stag hare ~ starlights gloom

stag hare ~ starlights gloom (inner islands, 2017)

Farewell, Stag Hare!

«Starlights Gloom is an album about heaviness and lightness. Its made up of primarily sampled material from throughout the Stag Hare catalog. Its sort of a final farewell to the now decade long project, while being its own creature as well. I wanted it to be sort of feminine and tough, ethereal and grounding. It's maybe the last piece of art I have left to release that connects back to a specifically really hard time in my life. And so it was with mixed feelings that I was able to sit down with the tracks and finally finish them. By "really hard" I mean I didn't really think I was going to make it and I recorded the first versions of these tracks as a way to share a certain energy to my child as he grew up in case I wasn't around. I didn't want them to be sad, but I didn't want them to be overly optimistic either. After sitting on them for 2 years, and obviously still alive, thank Goddess, I decided I needed to finally finish these tracks and move on with my life. I used those initial sketches as a stepping off point and then just took the tracks where it felt like they wanted to go. The album isn't intended as any kind of profound statement, they are just tracks that sound good to me and I just finished them in a way that felt good. I didn't labor over them or think very deeply on them. In a way this was actually the most effortless Stag Hare album I have made, using mostly samples and short cuts to get the tracks where I wanted. And it felt fun, and it felt good. It's a bittersweet farewell to the whole Stag Hare project. I more or less have lived in the Stag Hare world for most of my adult life, and through it and the people it has been able to quietly reach I have stayed grounded and inspired. I love you all, and you all have helped keep me alive for the past ten years while I figured a lot of shit out. Still figuring that shit out, but I feel like I can finally step out of my Stag Hare safety womb and go try some other stuff.

~ Willow Skye-Biggs

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also here
~__~

stag hare / crown of eternity

stag hare ~ velvet & bone (inner islands, 2016)

«Velvet and Bone is structured as a gothic fable. It is about the act of self reflection through knowing another. It is about seeing the shadow and knowing the shadow. It is about seeing death and knowing death. It is about bones, and the way they are shaped by the tensions put on them by various opposing muscles. It is about the swamps of depression. It is about love in its most tragic and therefore most beautiful form». ~ stag hare

Being a huge fan sometimes stops me from writing reviews – maybe it's just subconscious feeling that words can spoil the fragility of music, especially when the music is as personal as Stag Hare are. There are so many kinds of art, of sound, ways of expression, but not that many artists are interested in putting their true emotions into art. Looks like image and the presentation are more important than revealing the personal side  of life and it's understandable. But when the image contradicts to inner story it may say something about our ability to feel the difference. What I like about Stag Hare (and the whole Inner Islands roster, actually) is sincerity, openness, fearless sharing of life as it seen by the artist, reflecting everything in music, telling stories which at some level are universal for all human beings – we just go through them by our own patterns. So, here it spins, new tape with Stag Hare's songs and this time they're actually songs with lyrics printed on j-card! «Opening (Depression)» starts with deep drone tune and it's actually not so dark, as drone ambient can be, but it has this longing which fades in second track – slowly, but confidently building sparkling layers of blissful folk song and entering the same territories Stag Hare known for, but this time with the strong presence of the new kind of energy. Dreamer has awakened and discovered that real world is the challenge and was never separated from the dream. The inner and the outer are not that different categories, simply matter of viewpoint. These songs are still dreamy and so magical, they bloom like astral flowers from the deepness of psychedelic revelation, but at the same time the thickness of the physical is present, like never-ending drone – it simply stitches once separated into whole... Natural & urban, transcendence and routine, simply life as it is. Aspiration to non-duality is primal to every spiritual being, but the ability to separate things is not less important, it's actually the only way our mind can work, endlessly dividing and then synthesizing at new levels of understanding, just to separate again... Okay, think I went too far, so let's say it's just wonderful music for everything you want from it. «Velvet and Bone» can be just beautiful background for your daily activities as successfully, as the impetus for philosophizing (which is clear in my case), it chills and gives energy, it brings joy and contains many different moods at the same time. Music of high potential to unfold. Truly personal, but universal – you may learn something from it, consciously or not. In any case, you won't regret hearing it. 

