Well now that has all changed. The band have created their debut album, The Private World of Paradise, which will be unleashed on the world in March. The album was produced by Richard Swift, who most notably produced the last two Damien Jurado albums. The sonic expansion in Jurado’s output as a result of this collaboration is also evident here with Wake Owl. It sounds like the band are experimenting and growing as musicians and that can only be a good thing.

The first single, ‘Candy’, was premiered over at The Music Ninja earlier this month and can be streamed in the player below:

The Private World of Paradise is out on the 4th of March via Vagrant. More details (presumably including pre-order options) will be announced soon.

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The title is taken from The Pharmacist’s Mate by Amy Fusselman, where she is describing that almost miraculous nature of music. She sums up by saying:

“And how even though the vibrations are invisible, I can feel them in the air. I can feel them, they are there, they are as there as I am.”

A song is a strange thing. The way in which the writer captures it and builds it up to what we find on our records and CDs is unique to each artist. A whole host of changes are possible from that first spark of inspiration, be it a certain lyric or series of notes. What we hear on studio albums may be an evolved version of the original. It may have been sped up or toned down, altered to sit with the other nine or ten songs with which it shares the album. Conversely, what we hear during live performance may itself be the evolved state, an shift of empahsis or tone to better suit the context.

Whatever changes occur, live songs are different to their recorded counterparts, and this mix contains songs that are different and/or special when performed live. Sometimes there are obvious differences from the recorded track (such as the frenzied ending to ‘Wolves’ by Phosphorescent) and other times it is subtler, increased emphasis on just a word or two. Sometimes there is nothing obviously different apart from some sense of  purity, something organic in the single take delivery.

I’m sure even the most seasoned concert goer will be able to point to two or three moments where a live song somehow transcended normal experience, becoming something so inherently personal it’s hard to believe others were in the room. For me, great art is about the trading of emotions to some empathetic goal, the artist allowing the listener/viewer into themselves to see something pure, something to which everyday labels and descriptions do an injustice. In truly great art, seeing inside another is not fascinating in a some voyeuristic way but instead because it stirs a recognition in the listener. The indescribable feelings within us are given voice, they are painted for us by the artist and shared so that others can see. In this way, the song becomes as much about us as it is about the artist (something which much prove difficult for musicians, which is another debate entirely).

Adam wrote about his choices for the mix in his own blog post, so be sure to go and check that out too.

Hopefully the tracks below contain some sort of spark, that indesribable magic that Fusselman describes.

I Can Feel Them In The Air (Wake The Deaf Side):

1. A Few Kind Words (Live at the Queen’s Hall) – Meursault
2. Tapes (Live at WMSE) – Conrad Plymouth
3. When My Time Comes (Live at the R&R) – Dawes
4. Dead Letter & the Infnite Yes (iTunes Session) – Wintersleep
5. Lately (Live on KEXP) – BOAT
6. Something, Somewhere, Sometime (Daytrotter Session) – Ben Sollee
7. Last to Swim (Weekender Session) – Strand of Oaks
8. Medication – Damien Jurado
9. Mountain Song (Live in Munich) – Evening Hymns
10. Red (Live at Schubas) – Okkervil River
11. Allahu Akbar (Daytrotter Session) – Emperor X
12. The Twist (Quietly Now) – Frightened Rabbit
13. Wolves – Phosphorescent
14. Blood Bank (Live at Glastonbury) – Bon Iver
15. Wasp Nest (Black Session) – The National
16. Jeanne, If You’re Ever in Portland (Daytrotter Session) – Casiotone for the Painfully Alone
17. Down in the Valley (Live on KEXP) – The Head and the Heart
18. Wake (Live at the Bowery Ballroom) – The Antlers
19. First Night (A Positive Rage) – The Hold Steady
20. Robots (Live at Shorefest) – Dan Mangan

I Can Feel Them In The Air (Songsfortheday side):

