Pre-Order Words and Silences, Plus New Video
According to my 13-year-old son Henry, CDs are amazing. Who am I to argue? ("I like vinyl better," he wants me to tell you, "but since I am saving up for a guitar, and I can buy like four used CDs for the price of a record, CDs are amazing.") Fair enough.
You can pre-order Words and Silences now on Bandcamp, as:
a digital download
a limited edition 2-CD package (the bonus disk includes instrumental versions of all of the tracks) + download
a chapbook (letterpress cover, 50 pages) + download
or, all of the above
plus, music nerds can order a PDF of the score, over on my website here.
The release date for Words and Silences is October 7. It is a musical portrait of Thomas Merton, a monk and writer who lived in Kentucky. If you'd like to review or write about the project, send me a message here.
This is the letterpress cover of the chapbook, designed by Amanda at Colorquarry Letterpress, who also did the cover and CD package for my 2015 release, Rawhead and Bloodybones (equally beautiful in design).
Here is a page from the chapbook (click to enlarge). It's really nice to see and follow Merton's words while listening to the album (he's a fast and deeply engaged speaker). These words are transcribed from hours of tape, where he discusses Samuel Beckett, Michel Foucault, Sufi mystics, tape as a medium, and the 1967 racial protests in Louisville. I've also written a long form essay about my experiences working with the archival materials, how deeply the archival tapes affected me, and the relationship between recorded media and contemplative practices (will share more later).
WATCH A NEW VIDEO
"Sound of An Unperplexed Wren"
This is a new video that I made with Kevin Davison, who filmed and edited it with great care and a good eye. The video was shot at Merton's hermitage. I love how the landscape reflects Merton's words, and how it hasn't changed very much in the last fifty years since his death. I love hearing the tapes in the hermitage, where they were originally recorded. I also love how our shadows, made while filming, have a ghost-like quality.
Thank you again for reading and listening; it really means so much to me —
Brian