THE STAVES ANNOUNCE NEW ALBUM

English trio The Staves — sisters Emily, Jessica and Camilla Staveley-Taylor — have announced the track listing for their first new album in six years, Good Woman, out February 5, 2021, on Nonesuch Records in the US. I contributed electric guitars, mustang bass, cassettes, pedal steel, tape loops, synths, mellotron, MS-20 bass, and mandotar. Thanks John Congleton for inviting me to be a part of it, I had so much fun. Wishing this album all the best.

1. Good Woman

2. Best Friend

3. Careful, Kid

4. Next Year, Next Time

5. Nothing’s Gonna Happen

6. Sparks

7. Paralysed

8. Devotion

9. Failure

10. Satisfied

11. Trying

12. Waiting On Me To Change

Listen to the title track below.

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NEW BRISTON MARONEY SINGLE

From the forthcoming album, out 2021, on Canvasback Records in the US . Produced by John Congleton. Deep Sea Diver written by Briston Maroney and Dan Wilson. I contributed electric guitar, synths, celeste, cassettes, lap steel, mellotron, MS-20 bass.

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NEW ALBUM OUT TODAY

My new album Vanishing Places Vol. 2 Glaciers In Iceland is out today.

It was recorded in Nashville last fall, with additional field recording in Iceland.

Mixed by Brad Bivens, mastered by John Baldwin. With additional contributions from glaciologist Oddur Sigurosson, arranger Stephen Lamb, Sam Smith and Dr. Kieran Baxter.

Available on my site or here.

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NATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC ENDURANCE INSTALLATION

Two Hundred Fifty Glaciers, is the first piece from my new album, Vanishing Places Vol. 2 Glaciers In Iceland, one of the three commissioned pieces I made for CHANGE, a permanent art exhibit dedicated to examining and expressing response to vulnerable polar geographies.

The album’s worth of music that I made for the installation, incorporates field recordings I made in Iceland, data sonification, pedal steel, electric guitar and tapes.

This piece contains the same number of notes as the number of remaining glaciers in Iceland (two hundred fifty). I limited the harmonic content of the piece to thirteen pitches, each pitch representing one of the thirteen largest glaciers in Iceland. Simple and mutually compatible clusters of notes were recorded to four loops, then played back at different speeds.  The thirteen pitches re-combine throughout the piece to form new clusters of notes in an evolving soundscape.

I began by making field recordings in Iceland, then asked for help from glaciologist Oddur Sigurðsson to establish some parameters for the piece. My goals leading up to this project were to expand on some concepts from Vanishing Places Vol. 1 Bears Ears, and to attempt to tie certain aspects of the recording and composition process to the geography of Iceland.

I’ll share more details soon, but this is a project I am very excited to be a part of. Installation on the Endurance will take place in February, 2020 and is scheduled to depart April 2, 2020 out of Svalbard, Norway.

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MUSIC FOR PERMANENT ART INSTALLATION ABOARD NAT GEO ENDURANCE

Excited to announce my seventh studio album, Vanishing Places Vol. 2 Glaciers In Iceland.

Music commissioned for CHANGE, the first ever, permanent art exhibit presented aboard the National Geographic Endurance, by a wide range of artists, dedicated to examining and expressing response to vulnerable polar geographies.

The album’s worth of music that I made for the installation, incorporates field recordings I made in Iceland, data sonification, pedal steel, guitar and tapes. My goals leading up to this project were to expand on some concepts I’d been experimenting with on recording sessions and to attempt to tie certain aspects of the recording and composition process to the geography of Iceland.

More details coming in the New Year, but this is a project I am very excited to be a part of. Installation on the Endurance will take place in February, 2020 and is scheduled to depart April 2, 2020 out of Svalbard, Norway.

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NEW ALBUM OUT MONDAY

My new album The Neighborhood is out on Monday. It was written and recorded the first half of this year at home on the tape machines. Mixed by me and Gary Paczosa. Mastered by John Baldwin at RCA.

