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'bottle the grief and exile songs' physical edition now available
Over three evenings at the start of the lockdown in the back room of the L.A.Signorina pizzeria in Stuttgart, 'bottle the grief' was recorded and then quickly released as a digital download and subscription only physical edition in very limited numbers. At the time print shops were closed and it felt difficult to put together a full CD release. Now, a couple of months later and as some restrictions have been lifted, I’m making it available (with a companion set 'exile songs') as a double disc edition.
'bottle the grief' consists of nine new songs written in march, whilst 'exile songs' are older songs played during the same three evening sessions. It was an uncertain time and in the quiet, dark room (whilst the pizzeria was still closed) the songs came out slow and sparse. Chairs on tables, reservation phone set to silent and a deserted square outside.
The digital edition (on my site here and on Bandcamp here) includes a pdf of the lyrics and chords to all songs, whilst the physical edition consists of
• Two hand stamped CD-r's
• Full lyric sheet
• A playing card from the pizzeria
• Clipping from a book of photographs of busy Italian cafés by Walter Vogel, recalling a different time of social and working life.
• First edition of 100 numbered copies.
• €15 including full quality digital download and postage anywhere.
Full tracklist:
from the willows by the weir
slow go the dark days
the mistake was to make a character of the wild
miller
a carrion call
the week between the years
fold culinary
the rope
boys, i am worried
the leaving, or what’s left of it
make a dead one of it
trouble
440
super good advice
it don’t stop the bleeding
the royal canal
the hills are alive
'boys, i am worried' from 'exile songs'.
From ‘bottle the grief and exile songs’ available as a physical two disc edition here.
More words and thoughts about this release in the next days.
Bandcamp Subscription #6 now available
The August Bandcamp subscription release is now available to everyone signed up at https://thegreatpark.bandcamp.com/subscribe
The sixth in the series, ‘exile songs’ was recorded in the same three evenings as ‘bottle the grief’ and is a collection of older songs I was playing whilst writing and recording the new songs for that album. Track list goes like this:
boys, i am worried
the leaving, or what’s left of it
make a dead one of it
trouble
440
super good advice
it don’t stop the bleeding
the royal canal
the hills are alive
Some of these things I rarely play in concert, especially the last song ‘the hills are alive’, which I wrote and recorded back in 2008 and is a long, narrative thing with too many words.
As with all the Bandcamp subscription releases, the physical edition comes as a hand stamped CD-r with an individually hand typed cover, complete with random mistakes. I make all of these by myself and I’m not about to win any typing contests.
‘exile songs’ will be included as a second disc in a new, physical edition of ‘bottle the grief’ which will be available to everyone in a week. So, in other words, this instalment of the Bandcamp subscription is technically not exclusive and instead available to everyone soon. Subscribers do get all my releases as I make them and next month I’ll be back to putting things there that aren’t out anywhere else. I’m finishing an album of new songs at the moment and will be sharing music from that at the end of August. It goes on.
ps: here’s a video I made a few days after this post:
miller
One of six songs I recorded last weekend for subscribers at http://www.thegreatpark.co.uk/bandcamp-subscription
New album out today
My new album, ‘bottle the grief’ is now available on Bandcamp here.
Eight new, quiet songs recorded in the L.A. Signorina pizzeria in Stuttgart at the start of the lockdown and released in digital and very limited physical editions.
Here’s some (barely) moving pictures.
I hope everyone’s doing ok, will have more music very soon.
Thanks for sticking around.
Stephen
slow go the dark days
Last night in the room where I recorded ‘bottle the grief” - to be released this Friday the 1st of May. If you feel like pre-ordering it now that would be super good and if you feel like subscribing to receive the physical edition and a whole bunch of other music from me that would be even better. Either way, stay well and stay in touch please.
S