The four singers who make up säje — Erin Bentlage, Sara Gazarek, Johnaye Kendrick, and Amanda Taylor — collectively possess an extravagant degree of vocal and harmonic expertise. So what happens when you add some Mayo, as in Michael Mayo, to the mix? One answer can be found in the group’s new single, “(You Are) The Oracle.”
WRTI is proud to premiere a video for the song created by Phil Beaudreau, who also made the cover art. Featuring an animation that presents the singers in a shifting astral picture, the video mirrors a message of oracular self-discovery in the song lyrics.
This song “was our first mid-pandemic original composition,” säje explains in a statement. “We watched so many of our loved ones, our students, ourselves navigate fatigue, fear, and anxiety surrounding during that time, and wanted to find a voice for the experience of realizing that all of the answers we are looking for are within us. We are ALL the oracle of our own lives.”
Regarding Mayo, who provides a characteristically fearless scat solo on the track, the group adds: “He did so much more than improvise; he found the perfect musical moments to turn säje, an ensemble of four voices, into an ensemble of five. He immersed himself in such a special way that it is nearly impossible to imagine ‘(You Are) The Oracle’ without him. He's such a FORCE!”
The first full-length album by säje is finally on the near horizon; “(You Are) The Oracle” is its second single, following a track titled “As This Moment Slips Away,” featuring drummer Terri Lyne Carrington). For more information, visit säje online.