Today, Berlin/Los Angeles-based composer, multi-instrumentalist, and multimedia artist, Christina Wheeler, announces her hypnotic and intimate new LP, Songs of S + D, due out March 25, 2022, along with thrilling single, “Asleep at the Wheel,
” along with an official music video. After releasing an enchanting and intimate EP, That Was Then, This is Now in November 2021 that served as a prelude for what's to come, Wheeler now introduces a deeper dive into vulnerability with her signature blend of soul and shoe-gaze (or “soul-gaze”) sound culminating in a raw, electro-acoustic peak into the human experience.
Christina Wheeler is widely known for her iconic performances with David Byrne from his tour throughout the U.S., Europe and South America in 1997 and 1998, which brought her to The Late Night Show with David Letterman, where she made her television debut with Byrne. In addition to her appearance with Byrne on PBS’ Sessions at West 54th, Wheeler has recorded and played with countless musicians like Ryuichi Sakamoto, Chaka Khan, Vernon Reid, and more.
As a solo artist, Wheeler manages to brilliantly merge the worlds of electronic and acoustic with analog and digital electronic processing. Picking up where That Was Then, This Is Now left off, Wheeler continues to peel back layers of her conscience on Songs of S + D. Through twelve tracks, Wheeler illustrates the multifaceted human experience with profound exploration of love, heartbreak, growth, grief, and the fragility of life and its cycle.
“Asleep at the Wheel” opens the record capturing Wheeler's signature soul-gazer sound. Over sped-up sounds woven into New Orleans backbeats, a shifting blues progression cradles lyrics that swiftly puncture the surface. Wheeler's soulful vocals kick in with, “So, I try to stand here awake / Solitary, flawed, and still / But the lure still tempts me / To close my eyes, and / Dream my dreams / Asleep at the Wheel…”
Throughout much of her work, Wheeler explores the porous, delicate lines between universal dichotomies such as good and evil, life and loss, and elation and devastation. Speaking about the single, Wheeler says the track, “reveals the lures of living a full-throttle life to the point of destruction and the challenge of choosing to step away for grounded clarity, only to fight the temptation to return to thrilling yet ultimately dangerous downward spirals.”
The LP distinctively asks what it might sound like to fuse the sounds that surrounded Wheeler in her childhood, from soul, R&B, funk, disco and shoe-gaze. The album's recording process took place between Red Bull Studios in both Berlin and New York City, as well as Berlin’s Vox-Ton Studio. Wheeler expanded the record’s scope and quality with several collaborators including Melvin Gibbs, (electric bass) Marque Gilmore (drums, programmer) and Marika Hughes (cellist). Additionally, Joe McGinty and Kelvin Sholar added synths and synth bass lines, while Christian Prommer, Antonio Pulli, Simon Goff, Chris Tabron, and Evan Sutton engineered the recording. Veteran engineer Scotty Hard mixed the album, and Michael Fossenkemper mastered the digital version.
Describing the meaning behind her LP, Wheeler says, “It's a deeply personal album long time in the making. Inspired by my experience of having lived through 9/11 in New York City and the subsequent attempt to negotiate the aftermath of that time once I moved to Berlin, I began to write a series of songs addressing the larger human experience of life, loss, joy, ecstasy, sadness, and the connecting, universal condition, framed through the context of vivid, intimate vignettes.
With a unique vocal, musical and technological ability, Wheeler ultimately aims to connect listeners through finding common ground in the collective lived human experience. Wheeler explains, “While technology continues to evolve, the human voice remains constant in the singing of songs. With this project, I hope to share modern music with the world that speaks to our universal experiences and connect us through the simple, evocative themes in the narrative and emotional content of my songs.”
Wheeler's expansive career includes work as a soloist, band mate, featured artist, and even an immersive experience performer. As a soloist, Wheeler has composed and performed her own pieces for Free Rotation Festival and New York’s Experimental Intermedia, Issue Project Room, and Bang on a Can. Fact Magazine reported on her performance of one of her solo pieces called “Surrender to the Totality of Blackness,” which she presented at this year’s CTM Festival. Her journey also led her to collaborate on several band projects, including Wiremouth, Floating People, and BlowOut, in addition to her time with David Byrne.
Wrestling with existential questions and universal struggles matched with expertly crafted and unparalleled instrumentation, Christina Wheeler continues to blaze a path all her own. Songs of S + D is out March 25, 2022 and now available to pre-save. The first single, “Asleep at the Wheel” is out everywhere now. Stay tuned for more from Christina Wheeler. 
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