"A really positive neurological thing" Interview with Hannah Lew of Cold Beat ahead of their upcoming performance at Grace Cathedral
For our next local live music showcase, White Crate is proud to present a limited-capacity performance by synth pop band Cold Beat at the iconic Grace Cathedral in downtown San Francisco. This will mark their first major performance of songs from War Garden, and it will be no typical show.
The four-piece will be joined by the War Garden Choir—especially assembled for this event—as well as Christopher Keady (Interim Director of Music at Grace Cathedral), who will be playing the cathedral’s 7,466-pipe Charles B. Alexander Memorial Organ, one of the first American classic style organs and among the largest church organs in the West.
Ahead of their performance, we spoke with Hannah of Cold Beat. Also, check out this playlist (Apple Music / Spotify) of cathedral-worthy music selected by Hannah herself.
How did you get the idea to play at Grace Cathedral?
I've always wanted to play at Grace Cathedral. Even before the pandemic, our band played live pretty infrequently, so for the past few years we’ve been primed to only play special shows. We care less about making the scene or playing out a lot, and more about putting together a memorable event that gets people in the moment.
What makes you most excited about playing at Grace Cathedral?
The architecture is so awe-inspiring. I have personally been really into things that feel novel, into trying new things lately. So I’m happy to rise to the challenge of building this show from the ground up and performing our music in a new environment. We are always trying new things with our songs and even the way we record things, so I think that willingness to play in a nonconventional space translates.
Grace Cathedral has a very progressive mission and has been doing some really interesting programming. I’m truly honored they’ve welcomed us with open arms to put on this show. It feels more important than ever to have experiences together in the same room, which is maybe something we all took for granted before. There’s a really positive neurological thing that happens when you’re in a big room of people sharing an experience and all enjoying the same thing. That common agreement about the moment is so good for us. Probably the energy people feel in churches during worship, all agreeing and experiencing the same music, quality of light, etc.
How does the Bay Area influence you or the music you make?
I’m an SF native, so I'm sure my general disposition is influenced by my environment in ways I don’t even understand. The Bay Area in the past couple of decades has become this kind of giant campus for tech companies and honestly has felt alienating at times. But I’ve never been much of a joiner anyways, so this alienation feeling is sort of my comfort zone for making art, on the margins.
What music have you been listening to the most recently?
Been listening to the new Essential Logic album Land of Kali, also lots of Magnetic Fields, Slowdive , Lou Reed (Coney Island Baby), and Linda Smith. To keep it pretty random lol.
Any Bay Area crews you’d like to work with that you haven’t yet?
Someday I’d love to get a Gray Area grant or a Lab grant and make compositions for a choir and actually have funds to get all the gear I need to create an immersive video experience that places the people experiencing the work firmly in the moment. I have so many audio/visual ideas I’d love to carry out if I had the resources.
Any great shows you’ve seen recently or have tickets for that you’re excited about?
I recently saw Ruth Radelet play at August Hall. She and her band were awesome and that room looks and sounds great!
What's the #1 artist you'd love to see play at an epic cathedral?
Silver Apples.
GET TICKETS TO COLD BEAT + CHOIR + ORGAN LIVE AT GRACE CATHEDRAL →
