Crystal Drake – soul-pop singer whose earthy vocals have been described as “refined” and “emotionally charged” – is releasing her album Sirens. A ten-track pop album inspired by the seventeenth-century Venetian all-female music ensemble of virtuosic orphans named the Figlie Del Coro “Daughters of the Choir”, Sirens is a celebration of power in feminine identity and of embracing the realities of being watched as we age into competence. “It is a lighthearted spin on owning the beautiful but sometimes bitter realities of being feminine in our culture,” says Drake. Obsessing about the clothing, veneer, and attitudes we choose to wear (or not) in our daily lives, Drake started writing songs about the metaphorical veils through which we are perceived. It was during this time she learned about the virtuosic Figlie Del Coro who performed for large crowds veiled behind grates. “These talented muses to composers like Vivaldi were shielded from the viewership to “protect their sanctity” but also to make the listening experience more pleasurable, distanced, and other-worldly for the audience. It was more lucrative for patrons not to see that some of the women were differently-abled or, as perceived at the time, playing inelegant and unfeminine instruments like bassoon or cello,” says Drake. Visitors from around the globe projected their own opinions on these performers, referring to them at once as angels and messengers of God or “sirens”. Instead of being uncomfortable with this history, Drake chose to celebrate these women and to write about what modern women, especially musicians, can learn from them.