Bio:
Geist feels like a window - or a mirror - into possibilities of the self and beyond. SHANNON LAY’s new album is tender intensity, placeless and ethereal. It exists in the chasms of the present -- a world populated by shadow selves, spiritual awakenings, déjà vu, and past lives.

“Something sleeps inside us,” LAY insists on the opening track, and that’s the guiding philosophy throughout. A winding, golden, delicate thread of intuition that explores the unknown, the possibility. As a whole, Geist is both esoteric and accessible. Its title, Geist, the German word for spirit, is rife with an otherworldly presence, the suggestion of another. The promise that you are never alone.

LAY tracked vocals and guitar at Jarvis Tavinere of Woods’s studio, then sent the songs out to multi-instrumentalists Ben Boye (Bonnie Prince Billy, Ty Segall) in Los Angeles and Devin Hoff (Sharon Van Etten, Cibo Matto) in New York; trusting their musical instincts and intuition. She then sent those recordings to Sofia Arreguin (Wand) and Aaron Otheim (Heatwarmer, Mega Bog) for additional keys, while Ty Segall contributed a guitar solo on “Shores.”

"It’s impossible to overstate just how beautiful the song is, Lay’s voice woven into transcendent harmonies as her patient but insistent acoustic guitar loops itself into a kind of instrumental mantra. Glistening keys and handclaps play around the edges, shading in new colors without ever disturbing the serenity of repetition. If this is what change sounds like, it’s easy to look forward to whatever’s next on the horizon for Lay."
[“Rare To Wake"] - Stereogum

"Geist already feels like a special record, emerging from a global struggle with something rich and optimistic, a reminder of the power of creativity and our ability to adapt."
[“Awaken and Allow”/”Geist”] - For The Rabbits