It’s hard to build on perfection, but that’s what Jana Pochop did when she enrolled in New York City’s Berklee College of Music. Pochop crafted one of my favorite albums of 2022, and I’m thrilled to share her new song “The Architect + The Artist” here. The skeletal melody slowly builds into something complex and enchanting — a tension illustrated by the song’s title. The technique is inspired by fellow New Mexican Georgia O’Keefe.
“While I was in New York I found myself even more homesick for the desert landscape and endless skies of my home state of New Mexico,” Pochop explains. “I decided to attempt to create a sonic landscape that emoted how those vast open spaces made me feel. My thesis project ended up revolving around Georgia O’Keeffe, and this song started with her essence and story in mind. Everything starts with simple shapes…paintings, songs, and even our relationships often start with simple building blocks that then get complicated the more we add to them.”
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