demo
The Boy Who Spoke Clouds (AUS,2007)****
demoThe Boy Who Spoke Clouds : The Seal Woman (AUS,2007)****
This is the project of Adam Casey, formerly singer of a group called Seascapes of the Interior. He plays guitar, banjo, programs, sings and uses found sounds. It features steady member Jenny Jo Oakley who arranges with piano, melodica and clarinet, vocals. The illustrations are also hers, which most probably directly inspires Adam Casey. Justin Rhodes played drums on the recordings, and Alex played violin. Currently a new percussionist and cellist is been looked for. I received two recorded demos which are a full CD and a 5-track EP which are ready for release.
The full album was recorded at home with a sony handycam used as a microphone to record directly on PC, and was compiled and composed during a 9-month period of recording. Strangely enough this approach gave a very rich, warm and well finished, sophisticated sound. This is the kind of result which fits well with the attractively arranged styles of people like Vitaminsforyou, Uphill Racer, Brendon Anderegg, but also more popular releases from perhaps Sufjan Stevens, but also Tunng and other comparable projects. There’s often of a somewhat guitaristic rhythmical continuation, a swollen environmental sound space continuum, enriched by lots of things happening, with sounds and arrangements that almost give the effect of a socializing of the sound so that it gets rid of any chance of a lonely feeling. Within its spatial fullness of sounds, these arrangements are kept clear and are never saturating the content. Other tracks are more clearly spinning and improvised guitar-based (loop-like acoustic with electric, and sometimes a droning bass or with bits of keyboards), but there are also just a few chamber-like arranged instrumental passages, which I assume are arranged by the violinist.
The 'Seal Woman Suite' is an EP initially recorded for a dance production. Once the production fell through Adam Casey was left with music that was intended to fit with a narrative, but no narrative to go with the music. Because he has a PhD in creative writing himself, he decided to rewrite the myth that the dance was originally concerned with. Each piece of music within the suite (instrumentals based upon acoustic guitars enriched with more sound composition, of water, wind chimes, and other often minimalist harp-like arrangements) reflects the story, and the story was to fit with the music fragments. This story was based on an ancient Scandinavian myth usually referred to as "the seal woman", as opposed to offering a moral lesson. The new musical interpretation is supposed to explore different characters that reflect some experiences from the story. The texts of these reflections are not spoken but can be read with the music. The music evolves a bit like a background happening with a story, and is rather filmic. The vocals on the third track give it something of a personal ritual event. The last instrumental sound as if the droning chords are drowning away the memories in the story.
Tracklist TBWSC : "Where have we gone?", "Hermit", "Energy Rescue", "Goodbye", "Fill this room", "Happening", "Passing", "Fear at 3AM", "Seperate", "Falling, slowly", "Faces", "Every drop of the sea", "Clair".
Tracklist THE SEAL WOMAN : 1. Loneliness, 2. The Seal Woman's Dance, 3. Drying Out and Crippling, 4. A Gift, 5. Breathing Underwater
