Mary Lattimore’s music exists somewhere far above us. The angelic tones emanating from her Lyon & Healy harp, often looped live through a Line 6 DL4 pedal, are at once distinct and eternally familiar. Once you start an album it’s hard to turn off. Blending her classical background with the experimental spirit of indie rock, Mary has collaborated with a slew of producers and artists to bring the harp into the modern landscape. I called her at home in Los Angeles, where she recently recorded her new album for Ghostly International between film scoring projects and tour dates.
Tell me about your new album.
It’s called Goodbye, Hotel Arkada, and it’s once again on Ghostly International. I did this one a bit differently – usually I go for a feeling without editing or getting too precious about it. For this one, the songs took me a little bit longer to polish up. I recorded in my home studio and then took it over to producer Rob Schnapf [Tape Op #9] here in L.A. at his Mant Sounds studio. We took a couple of days to add overdubs, synths, and tidy up the songs before it was ready to be mixed.
Who mixed it?
I mixed it with Trevor Spencer at Way Out Recording Studio near Seattle. Alex [Scally] from Beach House suggested him, and we worked remotely. He didn’t really do anything heavy-handed, but I told him where to bring out different instruments and he understood what I was going for. We got along great, and I’d love to work with him again.
Are there any guests on the record?
The first song is my friend Meg Baird [of Espers] singing and Walt McClements [of Weyes Blood] playing accordion through effects. It's really droney, and saturated with gorgeous colors. I visited Meg at her magical place in Arcata, California, and Ben Chasny [of 6 Organs of Admittance] came over to record her vocals. The second song, “Arrivederci,” features synths from a hero of mine, Lol Tolhurst [of The Cure]. He said the song reminded him of being a child on the beach. “Blender in a Blender” features New Zealand guitar player Roy Montgomery. We became pen pals when I was in Wyoming at an artist residency. We’d sent files back and forth, but I lost the stems and only had this unfinished demo. Rob and I filled it out – I'm grateful to him for digging in with me and helping me get it into a good place. Rachel Goswell [of Slowdive] sings on the closing track, and Samara Lubelski plays some cool droning violin. I met Samara around 2010 when we were playing with Thurston Moore. There's even a bonus track (for Japan) featuring Bill Nace, who's a really mind-bending guitar player.
Wow, that’s a lot of legends!
I often think about little teen Mary in her room, or awkward college age Mary, what she was listening to. Man, she would be happy! To hear how her harp is mixing in with her heroes' voices is the ultimate beautiful dream come true.
How did you first acquire your harp?
I don't want to sound like a brat, but I have two. [laughs] I’ve had the 47 string Lyon & Healy since I was a kid, and that will always be my baby. I won a Pew Fellowship in Philly in 2014, and I decided it would be a good investment to buy a harp in Europe, so that harp lives in Brussels. I put a nice pickup in it, and I use it when I tour there. It's made it so much easier because harps are so precious. For the person who owns it, it's probably their favorite thing in the world, so asking to borrow one or rent one from another harpist was not sometimes possible. I got tired of scrambling, and I knew that this was going to serve future Mary well. It's also there if other harpists want to use it. I'm just trying to spread around good karma.
What exposure did you have to music in North Carolina? Were you inspired by the traditional music of the Happy Valley?
I grew up in Asheville, but went to high school in Shelby, which is where Earl Scruggs is from. When my grandad passed away, my parents moved to his farm. My dad is now a cattle farmer, and my mom has a harp studio there on the farm, and she teaches a lot of students....
