Musician Laurel Premo joined us by phone to discuss her latest work, "Laments," a four-movement composition she describes as grief work that sings connection. Premo shared the intensely personal necessity that led to the project's inception, tracing its earliest fragments to the profound isolation of the early 2021 pandemic and the personal upheaval of a long relationship ending. She described the initial sounds as a bodily response, a form of mourning through music that she later recognized as echoing traditional grief practices.
Premo clarifies that while her compositions draw on traditions of live grief rituals, they are not those rituals themselves, but rather an echo of that experience. She spoke eloquently about the dual role of the artist: the work first transforms the maker, and only then does the artist consider if the material holds value for others. Sharing such deeply personal work requires re-entering those past emotional states, a delicate balance Premo manages by maintaining a healthy perspective, recognizing that the stories are relatable and open to new interpretations by both herself and her audience over time. She noted the cultural tendency to privatize intense emotions like crying, making the decision to share such vulnerable work a sensitive, yet necessary, endeavor.
The discussion moved to Premo's radical perspective on grief, which she views as potentially an ecstatic feeling—an intense aliveness born from dense pain. She explained that through her own process, she began to experience grief not as a negative, but as emotions "turned up to eleven," vibrant and powerful. This shift involved putting all emotions on an equal playing field, allowing her to feel gratitude for the love that led to the profound experience of loss. In this view, grief becomes a way of making visible the great connections that were experienced and that remain, offering a path to feeling less alone by highlighting the "millions of bonds" that exist in the world.
Watch a video preview for "Laments" here:
"Laments" is noteworthy for its sparse use of conventional language. Premo has long worked to free herself from the perceived limitations of words in previous instrumental projects, finding that her voice, used without words, acts as an instrument with the same capacity for multi-layered meaning as her guitar or fiddle. She believes that certain sounds and timbres relate to and cause different parts of the body to vibrate, a physical language that allows for a more authentic expression of deep feeling than English words could provide.
This raw expressiveness was best captured while self-engineering the recording in a small cabin—a solo, uninhibited environment that allowed for the deepest performances. The physically and emotionally demanding nature of the music naturally limited her, ensuring that each take was given its full power and authenticity.
Kurt Hauswirth spoke with Premo by phone; here’s their full conversation about her album Laments. We couldn’t fit everything into the hour on The Shuffle, so enjoy this extended version with more about her creative process and the stories behind the music:
Ultimately, Premo's deepest hope is that the album will create a little more flexibility in the listener, "shaking some part" to help them enter into some feeling in their life. She invites people to bravely dive into this music, promising that by entering into the work of grief, they will ultimately feel more together, embracing the understanding that these challenging emotions are a representation of love and connection.
"Laments" by Laurel Premo is set for release on October 31, 2025. Find out more at laurelpremo.com.
The preceding conversation is scheduled as a part of The Shuffle's broadcast on Saturday, November 1st, 2025.