1. Years/Cleo’s Song (Daytrotter Session) – JBM
2. Grown Ocean – Fleet Foxes
3. Ghost of the Beast – Kelli Schaefer
4. Ocean Open Wide – Hoots & Hellmouth
5. First Sight – These United States
6. Nobody But You – Langhorne Slim
7. Yellow (Piano Version) – Coldplay
8. Blackout (a capella) – Pickwick
9. Everything Trying (Fuel/Friends Chapel Session) – Night Beds
10. I Won’t Be Found – The Tallest Man on Earth
11. To Sing For You/Brand New Colony – Ben Gibbard
12. Kathleen (Live from Dublin Castle) – Josh Ritter
13. Outfit – Jason Isbell & The 400 Unit
14. Acuff-Rose – Jeff Tweedy
15. Catapult – Counting Crows
16. Evening Kitchen – Band of Horses
17. Always on My Mind – Iron & Wine/Calexico
18. Born to Run – Bruce Springsteen
19. Since I Fell For You (ft. Mike Noyce & Justin Vernon) – Eau Claire Memorial Jazz I
20. I Just Wanna Love U (Give It 2 Me) – Jay-Z

You can find both mixes here as a collection.

The post Wake The Deaf & Songsfortheday Present: I Can Feel Them In The Air appeared first on Various Small Flames.

Today is the first volume. It features a mix of styles and bands, covering classic songs and new music. We hope you enjoy these re-workings as much as we do.

WTD’s Covers Mix, Volume #1:

1. Crystalized (The XX Cover) – Holly Miranda
2. Her Vore (Coma Cinema Cover) – Fog Lake
3. There Is A Light That Never Goes Out (The Smiths Cover) – Dan Mangan
4. Don’t Haunt This Place (The Rural Alberta Advantage Cover) – Yellow Ostrich
5. Tears Are In Your Eyes (Yo La Tengo Cover) – The Antlers
6. Cars (Gary Numan Cover) – The Leisure Society (Thanks to TWR for the shout!)
7. Old Old Fashioned (Frightened Rabbit Cover) – John Statz
8. Owner Of A Lonely Heart (Yes Cover) – Grizzly Bear
9. I Fought The Law (Bobby Fueller Cover) – Titus Andronicus
10. I Will Truck (Dirty Projectors Cover) – Painted Palms
11. A Case Of You (Joni Mitchell Cover) – James Blake
12. Devil Town (Daniel Johnston Cover) – Bright Eyes
13. Like A Diamond (Glass Ghost Cover) – Sharon Van Etten
14. Ex-Girl Collection (The Wrens Cover) – Will Sheff
15. Angst In My Pants (Sparks Cover) – Signals
16. Sleep All Summer (Crooked Fingers Cover) – St Vincent & The National
17.Beacon Hill (Damien Jurado Cover) – The Head And The Heart
18. Best Ever Death Metal Band Out Of Denton (The Mountain Goats Cover) – Andy Hull
19. Godbye Again (John Denver Cover) – Youth Lagoon
20. Long Desert Train (Jason Molina Cover) – Strand Of Oaks (Thanks to CXCW)

You know the drill – support the bands. Each of the artists’ names above will take you to their website so explore further. Don’t be an Emily White, musicians have to eat too.

The Covers Mix: Volume #1 from Wake The Deaf on 8tracks Radio.

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Graham Wright, the keyboard player from Tokyo Police Club, has been working on solo stuff for a number of years. 2008’s ‘The Lakes of Alberta’ is a masterful piece of songwriting, one of my favourite ever EPs (if people have such things) and definitely one of the best things kindly given away free on Bandcamp (D/L links available below). The age old story of spurned love, hotel rooms and second chances may sound trite but Graham pulls it off with apparent ease, creating beautiful folk songs that tell a story that seems to have been in development for years before you put your headphones on.

Graham Wright’s debut album, ’Shirts Vs Skins‘ is due to be released on June 28th. You can listen to 3 of the songs from it on his Facebook page. It seems like a departure from his sound on ‘The Lakes of Alberta’ but very promising nonetheless!

Shirts Vs Skins – Coming June 28th!

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