the blithe sons

the blithe sons ~ we walk the young earth (family vineyard 2003)

"The Blithe Sons are the duo of Loren Chasse and Glenn Donaldson. Compiled from performances that took place under a creek bridge in San Gregorio on sea cliffs in the Marin Headlands. With acoustic guitar, harps, bells, harmonium, gongs submerged in a creek, cymbals, vocals, banjo, birds, pipes, bell-blocks, drums, branches and the location itself as an instrument, these album weaves minimalist hymns with stark drones. The Blithe Sons conjure an imaginary wilderness through the sounds made within these mysterious locales, combining Chasse's leanings towards tones and percussive textures with Donaldson's folk-inflected melodies" family vineyard

"...But, what about the true meaning of the 'Jewelled Antler'?

Loren Chasse: "The name came up spontaneously one day, while Thuja was playing. It stuck around in our thoughts and appeared later on as a title for a song. This didn't quite seem to fulfill the potential of this image, and so when Glenn and I decided to begin a label there was the Jewelled Antler, waiting as the perfect mascot for our imagined musics." perfect sound forever

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of

of - rocks will open (digitalis 2008)

"Loren Chasse is responsible for a whole host of vital albums. He was a founding member of the Jewelled Antler label and has sparked so many great moments from the likes of Thuja, The Blithe Sons, Softwar, and of course his main solo guise, Of. For years this project has evolved into something of absolute magical grandeur. "Rocks Will Open" is the latest opus in Chasse's catalog. The music on this album is as organic as it gets. Each tone, each sound feels like it has been culled directly from the Earth's crust. Gentle drones arc toward the hazy sunlight, flickering like distant birds sailing out over the sea. Between the ghostly echoes rises a cacacphony of plucked strings dancing toward oblivion. Loren Chasse's vision is perfectly expressed on "Rocks Will Open." digitalis

foto: jon edwards

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