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crown of eternity ~ dream architecture (inner islands, 2017)

«Dream Architecture contains the deep and complex harmonics of 11 gongs, as well as the sonorous tones of more than 60 bells, sound plates, sound triangles, tuned metals and singing bowls. Crown of Eternity carefully and patiently blend and orchestrate their instruments to create harmonic fields that invite the listener to dive in and not only explore the nature of the sound current, but also their inner landscape». inner islands

Some things change and some not. But it depends on the perspective, of course. Music of gongs, singing bowls and similar stuff was in the New Age genre since its inception. Of course it existed before, but not as music, but more as a spiritual practice. And this function of primal metal instruments vibrations resonating through your body remains unchanged – you'd rather hear such music at some yoga place, than in the concert club. Same private and personal feeling is present at this tape, as with Stag Hare release above. We are left alone with resonance, created with carefulness. It nurtures your senses, sets the right mood for relaxing contemplation, it gives landscape for your inner gazing... The experience of listening to such tape may be rewarding, but I guess it's nothing compared to Crown of Eternity live sets. The amount of gongs, plates, bowls and other metal resonators seen on photos has its own impression even without hearing the music! But if you had the chance to join such session at least once in your life, then you know what I mean. Here the point which turns spiritual practice into music – the act of recording. Same can be told about about any "sacred music" like tibetan monks' throat singing or orthodox chorals: when you are out of the moment of actual happening, when this is recorded or even just put into the studio or onto stage – it turns into completely different story. But this is really one big theme and it leads us away from music itself. Which is, by my humble opinion, can be always regarded as thing in itself without looking at its context and further analysis. Call me consumer, but some things need to be simply enjoyed. This tape is highly enjoyable even if my sound system is unable to produce same effect as live session with all those beautiful resonating stuff. But still, the sound resonates with my soul and think that's the most important here. Usually I listen recordings like this (Klaus Wiese, Danny Becher, Karma Moffet to name just a few) when I'm tired of any other music and it's always refreshing, kind of pleasant pause in the never-ending stream of music and always-present daily noise. Harmony & meditation, and nothing else here actually. What else do you need? 

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stag hare ~ tapestry

stag hare ~ tapestry (inner islands, 2015) [4-tape box compilation]

«This is a collaborative project entirely compelled forward by those individuals who have commissioned the tracks. It could not and would not have been created without this communal effort. All pieces were recorded from December 2014 to July 2015. Each track was individually commissioned for creation and recorded under the inspiration and direction of each patron.» stag hare

The idea of artist making living of its art always was important – not just for artists themselves, which is obvious, but for the audience as well. Time we live now affords many new levels of communication, and if yesterday your favourite musician existed in some sort of parallel universe – unreachable, available only on special occasions, today we have a slightly different situation. Yes, there are still super-stars, but the majority of artist you admire have same facebook pages as you do – posting kittens, sharing vacation photos and so on. And you won't believe how many of them have same problems as you do. Music making for most of diy/tape/lo-fi  scene artist is an actual luxury, free time devotion often taken away from family, regular day job or simply of outside walk. Instead being as lazy, as all we sometimes do, artists are often forced to superpose. Despite the common idea that music-making is fun and relaxing, it requires much more, even if (or especially if!) you do experimental music. You can't just hold one note on cheapest keyboard and say "hey, that's drone", it will be boring and no one would like that. People invent, they always try and research. But with understanding of such topics, there are still huge difference between music-making and 'normal job'. Many new methods of artist support exists today – fundraising, patron system, simple donation buttons, but sudden growth of the cassette tapes manufacture hints that people prefer to have something more that just music files in exchange. They want a connection, communication, and it must go both ways. Holding something in hands helps that, especially if this thing was made by artist himself. 

What Stag Hare did for this project was simple – you can get 15-minutes drone track recorded personally for you just for few dollars. And for few more you can get a tape with this track directly from Stag Hare's bedroom – signed and hand-painted. This is actually almost genius in terms of modern world communication. Fast and direct. When artist releases an album, it's always about something personal – but for artist himself, while such commissioned tracks seem to be more about the person who wanted it. This is  interaction that comes to artist's mind even on subtle level: "what this guy like? what sounds good for him?"... Of course, small labels are offering very similar thing, they do limited editions and their customers are usually same people from one release to another. There is certain level of trust in it, which never existed in major label industry. I doubt that anyone gets new cars from running tape label, but when people feel this interaction it makes life easier – for the musician, for label owner and for the listener as well. Sleepless nighttime spent over the blinking synths and pedals doesn't pay bills and maybe bothers your relatives, but it must be much easier to get up early after it for regular job, knowing that there are people who appreciate and value your efforts.

