Blending acoustic arrangements alongside subtle introspective vocals, "Eleven Continents" is the first offering from multi-instrumentalist Ryan Francesconi (RF) and vocalist Lili De La Mora. In the spirit of collaboration, both decided to invite a few friends to contribute to the record. The addition of Familiar Trees' vocalist Fabiola Sanchez adds a warmth and conversational aspect to the lyrics, while Joanna Newsom's harp adds a resonance to Francesconi's arrangements of cello, viola, winds and subtle percussion. While the arrangements and textures are reminiscent of his releases under the RF moniker, much of the electronic aspect of his other music has been replaced by the breathy tone and sincerity of Lili De La Mora's lyrics.
"In addition to Ryan Francesconi's deftly picked guitar and Lili De La Mora's breathy voice, wisps of cello, trumpet, flute, and harp drift through the album gentle as a breeze, never upsetting its delicate balance. The result is music that moves efficiently without sounding hollow and artificial, music that is full of embellishment while sounding neither gaudy nor ostentatious. The album's finest moments, though, come when the silvery tones of Joanna Newsom's harp join the mix. The album's title track unfurls to reveal a rushing, ever-growing spiral of graceful guitars, playful harp strings, and fragile, pensive vocals. Every note sounds as if it has been bathed in silvery twilight." - Jason Morehead, OpusZine
You guys got any gigs coming up? I'm going to be in the States in a couple of weeks Would love to see you play live. Would love to open for you! I just do solo vocals and guitar, I have a couple of songs on my page. Peace. xxx
Thank you for a good performance yesterday. It is wonderful to create such the beautiful world only with an acoustic guitar and the song. Thank you for performing my favorite tune "Eleven Continents". Thank you for answering the encore. I want to go to the show next time.
You made our 2007 list...I know we never got to properly review your cd, and I apologize for that, but it was certainly one of the best CD's we heard all year. Thanks. Beautiful work...
