Brooklyn-based orchestral pop outfit San Fermin has a reputation for grand and enchanting music. Led by songwriter and composer Ellis Ludwig-Leone, and joined by new collaborators Attacca Quartet and harpist Lavinia Meijer, as well as talented vocalists and bandmates who play violin, trumpet, sax, percussion, and guitars, San Fermin's latest, ‘Cormorant I,’ is both a search for the profound and a dose of nostalgic reflection. Although the full record combines the elegance of chamber music and the immediacy of pop songs, they play some stripped-down versions of these tunes in-studio.  - Caryn Havlik

Watch the session here: