Michael Nau - Mowing - VINYL LP

Wisdom - I Shall Die Here [COMPACT DISCS] date 04/01/2014

Michael Nau's solo career began with songs crafted and composed in private moments, later to be shared with musical compatriots and reimagined with auxiliary input on records like Mowing, The Load EP, and Some Twist. These early drafts were stashed away in the vault as Nau strode forward, but after a taxing spring of touring in support of his latest album Less Ready to Go, and recording and self-releasing the stripped-down informal So On So On, Nau found himself hunkering down at home and rediscovering old gems in his archives. The search yielded a new digital collection of Nau's initial forays into solo work, bundled together as Demo Versions, 2014 to 2017. In their initial incarnations, these songs were less about the end result and more about the discovery. InchThey're the seed,Inch Nau says of the material. InchThese recordings are essentially the writing of the songs... written and recorded at the same time. There's something exciting about them for that reason. It feels magical any time the start of a song arrives, let alone gets 'finished.'Inch These early drafts don't just serve to shed light on the creative process or expose the malleability of Nau's songwriting approach; they often frame the material in an entirely new context. Demo Versions' opening track InchThe GlassInch is a bare-bones affair of acoustic guitar, bass, and vocals-a breezy Sunday morning song that sounds markedly different than the layered lounge-rock approach that later appeared on Mowing. InchLight That Ever,Inch with it's wall-of-sound production, serves as a climax to Some Twist, but in it's infant stage on this collection, it's a beautiful, intimate folk song. Ultimately, all ten songs off Demo Versions, 2014 to 2017 reveal a new side to these fan favorites, with Nau's rich arrangements and unorthodox accompaniments largely absent, and the simple beauty and grace at the heart of the

For Jakob's Mirror, composer and saxophonist Robin Verheyen (b. 1983) sought inspiration far from home, retreating to the Albers Foundation in Connecticut to reflect on the life and work of painter Jakob Smits (1855-1928). Smits, who settled in the Belgian Campine and captured it's light and landscapes in a personal, timeless style, became a guide for Verheyen's own exploration of identity, memory, and belonging.Rather than translating Smits' canvases literally, Verheyen immersed himself in their atmosphere, while also listening to the music of Smits' era, including Flemish folk songs-one of which briefly surfaces in the score. Written for the Goeyvaerts String Trio and percussionist Robin Schulkowsky, the work weaves together European harmonic traditions, jazz's rhythmic vitality, and echoes of Verheyen's roots in the Campine.Jakob's Mirror is both homage and self-portrait a meditation on landscape, light, and the enduring pull of home.