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LINER NOTES

“1942” was the first song that appeared for Ten Million Miles. By 2019 both of my parents had passed on. The family piano I took lessons on as a kid — an old Wurlitzer spinet made in 1942 — arrived at my studio after Jim Wilson (LA Piano Service) restored it and gave it new life — and new tricks — like soft hammers and a felt mechanism for muting the instrument. In the first 30 minutes alone with the piano, I hit “record,” and out came this piano improvisation in one piece.

I reached out to Hannah Rose Lewis, whom I met via her mother, famed session cellist Paula Hochhalter. I was immediately intoxicated by Hannah’s sound and musical depth and felt she would be the perfect person to collaborate with not only on the melody but on the lyric as well. The result ties together recent instability, the traumas of 1942, my childhood piano reflections and the final key inspiration – the late Jeremy Lubbock’s “How Many Lives To Go” – sung by Chaka Khan, which may be the most potent recording of any type I’ve ever known.

Grant Fonda, who scored haunting string lines, along with performances by Luanne Homzy (vln, vla) and Charlie Tyler (vc) wonderfully helped realize the mood and crescendo I heard in my head. Mixing was a journey including a 7.1.4 Dolby Atmos mix (an experience in itself), but the sound still packs a punch in the Binaural output. Please note there is a lot of dynamic range, and that is intentional. It makes me happy to hear the soft and the loud of it all, something that is harder and harder to find these days.

Don’t miss Hannah’s video performance – I’m so glad she was willing to perform this in such an intimate style – filmed point blank by Brandon Soriano. I think Hannah’s eyes convey it all.

CREDITS

Music and Lyrics | SCOTT FRANKFURT & HANNAH ROSE LEWIS
Vocals | HANNAH ROSE LEWIS
String Arrangement and Orchestration | GRANT FONDA
Violin & Viola | LUANNE HOMZY
Cello | CHARLIE TYLER
Piano, Synthesis | SCOTT FRANKFURT
Stereo and Atmos Mix | SCOTT FRANKFURT
Director of Photography | BRANDON SORIANO
Product Photography | VALERIE HERNANDEZ
SFS Production Staff | VALERIE HERNANDEZ & SHARON FRANKFURT
Album Artwork | JAVIER M.

© 2023 Scott Frankfurt (BMI) and Bleach Bros. Music (BMI), Hannah Rose Lewis
All Rights Reserved.
www.scotfrankfurtstudio.com