Just a few months since Zoon released his Big Pharma EP, the experimental shoegazer has dropped another EP. The four-song A Sterling Murmuration is out today through Paper Bag Records.
This is the second movement of a larger body of work that began with Big Pharma, and it consists of material originally written more than a decade ago while Zoon leader Daniel Monkman was growing up in Winnipeg. Big Pharma came out on the first day of summer (June 21), while this arrives on the last day of summer.
"A Sterling Murmuration comes from the movement that a flock of birds do for safety from predators. They use this technique for other reasons, such as warmth at night, [and] also to exchange information about feeding areas," Monkman said in a statement. "I feel very connected to this concept. I see it in humans and how we need a strong community to protect each other. Isolation played a role in this body of work and is supposed to display the danger in isolating. While in this state, we set ourselves up to be in harm's way by outside forces, but breaking out and embracing humility and community you can finally transcend into a healthy trajectory."
The EP was produced and mixed by J. Riley Hill, and it continues in the eclectic, downtempo direction heard on Big Pharma, with "In the Woods" and "Move" featuring plucked acoustic guitars, "Play Ground" going in a shimmering jangle pop direction, and "Giizhig" putting Zoon's MBV-style fuzz in a particularly serene, almost new age-inspired context.
Hear A Sterling Murmuration below.
Zoon 2022 Tour Dates:
11/26 Toronto, ON - Danforth Music Hall *
11/28 Kingston, ON - Blu Martini*
11/30 Ottawa, ON - Bronson Centre *
12/01 Montreal, QC - Petit Campus *
* with the Rural Alberta Advantage
This is the second movement of a larger body of work that began with Big Pharma, and it consists of material originally written more than a decade ago while Zoon leader Daniel Monkman was growing up in Winnipeg. Big Pharma came out on the first day of summer (June 21), while this arrives on the last day of summer.
"A Sterling Murmuration comes from the movement that a flock of birds do for safety from predators. They use this technique for other reasons, such as warmth at night, [and] also to exchange information about feeding areas," Monkman said in a statement. "I feel very connected to this concept. I see it in humans and how we need a strong community to protect each other. Isolation played a role in this body of work and is supposed to display the danger in isolating. While in this state, we set ourselves up to be in harm's way by outside forces, but breaking out and embracing humility and community you can finally transcend into a healthy trajectory."
The EP was produced and mixed by J. Riley Hill, and it continues in the eclectic, downtempo direction heard on Big Pharma, with "In the Woods" and "Move" featuring plucked acoustic guitars, "Play Ground" going in a shimmering jangle pop direction, and "Giizhig" putting Zoon's MBV-style fuzz in a particularly serene, almost new age-inspired context.
Hear A Sterling Murmuration below.
Zoon 2022 Tour Dates:
11/26 Toronto, ON - Danforth Music Hall *
11/28 Kingston, ON - Blu Martini*
11/30 Ottawa, ON - Bronson Centre *
12/01 Montreal, QC - Petit Campus *
* with the Rural Alberta Advantage