let us make a record

Throughout this series of essays, I’ve been rummaging around in the fringes of gospel music, mostly looking at artists who have travelled that Appalachian gospel tradition in different exploratory ways, when the rest of the industry was adapting to the genres of hit radio.  But far outside of Christian radio, and even further than the Appalachian mountain fridge, there are artists that I love and admire who are making deeply spiritual music that cannot be defined by any category.  Call it outsider art, call it independent music; it is a big, bold reaction to the Father’s love. For that reason, I decided to take a brief respite from my essays to shine a small light on those particular artists.  Some of them you may have heard of.  Some you will hopefully check out and support.

Brother Danielson’s Brother is to Son– It’s extremely difficult to single out one album from Daniel Smith’s many Danielson incarnations (Ships is strange, complex, and brilliant), but I think the album that hits me the most on a spiritual level is his Brother Danielson solo record, Brother is to Son. Smith strums, stomps, shouts, and wrestles with his faith across 10 peculiar songs that continually veer directions.  A quiet, erratic plea from a doubting Thomas may lead to the revelation, “I can’t understand the ways of my Lord with my mere mind as a man”.

Brother is to Son can be found through the Sounds Familyre record label, some independent record stores, and most online retailers.

Chad Marine’s the Honey Trail– An eerie, droning noise arises, and it sets the tone for the rest of Chad Marine’s the Honey Trail.  A grave voice comes in. “By and by, we are going to see the King,” he sings with all seriousness.  Industrial sounds enter and exit, brooding noises permeate, and ancient texts are spoken, sang, and chanted aloud in what I can only describe as a severe celebration, like the thundering weight of Glory.

The Honey Trail can be downloaded at Chad’s Bandcamp page.

Jay Tholen’s the Great Hylian Revival-I have a faint memory of letting the beginning credits of the original Legend of Zelda play over and over again when I was a kid, so struck was I by that opening theme song.  There was something about that strange, electronic melody that enraptured me.  Perhaps Jay Tholen had a similar experience as a child, only the melody never left him; and as his faith was being fashioned in those formative years, the two sort of grew together.  Perhaps not.  But somehow, across a generous number of albums and eps, Tholen has reconciled the mystery of the Creator with the sounds and adventure of classic videogames. Working mostly in the genre of chiptunes, he has amassed quite a catalog over the years, writing many excellent, electronics-heavy worship songs; and, though it’s difficult to highlight just one, my favorite has always been the Great Hylian Revival, a worship ep using the music of the Legend of Zelda: the Orarina of Time.  Tholen proclaims, against a hypnotic, mechanical melody, “Creation stands at attention to behold His work; all up in the heavens and here on the earth; sing in harmony to show Him what He’s worth to them”.  And I’m struck again. 

Here’s a zip of the ep: http://jaytholen.net/jaytholen-thegreathylianrevival.zip

You can also find many of Jay Tholen’s recordings at his Bandcamp page.

Josh Garrels’ Love and War and the Sea Between-As the story goes, Josh Garrels lost his voice halfway through the recording of his 6^th album, Love and War and the Sea Between, a cliché-devoid study of relationships, seen through the lens of his faith and journey.  The songs were written, the instruments recorded, but following a sickness, he couldn’t sing anymore.  After fasting for days, he was laying in his bathtub praying, when a voice told him to give the album over to God. He had a sense that would mean giving the album away for a year (a Year of Jubilee).  He briefly struggled with the idea of giving away his art (as well as his main source of income), but he ceded, and his voice returned.  The album went on to reach hundreds of thousands of people, many of whom could identify with the brokenness, longing and redemption of the seafaring wanderers in Garrels’ songs.  Love and War is as epic as the ocean itself, and charts both new and ancient paths as the artist struggles to understand the emotional chasms that sometimes separate us from those we love.  But his questions won’t hold him down.  “Farther along we’ll understand why”, he sings, drawing on the old hymn, with a faith that sustains any storm and a conviction that prophetically comforts.

