The work of American singer-songwriter Becca Stevens is characterized by the wide variety of projects and lineups she works with. A good example is her album
Becca Stevens & The Secret Trio (2021), which she recorded with the Middle Eastern ensemble
The Secret Trio. Her collaboration with New York's Attaca Quartet - a string quartet that is primarily in the realm of modern classical music - has been
… even more challenging. She first worked with the foursome back in 2013. On that occasion she also met her future husband, Attacca viola player Nathan Schram. Prepared over several years, the album Stevens recorded with the string quartet contains mostly arrangements of Stevens' own songs, supplemented by a few covers, including the beautiful 2+2+5 by Radiohead. It's an ingenious and intelligent whole. In some passages, the vocal parts get completely tangled up with the complexity of the string arrangements, while the the strings magnify the lyrics and vocals of other pieces in a brilliant way. The conscious playing with this kind of abrasive textures makes it a record with great artistic richness, but requires the necessary effort on the part of the listener. (JV)more
