Wren & Shark & Friends – Vol. 1

Jon Doyle — Fri, 20 Jan 2017 18:40:14 +0000

There are countless reasons why the US election result (and the direction of Western politics in general) is so alarming, though the most dangerous in terms of sheer potential cost to human life is the possible implications in terms of the environment. It seems we’ve been drinking in last-chance saloon for a few hours too many already, so standing still in the fight against climate change is inadequate, let alone losing ground to the myopic demand for growth and the strange gratification that comes from burying one’s head in the sand.

Spurred by Trump’s election, Brian Cassidy of Wren & Shark Record Collective decided to do what little he could to push us a few precious inches in the right direction. Enlisting the help of a rather impressive array of talented friends, he has assembled a compilation to be sold in support the Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC,) one of the US’s leading environmental non-profit organisations. The album comes complete with artwork by John Sabraw, an environmental artist and activist who uses pigments from polluted streams to create his ‘toxic art’ (which you can find out about here). Check out the full tracklisting below:

1. Jonathan Meiburg (of Shearwater) – Reincarnation
2.Will Courtney – I Got Your Back
3. Will Johnson – Nervousness Fangs
4. Mikaela Davis – Pure Divine Love
5. S. Carey – Shiny Shoes (The Pines cover)
6. The Eastern Sea – The Entertainer
7. Reservations – Planet
8. Lowland Hum – We’re All Waiting
9. Brian S. Cassidy – Darkest Doubt
10. Black Before Red – Envy
11. Good Field – Surface Tension
12. Nori – The Garden

With the likes of Will Johnson, S. Carey and Shearwater’s Jonathan Meiburg involved, the release also serves as a timely reminder of the effectiveness of generosity and collaboration, a example of our only way forward – grouping together our talents and energies into something larger and more powerful than any one individual. Trump and his ilk are going to try to convince us that the environment doesn’t matter, that art doesn’t matter, that people of certain colours and genders and backgrounds don’t matter. It’s up to us, not only to resist, but to prove him wrong.

Wren & Shark & Friends is out today and you can grab your copy from the Wren & Shark Bandcamp page for as little as $10, though remember that all profits go direct to the NRDC.

The post Wren & Shark & Friends – Vol. 1 appeared first on Various Small Flames.

In Love With A Ghost – let’s go

Liam Doyle — Thu, 14 Apr 2016 18:20:47 +0000

In Love With a Ghost is the moniker of a producer based in Rennes. let’s go is the title of their new four song EP, out now on Z Tapes, a release which proves a slight departure from the usual Z Tapes formula. let’s go is all glitchy, chilled-out, downtempo beats as opposed to the lo-fi pop we’ve come to know and love. Not that this is a criticism – variety is the spice of life as they say.

The EP begins with ‘we’ve never met but, can we have a coffee or something’ a track which opens with some layered piano and delicate water sounds before the introduction of looped vocals and percussion. As far as this kind of music goes, it’s definitely on the blissful, serene end of the scale.

‘flowers’ again pairs subtle piano with beats, the vocals this time provided by nori, while ‘sorry for not answering the phone, i’m too busy trying to fly away’ samples all kinds of sounds, gentle birdsong and the tinkle of coins and undistinguishable hums and whirs. It feels part organic and part not, as if a whole load of natural things have been gathered up and cobbled together to make a coherent pattern, the rhythms of nature mimicking the mechanical, electronic elements. Finally, ‘we were friends’ brings everything together, little crackles and pops like steady rainfall on a porch awning, effect-distorted vocal loops, elastic synths and a beat underneath it all.

let’s go is available on cassette (shipping in May), or as a name-your-price download, from the Z Tapes Bandcamp page.

Cover art by Snnn

The post In Love With A Ghost – let’s go appeared first on Various Small Flames.

nori Archives - Various Small Flames

Wren & Shark & Friends – Vol. 1

In Love With A Ghost – let’s go