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NEW ALBUM OUT TODAY

I’m excited to announce that my new record, Vanishing Places Vol. 1 Bears Ears, is available today - one year to the day since I first began this project.

Listen to the album in it’s entirety here.

This album was written and recorded based on a series of field recordings I made in Bears Ears National Monument Utah after it was announced that the Trump Administration would reduce the National Monument by 85% in size — over 1 million acres, opening new mineral and oil and gas leasing opportunities, easing drilling regulations, and rolling back habitat protections for endangered species. The idea behind the project was to travel into wild places currently at risk, record the soundscape, then turn those field recordings into fully realized compositions back in the studio.

I wanted to record the soundscape in Bears Ears before it was changed, so after a few months of planning I packed up my field recorders and flew out to the desert. I first captured the soundscape, then synthesized those field recordings in different ways back in the studio. Those recordings became the foundation for this record, even if they’re now unrecognizable. With James Gadson on drums, and Lars Horntveth on horns and keyboards. The cover artwork is by Larry Bell.

You can make a direct contribution to my project by clicking here.

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NEW ALBUMS OUT THIS WEEK

Two records that I’m very proud of — Sharon Van Etten, Remind Me Tomorrow, and Guster, Look Alive, both came out yesterday.

Thanks to John Congleton for inviting me out to play on Sharon Van Etten’s new album. It was one of the true highlights of my year and I am thankful to have been involved. Congleton and Sharon created an environment in the studio where we were all encouraged to stretch and embrace the unknown.

What a crew of inspiring and adventurous musicians on those sessions, and an unbelievable batch of songs written by SVE. I hope we make a lot more music together. She’s the best.

Hear Sharon break down every track from Remind Me Tomorrow on NPR All Songs Considered clicking here.

The new Guster album Look Alive came out this week. Big thanks to our friends and collaborators Leo Abrahams (who produced 8/10 songs on the album), John Congleton (who produced three songs including “Mind Kontrol”) and Sam Cohen (who produced “When You Go Quiet”). Also thank you to engineer Graham Lessard, who recorded the bulk of the album, assistant engineers Will Maclellan, Shae Brossard, Sean Cook and Daniel Avila, Collin Dupuis who mixed 8/10 tracks on the album (except for “Summertime” and “Not For Nothing” both mixed by Leo), and Adam Ayan who mastered.

And last but not least — thanks to our families, our team and our crew. We’re a lucky bunch.

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VANISHING PLACES VOL. 1 BEARS EARS

I finished my new album, Vanishing Places Vol. 1 Bears Ears. It was written and recorded based on a series of field recordings I made in Bears Ears National Monument earlier this year.  The idea behind the project was to travel into wild places currently at risk, record the soundscape, then turn those field recordings into fully realized compositions back in the studio. James Gadson played drums and Lars Horntveth contributed horns, woodwinds, and keyboards.  The cover artwork is by Larry Bell. Produced by Luke Reynolds. Mixed by Brad Bivens. Mastered by John Baldwin.

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RECORDING JAMES GADSON

Yesterday we cut drums on two new songs of mine, with one of my favorite musicians of all time, James Gadson. Thanks to everyone who helped make it happen, especially my best friend Max Hart, Dave Cerminara for engineering, Jonathan Wilson for letting us into his studio, and Noah for helping line it all up. Most of all, thank you Gadson.

Photos Max Hart

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SHARON VAN ETTEN ANNOUNCES NEW ALBUM

Sharon Van Etten has announced her new album. Remind Me Tomorrow is out January 18 via Jagjaguar. Produced and mixed by John Congleton. I played guitar, tape loops, fuzz bass, keyboards and synth bass.

I’ve got an immense amount of respect for SVE’s songwriting, Congleton’s vision and the stellar cast of musicians who were assembled for these recording sessions. Wishing this album and SVE all the best. Looking forward to doing more together.

Track listing below.

