“Salt Spring: Sun and Shadow”, a new ambient collection, releases May 28th via Arbutus Records. A limited cassette or the digital release are available now for preorder. One of the pieces, “Channel Ridge” is available on streaming services now as well.

This album comprises tracks I recorded on Salt Spring Island, British Columbia, in early 2017. The cover photo is from this time as well. The island has since become my home but this is an earlier document of my enchantment with the place.

I had been taking a couple months off, spending time with family, walking by the ocean and through the wooded trails around the island, taking photographs, taking time and enjoying the landscape. I began recording this music early in the mornings, sipping coffee with a view into the forest, before the rest of the people in the house were awake. The pieces were made with simple, asynchronous keyboard and guitar loops, using analog echo effects to devolve and degrade the sounds. I mixed to and from tape at The Pines recording studio in Montreal, messing with tape speeds, plate reverb and various atmospheric effects along the way.

The results are, I hope, a simple quiet accompaniment for time spent reading, unwinding or unplugging by whatever means are desired.