Song Of The Week: 'Renaissance' By San Fermin

This week, NPR Music writer and editor Stephen Thompson introduces us to the song “Renaissance” by the Brooklyn band San Fermin.

According to Thompson, San Fermin is the “brain child of a classically-trained 24-year-old composer and pianist named Ellis Ludwig-Leone.”

For this band, Leone recruited singer and longtime friend Allen Tate, along with two female vocalists, Jess Wolfe and Holly Laessig, both of whom also sing in another band from Brooklyn called Lucius.

Together, these three singers and pianist have created music that can inspire.

“San Fermin is one of the most inventive new bands I’ve heard in ages. Its songs are stuffed with all these swells and surprises and hairpin turns, but it’s not really showoff, it’s not technique for the sake of technique. It can be grandiose and inspiring or it can be gloomy or simply pretty. And it can bring out the sudden little bursts of emotion when you least expect them,” Thompson said.

• More song recommendations from Stephen Thompson

Guest

• Stephen Thompson, editor and reviewer for NPR music. He tweets @idislikestephen.

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