Music Existence Because of Music, We Exist
Regina Spektor’s seventh album Remember Us To Life is out now on Sire/Warner Bros. Records. In celebration of the release, the video for the track “Small Bill$,” directed by Steven Mertens, is premiering via YouTube:
“The ‘Small Bill$’ video takes place in a magical world of bears, nesting dolls and mermaids,” explains Spektor. “We had fun green screen filming and exploring hand drawn animation, hair and make up transformations. Steven Mertens (who happens to be an art friend all the way back from college days at SUNY Purchase, and played bass in the Moldy Peaches along with my husband Jack Dishel 🙂 ) directed it in LA. Hope you have fun watching it!”
Spektor recently performed her single “Bleeding Heart” on “The Late Show with Stephen Colbert” HERE and “Small Bill$” on “The Late Late Show with James Corden” HERE. Additionally, “Regina Spektor: A Soundstage Special,” an intimate 60-minute concert taped in July at Grainger Studio/WTTW Chicago, will air on PBS stations nationwide in October (check local listings). To preview the special, view her performance of “Bleeding Heart” HERE.
Spektor is also playing a run of sold out shows in select North American cities. See below for a complete list of dates.
The new LP marks Spektor’s first outing since 2012’s What We Saw From The Cheap Seats, which debuted at #3 on the Billboard Album Chart and her Grammy-nominated theme song “You’ve Got Time” for the hit Netflix show Orange Is The New Black. Spektor also recorded George Harrison’s classic “While My Guitar Gently Weeps” for the animated film Kubo and The Two Strings, which is in theaters now.
Remember Us To Life is composed entirely of all new songs recently written by Spektor, a change from past albums when she would record songs written throughout her career. Spektor gave birth to her first child in 2014 and she spent considerable time writing during and after her pregnancy. Says Spektor “I made more art and felt more inspired than I had in a long time.”
Spektor recorded with producer Leo Abrahams (David Byrne/Brian Eno, Frightened Rabbit, Paolo Nutini) in Los Angeles at The Village Studios. Says Spektor of Abrahams, “he is such a kind and talented musician. And person! I felt very grateful to work with him.”
Born in the Soviet Union, Spektor began studying classical piano when she was six. Her family emigrated in 1989, landing in New York City, where she continued her classical training. Spektor eventually studied composition at the Conservatory of Music at Purchase College where she graduated with honors. She began writing pop songs in her late teens and made her recorded debut in 2001 with the self-released 11:11, a collection of songs heavily influenced by jazz and blues. Songs followed in 2002 and Soviet Kitsch in 2004. Spektor’s commercial breakthrough came in 2006 on her fourth LP, Begin to Hope. The gold-certified album included the singles “On the Radio,” “Better” and “Fidelity,” which climbed the Billboard Hot 100 singles chart. Spektor’s fifth album, Far released in 2009, and sixth album, What We Saw From the Cheap Seatsreleased in 2012, both debuted at No. 3 on the Billboard 200 albums chart.
Spektor’s songs have appeared in TV shows and movies including Orange Is The New Black, Grey’s Anatomy,Weeds, How I Met Your Mother, Veronica Mars, The Good Wife and (500) Days of Summer. Spektor played for the Obamas and guests at the White House and performed as part of philanthropic campaigns for Tibet, Doctors Without Borders, and many more. Her most recent tours included her first concerts in her native Russia plus sold out shows at Radio City Music Hall in New York City, The Royal Albert Hall in London and two nights at Sydney Opera House in Australia.