Each 'Tapestry' track was made for someone, but releasing whole thing for the world by Inner Islands brings it to broader perspective. This is not about people trying to make living from their art any more. This is about life itself, unfolding its ways, evolving its ideas further to interconnectedness of everything. One small step in the search of new ways of existence of art in our world. Music artists are same as everyone else, but the music itself is something much more! A place where we all meet each other.

 

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kaliska

kaliska ~ the path we make (inner islands, 2012)

"walking a personal path, howling at the moon" braden j mc kenna

hoy es el cumpleaños de ana, el momento perfecto para publicar esta conversación con braden j mc kenna, una de esas personas que de no existir habría que inventarla. de nuevo volvemos a intentar descubrir a través de preguntas más personales el por qué de una música tan especial y de la importancia de un sello como inner islands. "the path we make" es el último disco de braden (aka Wyld Wyzrdz aka Coyote Dreamer aka Kaliska), recorramos ese camino con el propio braden.

trees :: i must admit that sean (ashan, gkfoes vjgoaf), stag hare, high wolf and you, are creating the most spiritual music in the outer regions of the world we are living. how is your relationship with the "real world"? ie the world in which we must work to pay bills, mortgage for a house, etc ... how do you deal with the madness floating around us?

braden :: I’m still figuring out my relationship with the "real world". I’ve done a pretty good job the past few years not worrying about money. I try to only work part time to keep my energy free for creating art and music, running the record label and exploring. but lately money and bills and stuff like that have become more real. as I get older my lack of temporal security is becoming more obvious. as for right now I’m just trying to keep a balance, doing what I need to do to survive as a human in the world today.

trees :: where did you grow up?, what was your first contact with music? what led you to create your own music?
braden :: I moved around a bit as kid, but I mostly grew up in Utah and Washington. I was born into a mormon family, my first experiences with music was singing hymns in church as a child. I started playing the guitar at age 15 and first learned to play punk rock. later, as a teenager I got really obsessed with "the glow pt. 2" and that pretty much sparked the desire to record my own records.

trees :: the microphones!!! I got quite impressed with this record too, and of course with “song islands”, specially with“I lost my wind”, have you lost your wind sometime?
braden :: Ya, I’ve lost my wind before. I think most people do from time to time.

trees :: I think you're making the most organic sound out there. do you think it’s affected the place in which you’re living?? or maybe it’s more mental than physical?
braden :: I think my art is equally affected by all of my experiences. whether it’s spending time in nature or meditation, interacting with friends and other humans, going to work, playing video games etc… my art is a reflection of my life, whatever that may consist of.

trees :: what’s your favourite place in the world?
braden :: I am learning to not have favorites, so this is a tricky question. ;-) I resonate with a lot of different places. I recently went on a backpacking trip with my father in southern Utah, the desert there has a very strong power. I’ve also been eating at a local tibetan restaurant called Shambala on a regular basis. that place has such a good vibe and the food is so tasty. but ya, I guess any place can be your favorite if you are in the moment.

trees :: how is the process in creating these mantras?, and technically how is the recording process, and what tools you use?
braden :: my process for creating music can be different from album to album. In reference to my most recent album "the path we make", I was coming out of a period of intense anxiety and emotional distress. so I was kind of in a weird space when I started recording that record. I had made very basic versions of the songs and would meditate on them for hours. the sounds of that album brought me a lot of comfort and peace, it helped ground me. as I got deeper into those sounds it became clearer to me what the album meant to me and I completed the record accordingly.
on the technical side I record music on my laptop. I’m currently using logic pro. my process generally consists of making a solid drone and few loops first, then outlining a basic structure. I then sit on that for a while to try and figure out what is going on. I improvise a lot in the recording process, making loops out of the magick moments. I use a lot of repetition in my music, so a large portion of my time is used making subtle mixing changes throughout the track and honing in on the best possible song structure. It kind of feels like sculpting or painting.

trees :: I often say that humans today have lost touch with nature, its link with the spiritual world. an idea that always comes to my mind when I hear your music. I find it the perfect soundtrack playing in the ideal world, the one i feel plenty, that my head imagines. how do you reach a sound so organic?
braden :: my process involves a great deal of electronics, so I’m glad it still has an organic feeling. when approaching a recording I try to be as honest with myself as possible, only keeping what really needs to be on the record. I want to make music that is totally open and honest, music that comes from a loving place. I want my music to feel human. I guess my intention in creating the music could lead to the organic feeling you have experienced.

