Back in November, we featured ‘Way Inside’ by Best Fern, the collaborative project between New York’s Alexia Avina and Montreal’s Nick Schofield. “A track at once soaring and earthy,” as we put it, “the fecund mistiness eradicating any distinction between organic and dream matter.” It was the lead single from Earth Then Air, the debut Best Fern record which comes out early next month via Youngbloods and Backward Music, and the duo have now released second single ‘On and On’ to further whet our appetites.
Again living up to the record’s title, the new song is no less vivid. Its bright and curious tones straddle the divide between the natural and ethereal, and in doing so capture both the immediacy and timelessness of the natural world. “‘On and On’ is emblematic of our experience making this album,” Schofield explains. “For two weeks Alexia and I were making music in the woods surrounded by mountains and rivers writing new songs every day. We were so inspired by the environment around us and the beautiful instruments in our studio, totally immersed in sun, sound, nature and light—it all merged into the music.” What emerges feel like an ode this nurturing environment, and one which carries the suggestion that an immersion within such spaces can be a path through to some heightened state of being.
In the rolling water I would rather dip my head
caught up in the light of the sun and the sound of it
On and on and on and on
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Check out the video shot and edited by Stephanie Kuse below:
Earth Then Air is out on the 3rd February via Youngbloods and Backward Music and you can pre-order it now from Bandcamp.
