Anyone paying half attention to Wake The Deaf will have noticed we like literature almost as much as we like music. Imagine our delight then, when we got an email about Genius Loci, a new cassette compilation series from Gabriel Birnbaum (AKA Gabe from Wilder Maker). Each edition sees a package sent out to songwriters consisting of a piece of inspiration (poems, photos, paintings, etc.) and a single rule to follow. Each artist then writes and records a song and sends it back for the compilation. Birnbaum explains the aims and purpose of the project:
“Genius Loci is partly an experiment to see how much of a set of songs can be unified by a concept or mood, partly an excuse for me to commission new work by some of my favorite songwriters, and partly an experiment in pushing people out of their comfort zones & giving them new creative avenues in their writing via obstacles.”
Volume One, the Summer 2015 edition, is titled Dreams Like Bark Peeled Off By Lightning. The inspiration is the poetry of Frank Stanford, the rule is that all lyrics must be written before any of the music, and the songwriters include WTD-fav Will Stratton, Jonah Furman (Krill), Felicia Douglass (Ava Luna) and Birnbaum himself. Check out the full tracklisting below:
- Felicia Douglass – Might
- Renata Zeiguer – Neck of the Moon
- Will Stratton – Lightning Dream Shuffle
- David Lackner – Infants in the Wood
- Cassandra Jenkins – The Girl With Black Hair
- Nick Jost – I Am The Captain
- Tiny Hazard – Thirsty Sponge
- Jonah Furman – Meat
- Gabriel Birnbaum – Bright Crimson
- Katie Von Schleicher – My Body on Through
- LAUDS – She Was a Fire of Pine Cones
- Workman Song – Holy Holy Holy
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You can pre-order the release digitally or on cassette right now from the Genius Loci Bandcamp page.