‘At Sea’ returns home with the ever popular ‘Book Editions’ series. Vintage books dissected, re-assembled and re-structured into book-bound CD covers…
1 x Vintage (circa:1888-1954) hardback clothbound book (re-assembled into CD covers
2 x CD
15 Pages of writing / images
10 x A6 polaroid prints on luxury uncoated paper (250grm)
2 x Stamped library cards
1 x Vintage photograph (circa; 1902-1951)
1 x Vintage book-mark
1 x Vintage sea map (circa; 1930s)
1 x Vintage numbered celluloid negative
1 x Vintage 35mm glass slide (hand written note)
1 x 35mm reel to reel film strip (arctic expedition)
1 x page insert (Nories Nautical Tables Circa;1938)
1 x page insert (Uncharted Europe Circa; 1942)
Stamped / hand numbered / scented
Download code (includes 20 PDF prints)
Strictly limited edition: 150 copies (no two copies are the same)
Made with love…
Includes unlimited streaming of At Sea
via the free Bandcamp app, plus high-quality download in MP3, FLAC and more.
...more
Considering it’s theme, At Sea actually began life in the city, when I was staying with a friend in London. In the house was an accordion and over a period of a couple of weeks I recorded several sessions, just improvising parts, creating loops, layers and adding effects. I was well aware that accordions can get cliched very quickly, so tried to find interesting ways to play and record the instrument. At the time I had no idea what I would do with these recordings.
About a year later I did actually move to the sea - on the South Eastern coast of England, a place bright and breezy and where giant seagulls roam the shoreline like packs of wild dogs. The rest of the album was made here with the sea becoming a direct influence on the themes and music.
At Sea grew out of my walks along a particular part of the coastline. I took this walk at least once a day and over time built up a relationship with the sea, as if it were a sentient being observing me as much as I was observing it. Here I was trapped on dry land and the sea was another realm entirely, free from and uninterested in whatever dramas were going on in my world. It was this indifference, (which i’ve often found in nature but particularly with the sea) that became the main theme for the album- the unknown and the unknowable.
I had also been reading Virginia Woolf’s ‘To the lighthouse’ (Woolf lived and worked in this part of South East England) and I wanted to capture my own sonic version of her ‘internal narrative stream of consciousness’. I wrote text of my own, which was read by actor Lizzie Mcphee and recorded by Annie Needham. I layered the spoken word into the music with Lizzie’s voice a subtle guide for the listener, but one which never explains or reveals anything.
Back in the studio, I asked Aaron Martin to once again collaborate (we had worked together on my album ‘The Sound of Someone Leaving) and to be as freeform and experimental as he liked. Aaron recorded beautiful passages of cello that weave in and out of the music, although this time around Aaron’s playing is more illusive- layers of sound and hidden meaning.
And the title- At Sea- refers as much to the psychological state of ‘not being on stable ground’ as it does to the all consuming environment within which the music is set. - Phil Tomsett, November 2022.
Made by hand,
'At Sea' returns home with the ever popular 'Book Editions' series. Vintage books dissected, re-assembled and re-structured into book-bound CD covers...
credits
released December 14, 2022
...
Phil Tomsett: accordion, guitar. production, synths, field recordings.
Aaron Martin: cello.
Spoken word read by Lizzie Mcphee and written by Phil Tomsett.
Spoken word recorded by Annie Needham.
Mastering and mix consultation: Ian Hawgood.
Written and produced by Phil Tomsett.
Design by Daniel Crossley
Let's put it this way- this is simply one of our favourite works ever!...A collection of variations on a theme that drift by, perfuming the air, or that stop a moment to whisper you a story. Evocative in its sparse beauty, We are sure this will been the permanent playlist always, right alongside Arvo Part's "Alina" and offthesky's "Silent went the Sea" ....ss/tm/am editions vaché
Warm and evocative, brimming with memory and emotion. Each track is beautifully layered and floats like a soft, warm breeze.
It helped me navigate a challenging end of year into 2024! Thank you! PadraigC
The 17 mindbending songs on this compilation represent minimalist experimental music at its best, a collage of blips and static. Bandcamp New & Notable Dec 3, 2022
Purportedly the recordings of a disgraced experimental psychologist (you decide), “Jumand” sets spoken word to eerie synths. Bandcamp New & Notable Sep 2, 2023
J.Lynch (aka Thirty Pounds of Bone) plays with organic elements, including prepared piano, against electronics to impressionistic effect. Bandcamp New & Notable Feb 21, 2023
A wonderful musical collection that shows the unity of the whole world and the support of Ukraine during the long war, which will undoubtedly end with the victory of Ukraine. And now the terrible numbers... Only according to official data as of today #russiaisaterroriststate killed 510 children in Ukraine, injured another 1141 children, kidnapped 19546 children. There are many more unofficial victims. And russia remains a member of the UN... desynkro303