Dec 29, 2023
I just released a new Lost Waves album — "Midnight and The Glade" — a short collection of songs that didn't quite fit my last album, "It's Not Tomorrow Yet" from October 2023. Through sleepless nights in November and December, my cat and I watched the moon and Brooklyn clouds meander across the sky as I listened to a playlist of what would become this release.
One defining characteristic of everything I released as Lost Waves, since 2015's "Fever Motion," is the intentional use of texture and sound in the recording process to add a layer of character and place. I imagined these songs belonged together at a specific time (midnight) and place (a glade deep in a lush forest) and that the sounds of rising static, fret noises, and digital artifacts were simply part of the environment of that warm night in the forest.
01 / Adorn
I recorded Adorn on guitar in 2009 and worked on the arrangement in 2010. Although the guitar is not my strongest instrument, the melody and progression of the song have stuck with me over the last decade. Adorn never fit with previous releases, so it sat deep in the Lost Waves archives until I remembered it while looking for an inviting opening track. Adorn means to make something more attractive by adding to it. The fret noises and textures are the added layer to this entry into the album. View the music video for Adorn.
02 / Ripples
When the pandemic started, I developed a weekly practice of playing piano and recording improvised livestreams. I can't say that these streams are all good; most are not. But the more regularly I recorded, the more often I'd find a few unexpected moments worth saving. Ripples is one such moment, from a livestream recorded with keyboard and effects in October 2021. The piece is entirely improvised in a single take, recorded to a single track, with light edits to cut out the boring parts. I love how the melody lines intersect, the swells and fades, and the ethereal ending.
03 / It's Late
Originally recorded in November 2022 during a "bedtime session" where I write music as my son falls asleep, It's Late was the track I worked (and reworked) the most to complete this album. It has way too many layers. The Ableton file became unwieldy through the creation of multiple variations and edits. At some point, I was about to cut it entirely, but I couldn't let go of the melody, so I listened through all the versions, found the one that felt best, and accepted it as "done." The vocal sample is a single syllable from a recording of my son telling a story when he was much younger.
04 / Store
I recorded Store in a single evening almost a year ago on December 27th. It had a different name at that time and was based on an idea I had for a chord progression that could expand both "inward" and "outward" infinitely. In this context, I hear Store now as representing a moment of reflection and change. I don't know if the movement is stepping into or out of the cocoon, but the result is enveloping.
05 / Yellowtail
I played Yellowtail on a small Mellotron in a single take in 2022, recording to my phone. It was one of the first times I used the Mellotron to record a musical idea. The blend of instruments played in real-time loosely emulated a realistic flute/saxophone ensemble. The chord progression moves like a story from point A to point B in time.
06 / Feel It
Feel It is based on an original sample from an audio to midi transfer I made in an Ableton project in the mid-aughts (~2006). One technique I experimented with was transmuting audio to midi and back again to find unexpected harmonies. I love how this progression pulses, descends, and rises. I recorded background vocals in December 2023 to offset the harshness of the original sample.
07 / Pitcher of Stones
Pitcher of Stones is a piece I wrote for strings in February 2023. While it was released as a single, it also deserves to live on an album. A final release before the end of 2023 felt like a fitting place. Read more about Pitcher of Stones here.
Well, if you made it this far, thank you. Listen to "Midnight and The Glade" on Bandcamp, Spotify, or your favorite streaming platform.
