Singer, Songwriter and Multi-instrumentalist, Dot Allison Closes 2021 With Vinyl Release of
Critically Acclaimed Album Heart-Shaped Scars and
Premieres Lyric Video for album track “Constellations”
Purchase Heart-Shaped Scars Vinyl Here
Watch Lyric Video for “Constellations” Here
Photo Credit: Maria Mochnacz
"Constellations" is very dream-like and has the pure ability to take the listener on a journey between time and space."
- MXDWN
Today, Dot Allison releases the vinyl version of her critically acclaimed album Heart-Shaped Scars. To coincide with the long-awaited vinyl release of the album, Dot is also releasing a lyric video for the album favorite “Constellations".
Framed by a backdrop of exquisitely sparse and intoxicating dream-folk, Heart-Shaped Scars is Dot Allison’s most personal record to date. By combining all of Dot’s primary fascinations - music, literature, science, and nature - Heart-Shaped Scars houses deeply personal and moving lyrics about the human relationship with nature and the earth within - lush, ethereal soundscapes of folk music previously unexplored in Dot’s long career as a musician.
Of all the songs on Heart-Shaped Scars, perhaps none better reflect Dot’s introspective philosophy of the universe than “Constellations,” which has just received a new lyric video that can be viewed here . ‘Constellations,” like all of the songs on Heart-Shaped Scars, is poignantly written with beautiful lyrics that explore the heart of the natural wonders and curiosities of the world. Of her inspiration for writing “Constellations,” Dot says, “I am interested in reading about Quantum Physics and research into our universe possibly being trans-dimensional and that this experience may be more of a Quantum shadow. I knew when I read of the likelihood of there being multiverses that I wanted to use the world multiverse in a song, so I managed to get it into this one. I like the single piano notes to signify stars and the random-seeming positioning of the stars and notes correlating. I like the idea of two lovers being at different parts of the universe but sharing the view of a constellation of stars as they gaze up at the sky from their different locations.”
Heart-Shaped Scars is an album that utilizes powerful visual imagery through its sound, and there is no better representation of this than being able to physically hold the record in its new, beautiful green double vinyl format and watching the lyric video for “Constellations.” The album’s visual beauty is also explored in the lyric and music videos for the tracks “Long Exposure,” “Can You Hear Nature Sing?,” and the video directed by PJ Harvey's visual collaborator Maria Mochnacz for “One Love.”
About Dot Allison:
Dot Allison will always be identified with the band that initially launched her, One Dove, whose Andy Weatherall-produced album Morning Dove White became a downbeat electronic landmark, but her own albums and collaborations amount to a much more significant body of work, with a commanding range across genres and narrative ambition. “The records that I have made were more like a window into my world,” she says. None more so than her first album in 12 years -- Heart-Shaped Scars. Tranquil in sound and passionate in spirit it's Allison’s most personal record yet. Framed by a backdrop of exquisitely sparse and intoxicating dream-folk and Allison’s vocal at its most ethereal, the album is, she reveals about “Love, loss and a universal longing for union that seems to go with the human condition.”
Since her debut solo album Afterglow in 1999, Allison has strived to keep the listener on a journey – and herself too. She revolts against what she has done before, to evolve and not just occupy the same space. That journey has taken her from Afterglow’s broad church (trip-hop, Tim Buckley-esque ballads, dance tracks, chilled psychedelia) to the sultry synth-pop of We Are Science (2002), the lush, baroque Exaltation Of Larks (2007) and the eclectic, rootsy drama of Room 7½ (2009). The range of guest stars on Allison’s records is equally broad: where else would you find a cast list that includes Kevin Shields, Hal David, Paul Weller, Pete Doherty and Darren Emerson. Likewise, Allison’s own guest roles with the likes of Massive Attack, Scott Walker, Slam, Philip Shepard, The Babyshambles & Pete Doherty, underlining the huge respect her peers hold her in.
Allison also hears elements of The Wicker Man film soundtrack (she once sung ‘Gently Johnny’ at Glastonbury) and the influence of folk-minded artists in her record collection, such as Linda Perhacs, Karen Dalton, Gene Clark, Neil Young, Joni Mitchell, Carole King, Nick Drake, Opal, Mazzy Star, Brian Wilson and, most poignantly, the late Andy Weatherall. “Andy championed, signed and mentored me,” she says. “He gave me so many compilations that broadened my musical tastes… I hear his influence throughout all of my albums.”
Heart-Shaped Scars may have the richness and metaphorical depth of poetry but it’s balanced out by classic tropes of singer-songwriters through the ages. The sentiments behind ‘Cue The Tears’, ‘Love Died In Our Arms’ and ‘Goodbye’ are direct appeals from the heart; melodically too, they chime with torch-singing and soul traditions. Allison’s father was a botanist, and her mother a musician; eventually, the DNA of music took this former bio-chemistry student in a very different direction – and with good reason too. “To me, music is a sort of tonic or an antidote to a kind of longing, for a while at least,” she concludes.
Heart-Shaped Scars has that very same impact: an antidote to stress, a beautiful, restorative and inspiring balm for these times.
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