trees :: the world is going through probably one of the worst moments of history, rather than the end of the world I think we are about to enter a new dimension of thought. what moves you going out of bed every morning?
braden :: I’ve gone through a lot of changes that past few years and with that have come a lot of amazing experiences as well as many challenges. despite the natural ups and downs that come with being a human there is something deep inside that wants to survive, something that is curious about what tomorrow brings. I still feel like I’m learning what it means to be a human, you know still discovering my self. I also have a very strong desire to keep creating art, so far that’s been enough to get me out of bed.

trees :: "make an island of yourself, make yourself your refuge; there is no other refuge. make your island truth, make truth your refuge, there is no other refuge." (digha nikaya, 16) this words remind me the philosophy of inner islands. am i wrong? what led you to create a music label?braden :: those words definitely dialogue what Inner Islands means to me, but I guess there is not a single specific meaning to the name of the label. Inner Islands is a reference to experiences I’ve had on Antelope Island, as well as the process of personal exploration. I also just think the name sounds cool. ;-)
I had previously ran a label called "magic goat music" for a few years. but as my life began to change, it felt like it was time for a new beginning. I wanted to start a label that had a much more focused intention, I wanted a new record label to reflect the newness of my life.

trees :: absolutely, the name sounds cool. talking about names, where wyld wyzrdz or kaliska comes from? “antelope island” I don’t know where is it but I want to live there! tell us more about this suggestive place.
braden :: Honestly there wasn’t a whole lot of thought behind the name WYLD WYZRDZ. I decided to spell it wrong and use all caps so it would look cooler when written down. I was originally going to use Coyote Dreamer for my new project name, but earlier this year another artist started releasing music under that moniker, so I decided to use Kaliska to avoid confusion. Kaliska means coyote chasing deer. The music I am making with Kaliska is intended to be the sound of survival truth. I feel the image of a coyote hunting a deer fits that pretty well.
Antelope island is an island on the Salt Lake. It’s a special place to me. I’ve had some experiences there that have shifted the way I think about myself and the world I live in. If you ever make it out to Utah I’ll take you there. ;-)

trees :: the other day I saw "encounters at the end of the world" (werner herzog). really amazing, it really struck me (beyond the antarctica's beauty) the co-incidence of extremely interesting people living there. that leads me to think about your relationship with sean conrad (ashan, gkfoes vjgoaf) or garrick biggs (stag hare), how did you meet?
braden :: I’ve seen that film, I really vibe with it. I’ve known stag hare for a while; we started to become friends about 5 years ago. we are both from Utah and our artistic and social paths eventually crossed. stag’s music was very influential in me starting to explore drone-based music in my own recordings. I’ve had a lot of meaningful experiences with stag hare as an artist and as a friend.
I met sean in the summer of 2010. he had just gone on tour with stag and ended up staying at our place in Portland. there was no getting to know you period. sean was instantly familiar. the first time we hung out stag, sean and I recorded the river spirit dragon album. I’ve only spent about three weeks in person with sean, but I consider him one of my closest friends.

trees :: do you remember the “depressed” penguin? he ran towards the unknown, surely knowing that he would die. I envy her, the determination to left the community. maybe we should dedicate one song to the adventurous penguin!
braden :: Of course I remember the “depressed” penguin. I’ll make a song for the penguin and send it to you when it’s done. ;-)

trees :: introduce us sean and tell us his favorite breakfast :)
braden :: the best way to know sean would be to spend some time with him. but if you don’t have that luxury I’d recommend paying close attention to his photos, drawings and music. he is a very sincere artist and puts a lot of himself into the gifts he creates. I don’t really know what his favorite breakfast is, but when we went on tour last summer we mostly ate cereal with warm rice milk that was left in the backseat the car.

trees :: introduce us garrick biggs and tell us his favourite way to spend a sunday morning :)
braden:: garrick is an alien house cat who spends most sunday mornings fast asleep.

trees :: ana wants to know what about looping "being here" from laraaji :D

braden :: oh no! has ana been spying on my last.fm account? I developed tinnitus over a year ago. when it first started the constant ringing in my ears caused me a lot of distress. I would lay in bed and get really freaked out, my head would begin to hurt and I wouldn't be able to sleep. I started to listen to music while going to bed to help mask the ringing in my ears. the track "being here" by Laraaji became my comfort track, I'd just play it on repeat and go to sleep.

