GRAMMY-recognised, artist and songwriter, Starita returns with an elevating and heartening remix of Seán Johnson & The Wild Lotus Band’s ‘Dark Night’ – a raw adaptation of loss and the light of new beginnings.
Collaborating with many legends in the scene including A Tribe Called Quest, Childish Gambino, Los Amigos Invisibles, Michael Franti & Spearhead and more, multi-faceted artist and songwriter, Starita, is a well-established talent that continues to prove his discography breaks the ‘rules’ of genres whilst offering a note of spirituality and innovation with a unique blend of electronic and acoustic instrumentations.
This November welcomes the arrival of Starita’s remix of Seán Johnson & The Wild Lotus Band’s eclectic ‘Dark Night’, originally released on his Be Still Records imprint in 2021 from the album ‘Mystery’. The original track was made in memory of Seán Johnson’s brother Jeremy, offering up a heartfelt affair surrounding the unexpected turns of grief.
Opening with melancholic synths, blissful melodies and organic percussion, Starita’s remix of ‘Dark Night’ provides listeners with a truly atmospheric and emphatic affair. Johnson revisited the vocal work on the song with a more heartfelt approach and the painful step of revisiting his loss in order to re-track the vocals; providing listeners with a renewed message of turning pure darkness into light from the aftermath of loss.
Forming a friendship with Johnson and intuitively understanding the emotional weight of the project, Starita broached the idea of a remix. The ‘New Dawn’ remix marks the passage of grief into the light of new beginnings, a hopeful dawn at the end of a long night, and the passage of sorrow into a celebration of things to come.
For Starita, it’s been a labour of love and a sincere message of hope as a gift to a grieving family. For Johnson, it perhaps symbolises the approaching end of grief’s long journey.
“I hope that the song is a vehicle for people to tap into their own grief,” says Johnson, “and instead of feeling paralyzed by it, to move, to dance, to find a way to express it that feels healing and liberating.” – Seán Johnson
But along came one of those unexpected turns. A thought, then a persistent question, entered Starita’s mind. What comes next? After loss, and after grief, is there a place for joy? That spark of inspiration set the tone for the remix.
“Instead of a circle of grief expressed sonically, I began to produce sounds that led to an intense release of energy, like a rebirth. You will hear it in the song; it starts with the quiet, introspective tone of one entering an unfamiliar world, but the energy increases to an exploratory mode, and then grows into a triumphant celebration.” – Starita
Spiritually connected, Starita and Johnson’s collaboration showcases the alluring and comforting side of the afterlife. Seán Johnson and The Wild Lotus Band’s releases are cross-cultural and spiritual; filtered through the depth, sincerity and soul of their American and ancestral roots. The remix of ‘Dark Night’ unveils a track with power, passion and shared expressions from the highly-impressive Starita, Seán Johnson and The Wild Lotus Band and is destined to resonate with listeners across the globe.
Deeply rooted within the music scene, his work has reached #1 on Billboard’s Top 200 chart, GRAMMY for Best New Age, and nominated for Best Latin Urban/ Alternative and Song Of The Year in the Latin Grammy Awards, Starita is accomplished in songwriting and production.