Remind Me Tomorrow

01 I Told You Everything
02 No One’s Easy to Love
03 Memorial Day
04 Comeback Kid
05 Jupiter 4
06 Seventeen
07 Malibu
08 You Shadow
09 Hands
10 Stay

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PHOSPHORESCENT ANNOUNCES NEW ALBUM

Phosphorescent announces new album, C'est La Vie, out October 5 on Dead Oceans.  Pre-order here.  It's a good one.  I played electric guitar and tape loops on one song, still managed to break my vibrato.

Track list below:

1. Black Moon / Silver Waves
2. C’est La Vie No. 2
3. New Birth in New England
4. There From Here
5. Around the Horn
6. Christmas Down Under
7. My Beautiful Boy
8. These Rocks
9. Black Waves / Silver Moon

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NEW GUSTER SONGS

From our forthcoming album. 

Hard Times, recorded February in Montreal.  Produced by Leo Abrahams.  Mixed by Collin Dupuis.  

Don't Go, recorded December in Calgary at Studio Bell NMC.  Produced by Leo Abrahams.  

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RICHARD SWIFT

It fills me with sadness and frustration that our friend and collaborator Richard Swift has died.   My thoughts and condolences are with his family, especially his wife and three daughters whom he left behind. 

Richard was someone whom I deeply admired and meant so much to me.  

The last time I saw him in person, was at Electric Lady Studios in NYC after The Arcs played.  I'd brought with me a wild turkey feather and a chunk of quartz from the ground near the cabin to give to him.  I told him it was for good luck and to put it in his studio when he got back to Oregon.  He put it in the side pocket of his black trench coat, gave me a big hug and then I left to catch a subway home.  

To his family, I'm so deeply sorry for your loss.  

I don't even know what to say.  I hope you know peace.  I love you so much Swift.    

Love, Luke

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NEKO CASE NPR FIRST LISTEN

'Hell On' is streaming in it's entirety at NPR First Listen.  New album comes out June 1.

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FIELD RECORDING UTAH

After six weeks of planning, tomorrow morning I'm flying out to the Southeastern corner of Utah to spend a week making field recordings in the 1.35 million acres of wilderness that was previously known as Bears Ears National Monument.  

Bears Ears National Monument was established by President Barack Obama on Dec 28, 2016.  The monument's original size was 1,351,849 acres (roughly the size of Delaware), and was reduced 85% by President Donald Trump on December 4, 2017 in an exceptionally large acreage reduction that is unprecedented in the history of U.S. national monuments.  

I've spent the past several years looking for a new way of creating, writing and producing music, one that works outside of traditional song forms, yet still has an underlying structure, self imposed limitations and is built upon substantive ideas that interest me.  I've explored the works of field recordist Bernie Krause and composers John Luther Adams, Caroline Shaw, Steve Reich and Gavin Bryars as well as fellow Vermonter Nick Zammuto and Museum of Natural History data visual specialist Brian Foo. My idea for this project, is to go make field recordings of vanishing places, then take those recordings with me back to the studio to be manipulated and transformed into sampler instruments that might serve as the foundation for minimalist, stark and contemporary pieces of music, built using soundscapes from places that are in the process of changing and vanishing before our very eyes.

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NEKO CASE ANNOUNCES NEW ALBUM

Had the pleasure of working on a batch of songs with Neko Case for her forthcoming record.  Yesterday she announced that her new album, Hell-On, comes out June 1 via ANTI-.  I have an unbelievable amount of respect for her creative vision and artistry.  I hope we make more music together.  

Track list below:

1. Hell-On
2. Last Lion Of Albion
3. Halls of Sarah
4. Bad Luck
5. Curse of the I-5 Corridor
6. Gumball Blue
7. Dirty Diamond
8. Oracle Of The Maritime
9. Winnie
10. Sleep All Summer
11. My Uncle's Navy
12. Pitch Or Honey

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GUSTER CURRENTLY RECORDING

Since December, we've been in the studio working with producers Leo Abrahams and John Congleton in Calgary, Montreal and Los Angeles.  Recording to resume later this month in NYC.  

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