The harp has been a musical staple across civilisations from as far back as 3500 BC. Each culture that encountered it found a new expression for the instrument, infusing the harp’s diverse range of sounds into their folk music. The Welsh, among many others, took a strong liking to the harp, declaring it their national instrument.
The pantheon of Welsh harpists is packed with giants of the music world, and Amanda Whiting stands in line to carry forward their legacy while crafting her unique sound. Amanda began studying jazz at RWCMD in 2013, but she only shared her brilliance with the world in 2020 through her first EP, Little Sunflower.
Before that, Amanda pursued a career in classical music, performing only in concert halls. But 2021 and 2022 saw her selling out multiple events and releasing two more studio albums. Whiting’s newest album, The Liminality of Her, is a continuation of her venture into jazz-funk and grants us a front-row seat to her experiments with melodious harmonies and complex rhythms.
Listening to The Liminality of Her, you see a glimpse of the greats that Amanda lists as her influences. The funky rhythm of Liminal is vaguely reminiscent of Dorothy Ashby’s Afro-Harping. Whiting masterfully sets up a call-and response with her percussionists, keeping up the energy and leading the rhythm with her harp right throughout the track.
But on Waiting to Go, Amanda takes on a different tone. She lets Flautist Chip Wickham take on the rhythm, but does not dial back her harp. Amanda uses shimmering glissandi to set up an ethereal ambience, very much in the style of Alice Coltrane.
Whiting’s other collaborator on the album is California-based vocalist PEACH, whose tranquil vocals appear on Intertwined. Once again, Whiting structures this piece beautifully, letting PEACH carry us away at first. And just when you begin to wonder whether this is just a regular song, Amanda crashes in with her virtuosic playing, weaving complex melody after melody around you.
Amanda Whiting’s short recording career has seen her shake off the constraints of classical music and experiment with expressing herself through jazz and many other genres. She is a force in search of an outlet for her talents, and each step in her journey has raised our expectations of her. Amanda is a huge talent among jazz harpists, and we can’t wait to see what she does next.
