Tracklisting:

The New Tusk – Tarmac
Lazy Legs – Gloss
Sam Moss – Flowers
Varsity – Must Be Nice
Falcon Jane – Go with the Flow
Desert Liminal – Heavy Heads
Jamison Isaak – Sharalee
Nilein – Central Park
Pendulum Girl – crying in the carwash
Freya – Breath and Chime
Malena Zavala – A Vision That’s Changed
Alex Bayly – Wade in the Water
James Edwyn & The Borrowed Band – Pushing Statues
Tiny Fireflies – Nothing
Boreen – Halley’s Comet
Jenno Snyder – Take Care
Normal State – Summertime
Clare – Loquats
Leathan Milne – Now I Say Goodnight
John Moods – Leap of Love
Guts Club – Mustard Tears
Brianna Kelly – To Behold You
Sympathy Pain – Bless This Ugly Heart
Lung Cycles – Smoke column (Jonathan)
Be Softly – My Hands End With You Fingertips
Hour – Still New To This

Spotify:

Playmoss:

You can find all of our monthly mixes here, and be sure to check back in May for whatever April brought by way of good music.

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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.

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.

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