Cross Record – Led Through Life

Cross Record — the project of UK-based artist Emily Cross — unveils the new single/video “Led Through Life,” from her new album Crush Me, out March 21st via Ba Da Bing Records.

“Led Through Life” is simply mesmeric, driven by Cross’s bewitching voice. The track is beautifully detailed with clarinet, synth, and alluring ambient recordings. About the song, Cross muses: “One possibility regarding our experience here is that we are being led by unseen forces, perhaps an alien species. I am without a body. I can still see, but there is no time, only space. I am engulfed, maybe abducted from a beach somewhere. Something always pulls me back to this life into this body and I keep continuing on for now.” Although the video is simple, it’s visually and emotionally striking.

Crush Me is steeped in the pressures and wonders of existence—a profound statement, especially coming from artist and death doula Emily Cross. Cross began writing Crush Me fresh off a tour with Loma, but in the process, recording sessions resulted in fragmented work, label interest declined, and collaborators disappeared. Ben Goldberg at Ba Da Bing Records was eager to help realize the project. Cross continued working for months on the album, all the while nursing a pregnancy and continuing her full-time funeral work. The last minute participation of Seth Manchester of Machines with Magnets, who mixed and mastered, was an essential liferaft. Vitally, Crush Me explores how we handle the weights we carry, and has the effect of a spell being cast, with songs balancing heaviness and levity.

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