Best known for his work as Teen Daze, Chilliwack’s Jamison Isaak has released his debut EP under his own name. Appropriately titled EP1, the release features four songs of piano-led instrumental music, utilising an array of supporting sounds in order to conjure soundscapes capable of matching the serene beauty of the British Columbian wilderness. Indeed, Isaak states that the record was engineered by Jonathan Anderson “over one grey, rainy afternoon”, and the very climate of west coast Canada seems to have leaked into the music, and not only because of the field recorded backdrop.
Opener ‘Sharalee’ sets the tone, emerging from a foggy haze in its wistful majesty. As with the entire record, the overall mood is sad but not in the traditional sense, more that kind of mindful, resigned melancholy that accompanies viewing scenes much bigger or older than yourself. Isaak states the purpose of the EP is relaxation, and this plays into it too, the idea of shedding ones fleeting worries in the face of things more permanent.
‘Upstairs’ in shorter but no less moving, possessing a slightly more insular edge, as though positioned within a refuge as the rain falls, your elbows on the windowsill. ‘Wind’ is more patient still, the deep yet quiet notes cycling in imperfect repetitions, each one different from the last yet part of the same eternal force, and ‘More’ rises from this, resonating a sense of peace. Again, the track imparts the sense of wonder; the realisation of one’s size within the world. Though, instead of desolation or despondency, the impermanence and relative irrelevance are liberating and comforting, a context so grand and beautiful that all else pales into insignificance. What’s more, each time the frame of mind arises, it seems ridiculous that we ever felt any differently, though of course it will soon become obscured once again.
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The mountains and forests of British Columbia act as representations of this, ever-present yet often shrouded in mist, a wider perspective that never leaves but is rarely noticed, until one takes the time to look up. With EP1, Isaak works to carve out a moment in your day where you can raise your head and, no matter how foggy the peaks, appreciate the fact that they are present, and will be tomorrow, too.
EP1 is out now via Jamison Isaak’s own label, FLORA, and you can get it from Bandcamp.