Gregory Allison creates with a single violin a sound that travels across great landscapes. He brings the sensibility of a film composer into a live and intimate setting. His training in South Indian Classical music brings a melodic fluency and emotional fire to his compositions while his Western Classical training is apparent in the wide sonic palette that he creates. He is a sound shaper. His violin goes from intimate weeping to orchestral soundscapes, carrying the listener on a journey all the way.
A composer, multi-instrumentalist, actor, and owner of Holy Volcano who performs in a wide variety of styles and genres, Gregory is originally from Madison, WI where he began studying piano at age 5 and violin at 9. In high school he used his classical violin training as a springboard for learning about improvising, jazz, world music traditions. He started playing the mandolin and his studies on the instrument landed him a four-year scholarship at the Berklee College of Music in Boston where he completed a degree in Composition. After college he moved to Vermont and was a founding member of the ME/2 Orchestra, a nationally-recognized full orchestra based in Burlington, VT created for people with mental disabilities and those who support them. He also performed in the traditional middle eastern music ensemble Grup Anwar, and traveled to the Edinburgh Fringe Festival with the Vermont theater troupe Spielpalast Cabaret. In Portland, OR he opened a private studio teaching violin, viola, mandolin, and piano while performing over 200 shows a year with Three for Silver, Eliza Rickman, as a sideman for various local bands, and as a studio musician. He has received two U.S. State Department grants to tour and teach in Russia.
He formed the acoustic trio RAQIA who will be releasing their second studio album in 2021. His first solo album is due out in June, 2021.
Photo Credit: Eric Lee Huffman
RAQIA is an instrumental trio formed in Los Angeles in the summer of 2018.
In an age of rising chaos and encroaching darkness, RAQIA seeks to create sanctuary and connection with the natural world through music. Weaving between structured compositions and open improvisation, this is music of and for the elements. Guitarist Tad Piecka, coming from a background of post-rock and black metal, here infuses his lightning fast finger-picking skills with a strain of folk and Americana, enhanced by his focus on the 12-string acoustic. Violinist Gregory Allison combines his experiences with folk and chamber pop with his training and background in Carnatic music, bringing a fluid and emotional fire to the group’s sound. Jon Bernstein, primarily known for ambient and cinematic soundscapes and sound design in the audio drama space, here focuses almost entirely on piano, drawing from styles that range from neoclassical to pop music. As a group, these three merge organically to create a new sound that acknowledges their diverse influences while establishing a space that is very much their own.
RAQIA’s eponymous first album, released in December of 2018, showcases the trio’s range, from the ambient soundscapes Kinship and Subspace that open and close the album to the folk-infused complexity of You Are A Sky of Autumn, Pale, and Rose. They will be releasing an album on Holy Volcano in late 2023.
Photo Credit: Meghan Boehman
Tristan de Liège is a Belgian electronic musician, composer and producer based in Los Angeles. He began his exploration of music in high school, first playing in bands and eventually exploring electronic music. His sound is inspired by instrumental hiphop and downtempo artists and also his love of film soundtracks and orchestral arrangements. He signed with Emancipator’s Loci Records in 2016 and has since released several albums under that imprint, including two solo albums and two albums with his experimental techno side-project Thoma. In addition to his main artist projects, he has contributed music to independent films and games, including the independent game Faeria. His most recent album, Usawa, was released on May 29, 2020. It represents the culmination of years of defining his sounds and channeling his inspirations.
His first release on Holy Volcano is a duo album with Gregory Allison called A Light For Dark Moments. They will be releasing a follow up album in early 2023.
Photo Credit: Christian Sorenson Hansen
Photo Credit: Zoe Donahoe
Ella Luna (Alyssa Stoner), is a 20 year old singer/songwriter from Denver currently based in Los Angeles. Combining intimate vocals, raw instruments, and intricate lyrical work, Alyssa has been able to evolve into her Ella Luna persona both musically and emotionally. Alyssa showcases her queerness through music in a way that is not loud or the sole subject of her writing. She finds a way to write songs about being a woman and loving women in a way that simply sounds feminine and the way she believes love to be: soft, sweet, beautiful, and simple.
On her new album Anything To Make It Loud (HV003), Alyssa explores the journey of growing up, femininity, domesticity, and intimacy. The record creates a magical sonic space with swelling string sections, warm piano, and dreamy guitar, bringing the listener into the world that she has created within the nine tracks.
Alyssa has been active in the Denver music scene since she was 14. While studying Vocal Music at Denver School of the Arts, she made her mark through being featured on local radio and in magazines, headlining at various local venues, and a live session on NPR. She independently released Always a Bridesmaid, Never a Bride in 2020 at the age of 17. Since moving to Los Angeles in 2021, Alyssa has had the opportunity to surround herself with amazing people and continues to prove that she is worthy of the attention of listeners.