eventually I started doing meditation to change my perception of silence. I still have the constant ringing in my ears but I am in a much better emotional place with the situation. I can now fall asleep fine while still hearing the ringing in my ears, but I'm currently living in a house with five other people and I am a light sleeper. so if people are up late and being noisy I use the laraaji track to help me drift into dream land. It's kind of like a drug to me, as soon as I hear the song my body knows it's time for bed.

trees :: musically what caught your attention lately?, what do you think about "dolphins into the future", "taped sounds"?, and what labels you recommend?
braden :: I’ve been vibing on erykah badu quite a bit lately, but she’s a usually in rotation. I’ve recently been getting back into gamelan music. I’ve also been getting into “from there to here” by sunhiilow, really into the blend of darkness and light on that album. recently I’ve discovered the band medicine. I’ve been digging their album titled “the buried life”. the guitar sounds are so warped. I’m living in the house where “seven feathers rainwater” is recording their new album; it’s sounding really good. so stoked for people to hear that when the time comes.
I’ve only heard a little bit of “dolphins into the future”, but I have been down with what I’ve heard. and honestly I know of “taped sounds”, but am not too familiar with what they do. as far as label recommendations, my buddy seth from “seven feathers” is gearing up to get “moon dial” going again. there are a handful of high quality releases that should be out within the next several months.

trees :: oh! I really love “dancers of bali – gamelan of peliatan” you should listen to it! I’ve heard hear hums “opens”and sounds bit different than the usual vibes on inner islands. How’s the way you decide to release one record? what about the near future releases?
braden :: ya, hear hums is a bit different than the classic Inner Islands sound. recently I felt it was important to expand the vibes of the island. there are a few more releases lined up that will shake up the vibe too. mainly I just want to work with open and honest people that are making music from a loving place. I like to work with people I know personally, but have recently been venturing out to releasing music from people I only know through internet communication. It’s kind of scary for me to do that, but I feel it’s important for me to branch out if Inner Islands is going to grow.

trees :: what was the last great movie you saw?, what about the last great book you read?
braden :: last night I watched “where the dead go to die”. It’s a cg film that was written, animated, and directed by jimmy screamer clauz. the film is totally fucked. super dark and crazy, the film never lets up. I was totally drained by the time the film ended. It really explores a lot of the darker aspects of humanity and the psyche. despite being into it I would have a hard time recommending the film to too many people.
I’m not the most avid reader in the world. I’m currently going through a collection of short stories by haruki murakami titled blind willow, sleeping woman. this is my first time reading the works of murakami and I’m really feeling it so far.

trees :: do you feel a strong affinity for any animals? and trees?
braden :: my spirit animal is the coyote, which can be a tricky thing. ;-) I really love cats and make it a point to chill with every cat I come across. I also resonate strongly with deer, antelope and horses. I’m a fan of trees. when I was going through some pretty bad anxiety over a year ago while I was living in Portland I’d go on walks down to the willamette river and put my forehead on the trees. It was good medicine, in a matter of moments I’d begin to feel grounded and normal.

trees :: trees are friends :) I have no more questions, I only want to tell you one thing. thanks for existing, “from a stone” is probably one of my 5 favourite records ever.
braden :: oh gee, thanks. I’m really glad you are resonating with that release. “from a stone” is very special to me. I really feel like trish’s vocals on the album took it to another level. before I go I’d like to thank you for the wonderful questions. I’d also like to give a shout out to my dear friend andrew alba. he is an amazing visual artist. his work can be found at stones in a river and moonfaced.

no sé a vosotros pero a mi braden me devuelve la fé en el ser humano. felicidades braden y felicidades ana!!

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the range of light

"Follow your heart
You will be free
Free just to love
Free just to be"

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stag hare

stag hare ~ spirit canoes (hands in the dark 2011)

"Strange crossroad towns on top of the world rolled by, with shawled Indians watching us from under hatbrims and rebozos. All had their hands outstretched. They had come down from the backmountains and higher places to hold forth their hands for something they thought civilization could offer and they never dreamed the sadness and the poor broken delusion of it. " J. Kerouac

"Following her very noteworthy first album (Black Medecine Music, 2008), Stag Hare has joined us at the dawn of her second opus, Spirit Canoes. 4 titles make up 40 minutes of folk, drone, psyche played in a slow motion by this barefoot uninhibited free-spirit..." hands in the dark

"stag hare was raised mostly by wolves in the northern woods many hundreds of years ago, she has been traveling the path for many of the years since with frequent and extended stops along the way for food and tea. her favorite color is purple. she enjoys lavender, dancing, and decadent celebratory feasts. as the princess of her forest you may find her patrolling amongst the chattering ferns or perhaps sleeping away lifetimes lost in a mossy dream."

