Stereolab’s Laetitia Sadier on new track from Brazilian project Modern Cosmology: “It talks of trust in the innate intelligence that lies in nature itself.”
Debut album drops in May
Stereolab singer Laetitia Sadier has been speaking exclusively to Juno Daily about the Modern Cosmology project ahead of the release of their debut album.
They’ve shared the first track to emerge from the album, ‘A Time To Blossom’, which you can hear right here.
Sadier told us: “‘Time to Blossom’ talks of the sacredness of coming of age, sacred because of the self-knowledge and wisdom this phenomenon brings about. It talks of trust in the innate intelligence that lies in nature itself: the acorn will know by itself how to become an oaktree as this is its path. It takes us from the existential to the essential, inviting us to look inwards and see “what is essentially in” everything that passes.
“The song delves into the matters of the vital forces of spirit, Numa, the immaterial key to putting all elements the world in their due place, found in trust, the path to a life together and the agency of harmony.”
Modern Cosmoloyg is a musical ensemble composed of six individuals of the human race, none of which are cosmologists or astronomers, although Felipe S. – who shares singing duties with Sadier – knows quite a bit about reading astrological charts. He shares his frontperson duties with Sadier. one Laetitia Sadier who, by virtue of her singer-songwriter career both as a solo artist and as part of Stereolab, happens to be one of the key figures of her bandmates’ musical formation.
Their paths first crossed when Marcelo – also on guitars – lent his amp for some of Laetitia’s solo concerts in Brazil – under the condition that he got to meet his musical ido. Along came his brother Vicente – who plays the drums – and keyboardist Chiquinho. The four lads, plus Missionário José on bass, are collectively called Mombojó, an established band on the Brazilian alternative scene.
The band have put together a ten minute documentary to explain their origins.
Laetitia and Mombojó started collaborating, they first made a song called ‘Summer Long’ and then later an artistic residency in the northeast of Brazil which spawned four more songs, collected in an EP of the same name. It was while making this EP that Laetitia suggested that the collaboration turned into a band in its own right, and when the time came to send it out to the world they decided to present themselves as Modern Cosmology.
The forthcoming album What Will You Grow Now? started in late 2016 on a recording session Mombojó did on a motorboat up the Capibaribe river in their Recife hometown. The title track was recorded there and then during this fluvial jam session and the other backing tracks were recorded about a year later at a recording studio at the local University, after which Laetitia had a bunch of new material to add words and melodies to, from her Brazilian friends and bandmates with love. “Life happened, COVID happened”, new albums by Laetitia and Mombojó also happened, and between this and that Modern Cosmology managed to get six new tracks ready for release.
As the title teases, this album is about growth, deepening connections and strengthening bonds, about delving into the next chapter, about realising that now that we have drawn attention to a number of important issues and how we can avoid addressing them without falling in the same pits that we have before.
Pre-order your copy of What Will You Grow Now?, out on Stereolab’s Duophonic label on May 5, by clicking here