Rose Melberg Goes Synth Pop on Jay Arner Remix Album

BY Alex HudsonPublished May 10, 2011

Prior to forming Brave Irene, celebrated indie pop songstress Rose Melberg released an acoustic solo album called Homemade Ship in 2009. Now, that album has been reinvented by Vancouver songwriter/producer Jay Arner and released as a digital-only EP.

Functionally titled Homemade Ship (Remix), the six-song collection strips away the acoustic guitars of the original album and replaces them with expansive synths, thudding beats and dreamy reverb. The result bears Arner's distinctive stamp, evoking his work as one half of the electro-pop duo Fine Mist.

In a statement to Exclaim!, the producer explained that he has never actually heard the original Homemade Ship album. "They're sort of not remixes because I only ever heard the vocal tracks from that album. So they're also new songs," Arner explains. "It's a real 2011 grey area thing."

The goal, he says, was a "sad/psych Top 40 sound."

The EP, which is up here on Bandcamp, includes guest vocals from Apollo Ghosts frontman Adrian Teacher on the song "Old Days." You can pick up that track for free over at Bandcamp, as well as the song "Things That We Do." The whole collection, however, will cost just $5. It's streaming below the tracklist and can be purchased here.

Homemade Ship (Remix):

1. "Bear in a Cave"
2. "Moon Singer"
3. "Old Days" (ft. Adrian Teacher)
4. "Sharks"
5. "Sidewalk"
6. "Things That We Do"

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