"Stag Hare seemingly lives that bohemian way on her own quest for truth (follow his beautiful travelin’ photos on Tumblr) and writes the soundtrack from her barefoot heart, a true traveling troubadour.  Get this among four songs on cd or wait for it on vinyl from Inner Islands in August." yvynyl

filed under: criaturas celestiales

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asha moon canoes (mp3)
to coyoto to hop (mp3)

stag hare

stag hare ~ live dublab 'sprout session' (dublab 2010)

"Stag Hare creates sounds like sacred spirals. He weaves out tapestries of pure waves that swirl and sparkle with infinite overtones. Put this dublab “sprout session” on loop and leave your body behind. Stag Hare will take you where you never knew you needed to be but will want to stay forevermore." dublab

the amazing and beautiful collage art by jesse treece

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wyld wyzrdz • stag hare / high wolf • annapurna illusion

wyld wyzrdz & stag hare ~ antelope island 7'' (inner islands 2010)

"Two peace offerings from Wyld and Stag"

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high wolf & annapurna illusion ~ split lp (group tightener 2011)

"High Wolf's 23-minute contribution, "Amazonian Love Call" recalls the sounds we have enjoyed from him to date, a humid combination of tribal beats, expansive guitars, and whispy synths. Annapurna shares in a similar jungle trance, but is harsher in tone..." altered zones

foto: sara gossett

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gkfoes vjgoaf + river spirit dragon

gkfoes vjgoaf • the joy of awakening [inner islands, 2011]

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water voices

*
river spirit dragon • river spirit dragon [inner islands, 2011]

group channeling from
stag hare +
sean conrad (gkfoes vjgoaf) +braden j mckenna (WYLD WYZRDZ)
slow building, always moving. space out.

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*
photographs by our dear friend sean conrad

held the hand

01. opening ~ bruce langhorne
02. peeper II. true history ~ scott tuma
03 just like anything ~ jackson c. frank
04. comes a time (neil young cover) ~ hooded figures
05. in dreams (roy orbison cover) ~ mount pleasant
06. the eigth of january ~ bookmiller shannon
07. poor ellen smith ~ the kossoy sisters green
08. when the night comes ~ dan auerbach
09. cortez the killer (neil young cover) ~ stag hare
10. round and round ~ trevor healy
11. held the hand (daniel johnston cover) ~ joy zipper
12. lifted ~ passaro do pomar
13. seem d like ~ hush arbors
14. still racing ~ julian lynch
15. ballad in the bay of pigs ~ green gerry
16. yur a liar ~ amen dunes
17. pretend the devil isn't real ~ memory tapes
18. drug buddy (the lemonheads cover) ~ marissa nadler
19. there goes my girl ~ sultan
20. still don't know ~ david kitt
21. outer limits ~ sleep ∞ over
22. your world candied ~ mr & mrs smith
23. melting ~ sore eros
24. lavender moon ~ king creosote

foto: maggie lochtenberg

otro año más: happy birthday microphones!

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stag hare

stag hare ~ sand paintings (moondial 2010)

"...In Utah there are such large flat expanses surrounded by these mountains. I have spent a lot of time riding in a car watching out the windows as these landscapes roll past. I think everything I love to create is in these landscapes, texture, story, time, vast slow changes......natural shapes, so this has influenced my music a good amount. But there are a lot of other lands that have influenced my music a lot as well. Living in Arcata was a huge influence on me and my music. I found a great sense of peace when I was there which I don't come across many other places or very often. The mossy redwood forests and the ocean, these are huge influences on my music, but there is no ocean in Utah. There is the Great Salt Lake though, and it is a really magical place. There is an island on the lake where you can watch the sun set into the flat water. It's like a strange paradise." garrick biggs (stag hare)

