary originality.
Facing the horror of the world
Is hard enough to do
Facing yourself and all you hate
Is even harder still
For the open, empty spaces
Just leave you
With you
(and you and you and you and you… )
So, I try to stand here awake
Solitary, flawed, and still
But the lure still tempts me
To close my eyes, and
Dream my dreams
Asleep at the wheel…
I was on the Brooklyn Q the morning of 9/11. Being ushered off the train and up to street-level just after the first plane hit the North Tower. And the memories are still as strong today as they’ve ever been. And, for me, it’s a beautiful thing that Christina Wheeler is using her journey and artistry to not only remind us of all that chaos and its varying after-effects but to let us all know that expressing yourself can be healing as well.
‘Songs of S + D’ is expected on March 22, 2022, via Bamboula Audio.
CHRISTINA WHEELER Asleep at the Wheel
Article cover photo by Barron Claiborne // Album photography by Coco Haus // Quotes courtesy of Big Hassle PR
Songs of S + D
Written and Produced by Christina Wheeler
Mixed by Scotty Hard, Duro Studios, NYC
Mastered by Michael Fossenkemper, Turtletone Studios, NYC
Christina Wheeler: voice, autoharp, mbira, QChord, Polychord, loops, effects
Marque Gilmore: drums, drum programming, and production
Melvin Gibbs: bass
Marika Hughes: cello
Joe McGinty: keyboards
Kelvin Sholar: synth bass
Recorded by: Christian Prommer, Red Bull Studios, Berlin;
Chris Tabron and Evan Sutton, Red Bull Studios, New York
Production Editing: Louis McGuire, Simon Goff, JB Saboira
Video credits: Conceived by Christina Wheeler
Created by Steve Nalepa, in collaboration with Christina Wheeler
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“While technology continues to evolve, the human voice remains constant in the singing of songs. With this project, I hope to share modern music with the world that speaks to our universal experiences and connect us through the simple, evocative themes in the narrative and emotional content of my songs.” – C. Wheeler