Lili Haydn – “Elephant Trapeze (Welcome to LiliLand) (ft. Blake Mills)” (audio) (Premiere)

George Clinton (of the Parliament Funkadelic fame) once called violinist and songwriter Lili Haydn “the Jimi Hendrix of the violin”, a compliment that’s as accurate as it is superlative. Hadyn’s skill with the bow and strings can be seen all throughout her latest outing, Lililand, which comprises 12 tracks that highlight her top-notch violin playing, honest lyricism, and musical creativity. (There’s a particularly brooding cover of Led Zeppelin‘s “Kashmir”, which takes to the violin quite well). Below you can stream “Elephant Trapeze”, Lililand‘s opening number.

Haydn describes the song to PopMatters, saying, “This song was written in one of those fanciful moments when even the dust mites are singing to you, and the playfulness and pathos run seamlessly into each other. Sometimes it’s not so seamless, and I feel like an elephant on a high-wire. This is LiliLand: simultaneously fantastic, ridiculous, soulful, and dangerous.”

Lililand is out on September 16th through MRI/Red.