Copyright 2013 Alialujah Choir. All rights reserved.
Alialujah Choir came about when three well-known members of Portland, Oregon’s notable music scene took time away from the comforts and constraints of their primary bands (Weinland, Norfolk & Western, M.Ward) to focus on the natural beauty they found when singing songs from their more personal artistic quivers.
The songs immerse the singers as their voices entwine with one another and then expand. Sacred narrative melodies, once held close, open wide when shared harmoniously. Sparse arrangements create an open bed for two, three, and four part vocal harmony, while instrumentation that ranges from a guitar to an upright piano to a Theremin and a marching drum, allow Alialujah Choir to sing their stories in ethereal allure.
Paradoxically, this story then began where most stories would end - in a cemetery. It was a benefit album for the preservation of Portland’s oldest burial ground, The Lone Fir Cemetery. The vibrant and heartfelt song, “A House, A Home” (a historical fiction piece about the hidden and forbidden relationship of two mental patients) reached the ears of a local filmmaker, who became haunted with its suggestions of an underground love story. In stunning fashion, he put the song’s ghosts on screen. Collaborating with the band to visualize the tale, “A House, A Home” evolved into a multi-award winning short film.
Soon, a full-length album emerged. What began as friends around a piano gradually became the sprawling canvas for an ongoing collective art project. Various member projects include a book of short stories with musical scores, the release of a graphic novel, a grant funded dance project with a live score, and a stop motion film about a love between two nautical lemurs (subsequent soundtrack to be scored by Alialujah Choir). On the road a trail of video captures unique incidents, like a spontaneous performance in an abandoned blueberry stand (see the band’s YouTube channel), while a shared love of photography often catches the band’s most creative moments, forever trapping them in amber.
With the enlistment of a few local luminaries from Blitzen Trapper and Blind Pilot, Alialujah Choir’s Fall tour promises an expanded vision that includes some of the brightest talent in the Pacific Northwest.
“On the standout track "A House a Home"—the song that's ultimately responsible for the band's inception—every third line finds (the band) singing together in bone-chilling, otherworldly attunement that eventually collapses into an astral haze...” – The Portland Mercury
+ with Blitzen Trapper
• with The Parson Red Heads
* The 10th Annual International Bend Film Festival
winner- Best Short Film, United Kingdom Film Festival
winner- Best Score, Australia Short Sharp Film Festival
winner- Best Music Video, IFF Antigua Barbuda,
winner- Audience Choice Award, Flatland Film Festival
winner- Platinum Reel Award, Lucerne International Film Festival
winner- Best Drama, Poppy Jasper Short Film Festival
winner- Best Music Video, Columbia Gorge Film Festival
winner- Best Free Form Music Video, Interrobang Film Festival
winner- Best Music Video, Silicon Valley Film Festival
winner- Best Short Film, Oregon Film Awards
winner- Best Music Video, Rumschpringe Short Film Festival
winner- Platinum Reel Award, Nevada Film Festival
winner- Art Direction, The Accolade Competition
winner- Best Editing, International Film Festival of Cinematic Arts
winner- Best Music Video, Philadelphia Film & Animation Festival
winner- Best Music Video, ONECLOUDFEST
winner- Best Cinematography, ONECLOUDFEST
winner- OCF FAV, ONECLOUDFEST
winner- Best Music Video, Macon Film Festival
winner- Best Story, Knickerbocker Film Festival
winner- Best Narrative Short, Geneve Film Festival
winner- Best Film, Charleston International Film Festival
winner- Rising Star Award, Canada International Film Festival
winner- Best Director, First Glance Film Festival Hollywood
winner- Audience Favorite, First Glance Film Festival Hollywood
winner- Aloha Accolade, Honolulu Film Awards
winner- Best Short Film, New Jersey Film Festival
winner- Silver Reel, Portland Music Video Festival
winner- Shoestring Trophy, Rochester International Film Festival
winner- Best of Festival, Rochester International Film Festival
official selection- Raindance Film Festival
official selection- Woodstock Film Festival
official selection- San Diego Film Festival
official selection- New Orleans Film Festival
official selection- Vision Fest
official selection- United Film Festival
official selection- Budapest Short Film Festival
official selection- Cornwall Film Festival
official selection- Park City International Film & Music Festival
official selection- New York City International Film Festival
official selection- Art Fest Film Festival
official selection- Tucson Film & Music Festival
official selection- Zero London Film Festival
official selection- Sacramento Film and Music Festival
official selection- Great Lakes International Film Festival
official selection- Toronto Independent Film Festival
official selection- Take Two Film Festival
official selection- Beloit International Film Festival
official selection- Sedona International Film Festival
official selection- Cluj International Short Film Festival
official selection- Buffalo Niagara Film Festival
official selection- Newport Beach Film Festival
official selection- Memphis International Film and Music Festival
official selection- 14th Circolo Sogni Antonio Ricci International Short Film Festival
official selection- Rochester International Film Festival
official selection- Beverly Hills Film Festival
official selection- San Antonio Film Festival
For all questions and other pleasantries please contact info@alialujah.com. Put the nature of your message in the subject line and your message will automatically be forwarded to Management, Booking, Publicity, Radio, or The Ensemble. For European inquiries please contact euro@alialujah.com