Songs from a Social Distance

On a sunny, early summer's day in 2020 - the first summer season of the pandemic - author Roy Freirich drove from his home in Malibu, California, to his local post office to mail a book to his Faroese musician friend Teitur. But when he arrived and a postal worker informed him of the astronomical cost of shipping the book halfway around the world, he decided against it and drove home again - book-in-hand.

A different, more budget-friendly form of correspondence would continue between the two creative minds, involving the author sharing his life experiences during the pandemic. Passages from the emails were mined and refined by Teitur, who crafted them into lyrics and used them as inspiration for the music he wrote for the Aarhus Jazz Orchestra on their new collaborative album, SONGS FROM A SOCIAL DISTANCE. The writing process began in the tumultuous year of 2020, reflecting the then-current state of things – the first summer of the corona pandemic raging along with all of its frustrations, fears, insecurities, rules, and insistence

to keep a social distance. And of course, this was accompanied by Donald Trump's campaign forre-election and an extended period marked by political uprisings and protests on behalf of racial justice and equality.

The Aarhus Jazz Orchestra has played its way into a role as one of Denmark’s foremost professional big bands, whose mission is to push the boundaries of the big band genre, expanding and exploring its potential.

SONGS FROM A SOCIAL DISTANCE was recorded in the Aarhus Cathedral - a decision made deliberately in order to include the spatial sound of the location as a participant in the production. The aim is not to lift the listener up into the highest pitch.