The Montreal-based musician delivered a spellbinding performance of her latest album.

After releasing her third full-length album, TIDE/TIED, in late April, Montreal-based musician Thanya Iyer debuted the project to a live audience at the PHI on Saturday, May 11th. The Montreal-based musician was joined by a nine-piece band, including her core collaborators percussionist Daniel Gélinas, guitarist Pompey, and Emilie Kahn on the harp.

TIDE/TIED is a transformative and perceptive body of work that allows for a moment of tranquility. Through her immersive, genre-defying project, Iyer amplifies the importance of community and remaining present. A necessary reminder for these turbulent times. The collaborative nature of the project along with its lush and expansive soundscape fusing jazz, folk and ambient music, makes for a blissful meditation.

Iyer’s pair of intimate album release shows offered a one-of-a-kind audio-visual experience, inviting the audience to immerse themselves in the music. The shimmery decorations, lighting and subtle ambient field recordings echoing through the room set the tone for the serene performance. Iyer and her band slowly made their way onto the stage, along with a string section and backing vocalists each donning fairy wings. The band played through each song from the project as the subtle aquatic visuals projected onto the screen.

In between tracks, Iyer shared small anecdotes of the record’s inception and how the theme of community remained an essential factor throughout its process. The musician played through her entire album, seamlessly weaving the reflective compositions together. Songs such as the hopeful affirmations in the alluring, and “What can we grow that we can’t see from here?,” to “I am a mountain (don’t be afraid),” which embraces the unknown, offered a moment of deep introspection. The audio-visual nature of the performance allowed audience members to take in the art. Iyer’s childhood home videos projected on screen during the final portion of her performance also added a personal touch.

TIDE/TIED is a deeply moving body of work that offers a moment of light within the darkness and a testament to Thanya Iyer’s transcendent artistry.

Check out more photos from Thanya Iyer’s album release show below: