Composer/Pianist Summer Swee-Singh Premieres New Single "JFN (with Prelude)"

Summer Swee-Singh is a real dynamo. Having performed in front of audiences as large as 10,000 people, this composer, pianist, and music arranger strives to be a powerful female voice in today's music industry. Today she releases her new single "JFN (with Prelude)."

The track is a new version of her previously released solo piano composition "JFN," which was featured on her 2016 debut album. "JFN (with Prelude)" is a compelling dedication that speaks clearly and beautifully to listeners and draws them in to discover the story it has to tell.

"The letters of the song title 'JFN' are actually my boyfriend's initials and that song is dedicated to him," Swee-Singh explained to Musical Notes Global. "I wrote 'JFN' in early March 2016 while visiting my parents house, sitting at the same piano on which I grew up learning and practicing, with Jeff (my boyfriend of almost five years) laying on the floor listening to me play around with different chord progressions and melodies while I recorded everything with voice memos on my phone..."

Swee-Singh, who graduated from UC Berkeley with a degree in Legal Studies and a minor in Music, said she never took any formal composition or harmony theory courses, so "...'JFN' is the culmination of my learning to compose by ear through a combination of musical trial and error," she explained, "and me listening to and analyzing everything from Beethoven, Rachmaninoff, and Chopin, to Hans Zimmer, James Newton Howard, Joachim Horsley, and Brian Tyler, to my favorite bands such as Muse, Thrice, and Ratatat. (Yes I do recognize the lack of female influences in that list)."

Nine months after she wrote "JFN," in December 2016, she decided to add a twist to the original solo composition. She then brought in an all-female crew of additional musicians to help her revive the track. "...I wanted to compose a string trio prelude to 'JFN' in a Baroque, polyphonic style, and also decided to add Fingal's Cave-esque running strings to accompany the final reprise of the theme of 'JFN' on the piano; I re-recorded this new audio...and then a music video for it the following day with a handful of some marvelous, female string players."

Social media continues to prove itself as a powerful networking tool in today's world, and Swee-Singh has taken advantage of this to help her pursue her dreams. She told Musical Notes Global that she connected with all of the musicians who are featured on "JFN (with Prelude)" through Facebook. "While in 2017, we struggle to find a good balance between our lives spent online versus real life, I've found Facebook to be an incredible networking tool that has allowed me to connect with musicians across the planet with whom I otherwise might not have been able to work," she said. "In this day and age, you can find a musician online, visit her website to watch her performance videos and read her biography, and decide whether or not to contact them regarding contracting them for a project. While I had previously met all (and even previously worked with some) of the other California based musicians for my project, I connected with New York-based violinist Francesca Dardana via Facebook...I ended up flying her out to LA for two days to be a part of my audio and video recordings...Her tone on the violin is exquisite and her touch on the instrument truly allows it to 'sing'."

Playing alongside Summer and Francesca are also accomplished musicians Brita Tastad, Michelle Packman, Yu-Ting Wu, Simone Deleon-Pina, and Miren Edelstein. "I am honored to have worked with such hardworking and gifted string players and am delighted to feature a crew of all female musicians in my music video," Swee-Singh said. "This project has been especially significant to me because its final product--this music video for 'JFN (with Prelude)'--is, in my opinion, a gorgeous medium to showcase and share the first piece I have written that truly demonstrates my developing 'voice' and sound as an emerging composer."

Thanks to Symphonic distribution, the single is now available for purchase or to stream on over 50 platforms worldwide, including iTunes, Beatport, Amazon, Spotify, Google Play, Deezer, YouTube Red, and more. Get the music video on YouTube/VEVO, Tidal, and iTunes.

For all of Summer Swee-Singh's latest news and updates, follow her on social media:

Facebook: facebook.com/ssweesingh

Instagram: @summersweesingh

Website: summersweesingh.com

 

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