There aren’t that many solo violinists who take to soul music. Off the top of my head I can think of Noel Pointer and Chelsy Green – if you know more we’d love to know. Whatever, to that list we can now add NYC based singer/songwriter/violinist ALEXVNDRIA (born Alexandria Hill).
The young artist took up the violin at junior school but it wasn’t until high school where she found an afterschool programme dedicated to classical chamber music; it was then that she decided what she wanted to do : – music performance. So, Alexvndria went on to study violin at college after which she worked as a professional classical violinist in orchestras from around the US including The Recollective Orchestra and the Civic Orchestra of Chicago.
However, during the pandemic lockdowns Alexvndria had to find other ways to make music. Thus, she found that singing gave her a form of expression which she couldn’t achieve on the violin. So for the last two years, Alexvndria worked hard learning the craft of songwriting and now she’s confident enough to release her first vocal music in the form of 5 track EP, ‘Hopeless Romantic’ which wins release in February, though the lead single, a gentle neo-soul ‘Twilight’,’ is already winning support.
Indeed early previews of the ‘Hopeless Romantic’ EP reveal that neo-soul is the music road that Ms A has chosen to go down. Indeed one the EP’s focus cuts is cover of Jill Scott’s ‘He Loves Me’ which is given a full, lush production. It’s a soulful, slow burner and Alexvndria says: “Neo Soul deeply influenced my expectations of romance, so it felt fitting to pick a song from the genre that portrays a good and healthy love.”
The EP’s two other songs are a sweet Latin-tinged, ‘Silly Me’ and the emotion-tugging Stay”. This one portray a relationship in which the protagonist waits too long for their partner to say I love you for the first time. “Will you say you love me? Will you stay forevermore? I know I gave my heart too soon, but don’t leave me wanting more. This feeling I keep inside can only live alone for so long, and when I look into your eyes they tell me you don’t want to go.” Proper grown up soul music with a perfectly matched, expressive violin solo at the end. Lovely! The mini album is rounded off with a brief violin masterclass, ‘Epigraph ‘.
Alexvndria’s debut EP ‘Hopeless Romantic’ is released February 9th; the single ‘Twilight’ released 23rd January.