holy person, holy wind

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there is a place

01. dreaming my life away ~ best coast
02. dreamers ~ edith frost
03. arabian sea ~ high wolf
04. cholita maria ~ vibracathedral orchestra
05. soft story ~ chris forsyth
06. golden dome ~ alexander tucker & decomposed orchestra
07. wind drone song ~ stag hare
08. rainbow ~ valet
09. coast to coast ~ dirty beaches
10. rambling on my mind ~ keijo
11. lift him up, that's all ~ washington phillips
12. radio flyer ~ mark mcguire
13. memo to my son ~ winfred e. eye
14. what a little moonlight can do ~ billie holiday
15. broken stems ~ the oh sees
16. wild ~ john k.
17. of heavy hearts and pocket books ~ lavendirt
18. sugar fix ~ hungry owl
19. those bedroom eyes ~ john k.

foto: luke byrne

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silver antlers / seven feathers rainwater

silver antlers/seven feathers rainwater ~ split ep (moondial 2009)

"...Seven Feathers Rainwater birthed into the fraternal "New Weird Utah" held down by mainstays Stag Hare, Silver Antlers, Navigator, Chaz Prymek, Hew Mun, etc... Seven Feathers Rainwater's murky drones, tripped out by Eastern influenced samples and ragas, are really some of the most straight up enjoyable moments in SLC's experimental hadj towards Mecca. Looped piano drones, scattered woodwinds, wordless vocals, acoustic guitars and dancey percussion. Silver Antlers reigns in and compresses some of the most exciting swelling guitar drones and soaring solos meets tribal meditations meets the Algerian Desert Desert blues of Terakaft at a Qawalli festival, and straddles a line between Western blues and the contemplative percussion and spiritualism of Eastern musical traditions. This split is a mystical journey in the vein of doomsday calendars, feathered serpents, far east shamanism and all the wonderful oddities of Salt Lake City." tome to the weathermachine

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stag hare

stag hare ~ liight being traveler 3'' (cdr 2009)

"...the sun shines warmly through the tops of trees that have just begun to flutter green. The forest’s magic unfolds. It is alive with sound. In this ever-unfolding present, life begins anew, free from the conditions of the past" naturalismo

"...as far as comparisons go here, Stag Hare stands strong along side Kranky artists Bird Show or White Rainbow..." forest gospel

~~~~ allah ~~~~

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stag hare

stag hare - black medicine music (a. star 2008)

"What a bad-ass Stag Hare cd! From the get-go it feels as though I’m being transported into a head-spinning voodoo dance with witch doctors exorcising negative spirits out of my entranced Indian-style seated, immobile body. Pull out the narcotics? Grab the Ouija board? Frolic naked through the forest? The possibilities are endless. Great loops. Tribal beats. Calming voice echoes. Hippy guitar. Harmonica. Tranquil chimes. Flutes and tambourines! Everything seems to be used! It’s like a group of slackers came across an Indian burial ground and got possessed by the spirits residing there—only no nightmare…just the peace-pipe. Hell, the title says it all, “Black Medicine Music”. Nice bi-fold card sleeve. One of the coolest disc designs ever. And I’ve always been a sucker for handwritten liner notes on the inside. Self-released magic. Definitely an anytime album. Stimulate your chakras. 9/10" foxy digitalis

"...as far as comparisons go here, Stag Hare stands strong along side Kranky artists Bird Show or White Rainbow (Adam Forkner actually mastered the album), though he is definitely working at carving out his own nitch. Black Medicine Music is a beautiful, glowing mark on map of Salt Lake City experimental music, even without the incense." forest gospel

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stag hare

stag hare - ashpen cdr (american west freedom society 2007)

"Stag Hare has blown my mind. The sound on Ahspen is culled from the often touted and equally disowned explosion of a ‘new weird America.’ What Stag Hare has accomplished here is something that should definitely garner notice from the Jackie-O, Six Organs of Admittance and Holy Mountain crowds. The tracks read like Keith Fullerton Whitman's Lisbon as interperetted through Animal Collective in their more ambient moments. Stag Hare’s raga flows meticulously like the most serene metaphysical river, constantly and ever so slightly shifting and surging as it washes over you. Any endeavor to listen to such music of this nature comes with skepticism for me, even with knowledge that I am quite fond of experimental music. Stag hare has obliterated any preconceived doubts and converted a true believer." forest gospel

"el primer disco de Stag Hare es un raga continuo de cuarenta minutos. precioso. escúchalo mientras medites, mientras te estés tomando un baño, o simplemente cuando quieras relajarte." a. star

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