Love and War and the Sea Between can be found at most online retailers and through Garrels’ website.

Josh White’s Achor– There’s an all-around feeling of fellowship that surrounds Josh White’s Achor.  I’m not sure how the record was recorded, or who the players are, but each cellist and string player, each guitarist, each vocalist, brings with them a gentle sense of joy to assist White in his candid folk and gospel tunes.  Worship music usually has a stigma to it these days. Much of it has been robbed of its poetry and honesty.  But when White sings of forsaking all else “to burn in You, my love”, there is true depth to his words…and it sounds likes he means it.

Achor can be found at most online retailers.

Half-Handed Cloud’s Halos & Lassos– I’m a little more secure in my musical tastes these days, but there was an exploratory time in my life where I had trouble recognizing what was real and beautiful and full of truth in music.  I’m still a little ashamed that I barely gave Bruce Springsteen’s Nebraska a chance the first time I listened to it.  I had heard nothing but good things, bought it at a discount price, rushed through it, and didn’t take it out again for a year or so, at which point it realigned how I thought about music.  That’s been the case for many of my favorite albums, Half-Handed Cloud’s Halos & Lassos included.  Granted, the music of John Ringhofer isn’t as instantly accessible as that of Mr. Springsteen, but I’m extremely thankful that I had the sense to dust off the album and give it a second listen.  Ringhofer can put more ideas into a 50 second song than most composers can fit into a double album.  His songs are musical collages of spiritual reflections, obscure Bible lyrics, toys, instruments (both traditional and found), and a giddy zeal for the Creator and His creation.  The lyrics are oftentimes bleak and bloody, observing the darker side of the faith and it’s black and blue origins. But the child-like enthusiasm that the artist brings to each song fills you with joy at where the Kingdom is heading.

Halos & Lassos can be found through Asthmatic Kitty Records, some independent record stores, and most online retailers.

Soul-Junk’s 1961– Glen Galaxy and his rotating roster of noisemakers is another artist with a dense catalog (this is to be expected from someone who has set out to translate the entire Bible into experimental hip-hop and garage rock songs).  1961 is his most recent Soul-Junk project, and Galaxy is up to “the Songs of Ascent” (Psalms 120-134) in his mission.  Joined by two brothers, his son and daughter, Galaxy recklessly launches into each mournful, triumphant, observant psalm with crashing guitars, overextended vocals, and complete unrestraint.  There’s no falsity here.  At the same time as the record was being recorded, Galaxy’s wife was overcoming a battle with cancer.  You can hear the weight of tribulation in his wracked voice, his very soul tapped into each vibrant word.  It’s as loud and as messy as a manifested life of faith.

1961 can be found through the Sounds Familyre record label and Soul-Junk’s Bandcamp page.

Sufjan Steven’s Seven Swans– A stripped down departure from Sufjan’s typically ambitious concept albums, Seven Swans begins with a quietly plucked banjo and some playful use of Old Testament poetry; and they set the tone for what is to follow.  There are bursts of aggression, hints of darkness pervade throughout and the title track reaches a soaring apex; but most of the songs are hushed, subdued reflections on the artist’s abstract faith.

Seven Swans can be found through Sounds Familyre, independent record stores, and most online retailers.

The Welcome Wagon’s Precious Remedies Against Satan’s Devices– After an epic, Sufjan-orchestrated debut, the Welcome Wagon pared down their sound and built their songs around simple melodies, delicate instrumentation, and quiet vocals for their second album, Precious Remedies Against Satan’s Devices.  The husband and wife duo of Reverend Vito and Monique Auito draw upon classic hymns, religious texts, and the world at large to explore their faith.  The Reverend, in his forthright lyrics, finds God in unlikely places.  And there’s a fragility in Monique’s soft, sometimes timid voice that speaks volumes.

Precious Remedies Against Satan’s Devices can be found through Asthmatic Kitty Records, independent record stores, and most online retailers.