You Were Always An Island

by Alaskan Tapes

supported by

Matthias Brendel (aka neposilla) thumbnail

	/

Streaming + Download

Includes unlimited streaming via the free Bandcamp app, plus high-quality download in MP3, FLAC and more.

Purchasable with gift card

£7 GBP or more
Full Digital Discography

64

releases

Get all 64 Facture releases available on Bandcamp and save 80%.

Includes unlimited streaming via the free Bandcamp app, plus high-quality downloads of Layers of Memory in the Quiet Voice of Motion, Until We Fall, Still Life, Place Language, For Victoria, Oceanography, The Book of Dusts, The Topologies of Blue, and 56 more. , and , .

Purchasable with gift card

£62.80 GBP or more (80% OFF)

1.	Waiting (ft. Chantal) 02:05	buy track
2.	While Falling 05:18	buy track
3.	You Were Always An Island 05:54	buy track
4.	To Leave 03:00	buy track
5.	Drifter 03:31	buy track
6.	Places 02:45	buy track
7.	All Was Quiet 04:39	buy track
8.	Skin (ft. Chantal) 01:13	buy track
9.	Ruins 05:31	buy track

about

You Were Always An Island opens with a downpour of rain. Staring out at its constant fall, listeners can only wait for it to stop. The music’s already waiting: for someone, and for a moment that will never arrive…

Alaskan Tapes aids in the clear-up operation, helping to cleanse the air if not the growing solitude. Quiet drones and sullen strings dispel the rain, but it lingers in the streets, overflowing around the mouth of its gutter. The music has been invaded by a longing which spreads like a tendril of ink in clear water, bruising the atmosphere with its purple, sour colour.

An event shakes the soul with the magnitude of an earthquake. In this case, the cruelty of distance and the greater cruelty of war which separates a couple. As a man leaves to fight, his beloved has no other choice but to wait for his return. She sends unanswered prayers. His absence grows longer with every sunset. Unable to wait and growing increasingly anxious, she sets off to look for him, a lighthouse offering a faint lifeline in the gathering gloom, only to sadly learn of his death. The separation is permanent – death us do part.

On the title track, a guitar’s melody drifts like a restless spirit, resurrecting post-rock flavours of old as it perfumes the ambient ether, resembling the instrumental music of Daughter or Jonsi & Alex. Vocals swirl and a piano gradually becomes the dominant instrument. Shimmering drones aid in making the music a quiet and introverted creature.

The loose mini-chords of an acoustic guitar, with vocals from Chantal, form a minute-long song, helping to add another lick of paint to the album’s colours. With You Were Always An Island, Alaskan Tapes has produced a perfectly-executed ambient record. Like the rain, the music stays with you long after it has gone, a lighthouse searching for a lost ship, a lover pining for a lost soul.

...

Made by hand,

Two tone / 4 panel hand made letter-pressed Somerset cotton CD covers, glass mastered CD, 12 x hand drawn images by the artist printed on luxury Gesso card (size A6) / 1 x vintage (Circa 1890 - 1919) glass negative / patchouli scent. All of the above rests inside stitched / sealed glassine bags, individually hand numbered on stamped tags. Download code

Made with love...

credits

released June 30, 2018

...

Music: Alaskan Tapes
Mastering: Taylor Deupree
Design: Daniel Crossley

license

about

Facture Bristol, UK

fac-ture.co.uk

contact / help

Contact Facture

Streaming and
Download help

Redeem code

Report this album or account

If you like You Were Always An Island, you may also like:

Night Paths
by Wil Bolton

supported by 28 fans who also own “You Were Always An Island”

My first time listening to Wil Bolton. Night Paths is a great ambient album, just like the rest of the Hidden Vibes "series". Highly recommended. ajatuslapsi
go to album
Various Artists (eilean 100)
by eilean rec.

supported by 28 fans who also own “You Were Always An Island”
go to album
February Dawn
by Wil Bolton

supported by 26 fans who also own “You Were Always An Island”

I love everything Wil does and this is no exception .... dave ogden
go to album
Volume Uno
by Stromboli

Embrace the void with Italian post-industrial maestro Stromboli (who is neither inside-out pizza or volcano). Bandcamp Album of the Day Mar 1, 2017
go to album
Mechanics Of Dominion
by Esmerine

The duo have fruitfully expanded their palate while maintaining their elegant neo-classical minimalism. Bandcamp Album of the Day Dec 7, 2017
go to album
Remain Calm
by Mica Levi & Oliver Coates

"Remain Calm" is steeped in classical music, yet keen enough to blend contemporary styles—like grime, techno and drone. Bandcamp Album of the Day Dec 2, 2016
go to album
The Hired Hands: A Tribute to Bruce Langhorne
by Various Artists

Lee Ranaldo, Susan Alcorn, Steve Gunn & more pay tribute to an underrated guitarist. Bandcamp Album of the Day Feb 27, 2017
go to album