“For a son, a father’s death is often the end of innocence, and the illusions that come with it,” says Alex Henry Foster. The loss of his own father prompted him to hole up in Morocco, trying to make sense of his loss and the ways that the world felt differently. This moment became “emotional detox” and led him to the songs that would compose his debut solo album “Windows in the Sky”.
After releasing his first solo album, Alex Henry Foster was invited to play at the Festival International de Jazz de Montréal for the 40th anniversary as one of the indoor main features, on July 5, 2019. The concert that was to be a one-off happening, a homage to Foster’s late father, who had died almost 5 years prior, almost to the day of the event became one of the very few sold-out representations the festival had over the years.
“My vision to preserve the integrity of the songs from being played over and over was a son’s ultimate attempt to keep a part of his father alive. But that night, I realized that it’s once communed that every word and sound has the ability to grow beyond the emotions they were created from, making them somehow eternal… just like my father.”
– Alex Henry Foster
On January 29, 2022, Alex held viewing sessions of the entire concert that became Standing Under Bright Lights, during which he added his own commentary and also answered your questions.
This concert, the first one the artist ever played under his own name, was a very personal one, and the ongoing conversation around it gave it a whole new dimension.
The streams are still available on YouTube.
Originally set to be released on October 8th of 2020, which would have been his father’s birthday, Foster decided to utilize the extra time the worldwide pandemic would give him to produce the album “Standing Under Bright Lights” featuring the never-released song “The Son of Hannah” with Ben Lemelin, his longtime creative partner and co-producer on “Windows in the Sky”.
Vinyl Vault
The Son of Hannah Lathe-Cut LP
Originally released on June 2, 2021, signed and numbered, every lathe-cut LP features the song The Son of Hannah (Live from Festival International de Jazz de Montréal, July 5, 2019) on side A, and a silkscreen print on side B. Everything has been entirely made in The Fabrik, Foster’s creative atelier located in his studio, a former catholic church on the outskirt of Montreal. Every LP is made by hand, one after the other, and is as such a unique make of art every time.
Includes
– 1 clear heavyweight silkscreen printed lathe cut 12” record
– Signed and numbered limited edition of 200 copies
– 1 hand-printed silkscreen jacket
– 1 digital download card
Track Listing
1. The Son of Hannah (Live from Festival International de Jazz de Montréal, July 5, 2019)