Old Earth is Todd Umhoefer, who we have previously featured on our best free music of 2011 list. It was an inexcusable oversight on my part that he didn’t feature again on last year’s list, so hopefully this post convinces you to go out and listen to all of his stuff.
a low place at The Old Place is an album that Umhoefer released last year, consisting of six songs which appear as a single track, which comes in at just over 18 minutes in length. Several of the tracks have been previewed on Bandcamp in the past (most notably ’more wrung in the wrong?’ which was the track that introduced me into Old Earth) but this is certainly the definitive collection. The album was recorded in the basement of Umhoefer’s grandparents’ vacant home, where he says ghosts are abound. This eerie atmosphere pervades the entire album and some of the haunting experimentation on show really is rather beautiful. There’s also this strange and ominous side to it that makes the whole thing fell like some sort of weird fever dream. The sparse lyrics provide a perfect accompaniment to the music. Below are the lyrics of ’wait less, more strings’, which I think give a good indication of the atmosphere of the album as a whole:
What if it’s all in the fall?
What if it’s all in the fall?
What if it won’t happen now?
What if it’s all in the fall?
What if it rains again?
What if it’s all in the fall?
What if it’s an old house?
What if it’s a wait?
What if it’s an older word?
What if it’s a weight?
What if it’s alone?
What if it’s a wait?
What if the word was so?
What if it’s all in the fall?
What if it’s a wait?
What if it’s a weight?
What if it’s a wait?
The album was produced by Christopher Porterfield of Conrad Plymouth and Field Report (who we are very big fans of), who also lends vocals on the album. Nick Berg and Travis Whitty, two other members of Field Report, also lend their talents to the project. You can buy the album on vinyl, CD or digital download via Bandcamp – and it’s really really good so I would suggest that you strongly consider it.
Old Earth has also recently signed with mini50, a label based in Edinburgh, and has a release, titled Small Hours, scheduled for release in the Spring. I have embedded the teaser trailer (which was created by Blackbox Visual, using footage from Don Ford) below:
Old Earth – Small Hours album trailer from Blackbox Visual on Vimeo.