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Caroline Shawâs itemized accomplishments are many: sheâs composed celebrated works for vocal and string ensembles, helped to shape Kanye Westâs
The Life of Pablo, and in 2013, she won a Pulitzer Prize in music for
Partita for 8 Voices, becoming the youngest person ever to do so. Though her definitive
Partita is a stunning display of human voices in motion, Shaw has never been the lead vocalist herself on an album; she appears most often as a composer, violinist, or ensemble member.
But with
Let the Soil Play Its Simple Part, her second album of the year with the exploratory New York ensemble SÅ Percussion, Shaw centers herself in a project that captures her earthy inspirations while flexing her capacity for sparkling compositions. Across 10 songs, Shaw gathers some common threads of her musicârhythm and air, literary inspirations, hymnsâinto a singular work that feels like a gentle invitation to listeners who may not yet recognize the strength of her combined powers.