After releasing a limited number of 150 copies through Eilean Records late last year, Canadian composer Jonathan Kawchuk is set to bring his debut album North to a bigger audience, with a wide release slated to take place this month.
Having worked on albums for Nico Muhly, Ben Frost and as an assistant sound technician for the Philip Glass Ensemble, Kawchuk has been living and recording in natural environments across Europe, North America and Asia in hopes of capturing their natural beauty. North was recorded during 2013 and 2014 throughout Canada, Norway, Iceland, the United Kingdom, Israel and Portugal. From there, the tracks were played aloud and re-recorded in the forests of Jostedal National Park in Norway.
"I placed the speakers in the middle of the forest there, and played the pieces out loud," Kawchuck explained in a statement. "Standing far back from the speakers with some in-ear microphones, I hit record. As the sound was played back to me, the forest acted like a reverb chamber, giving the pieces some of its own characteristics."
He continued: "For me, this album is about its relationship to the Northern natural locations where I base myself, and how it reflects the people I care about who live in these places. Nature is a wonderful aesthetic constant. Its beauty and efficiency are the product of hundreds of millions of years of trial by fire, so I don't try to compete with that."
North's full release is set for February 26 through Eilean Records. Listen to album highlight "That So" featuring American viola player Nadia Sirota in the player below.
North:
1. Right Into You
2. Aware
3. That So (+ Nadia Sirota)
4. Overhang
5. Ebb
6. Fast Twitch
7. Bodied
8. Lagos
Having worked on albums for Nico Muhly, Ben Frost and as an assistant sound technician for the Philip Glass Ensemble, Kawchuk has been living and recording in natural environments across Europe, North America and Asia in hopes of capturing their natural beauty. North was recorded during 2013 and 2014 throughout Canada, Norway, Iceland, the United Kingdom, Israel and Portugal. From there, the tracks were played aloud and re-recorded in the forests of Jostedal National Park in Norway.
"I placed the speakers in the middle of the forest there, and played the pieces out loud," Kawchuck explained in a statement. "Standing far back from the speakers with some in-ear microphones, I hit record. As the sound was played back to me, the forest acted like a reverb chamber, giving the pieces some of its own characteristics."
He continued: "For me, this album is about its relationship to the Northern natural locations where I base myself, and how it reflects the people I care about who live in these places. Nature is a wonderful aesthetic constant. Its beauty and efficiency are the product of hundreds of millions of years of trial by fire, so I don't try to compete with that."
North's full release is set for February 26 through Eilean Records. Listen to album highlight "That So" featuring American viola player Nadia Sirota in the player below.
North:
1. Right Into You
2. Aware
3. That So (+ Nadia Sirota)
4. Overhang
5. Ebb
6. Fast Twitch
7. Bodied
8. Lagos
