Spotted: Gifts From Crows – Remembering Who And What We Are (Redux)

Today I’m introducing you to the composer Richard Laurence and his project Gifts From Crows and the latest track Remembering Who And What We Are. Richard comes from Chester, an old Roman city in the north west of England. Gifts From Crows is a project where Richard releases his own music after not making music for 15 years.

What inspired me to start again was that I took possession of a beautiful piano that has been in generations of our family for 140 years. This was in 2015. Whilst I have never formally learnt how to play the piano, I used to write pieces on it as a teenager. Once it was returned to me I made the decision to learn to play it properly and underwent several years of intense practice and self tuition.

The track Remembering Who And What We Are was released as a single on the 4th of august.

Tell us something about your track Remembering Who And What We Are!
“Remembering Who and What We Are” is the first piece that got me back into the process of composing for multiple instruments. As such, the demo version was awash with drums, organs and a heraldic brass section 😉
A year later and with my taste-chip re-installed, I re-recorded the piece, starting with the piano and then building up the layers of chamber strings until I achieved the right balance between them. The piece was recorded during the enforced lockdown of the coronavirus pandemic. Like for many people, this period gave me time to really reflect on what was important in life and for me, that has always been music. 
The title of the piece hopefully encompasses that idea. Despite a 15 year break, music has always been a fundamental part of who I am and I needed to remember that in order to be true to myself. It has been a revelation actually and I am deeply grateful that the gift of being able to compose returned to me so effortlessly.
For these reasons, I wanted to release; “Remembering Who and What We Are”; as the first piece from an album entitled, “Holding a Thought Forever”.

Thank you very much for this Richard!

For more information, check out the following links:
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