about the record

The album’s two side-long tracks weave the mundane with the otherworldly—rising, receding, and overlapping—leading the listener through a series of scenes devoid of context or direction. The spaces are neither entirely inviting nor disconcerting, often existing somewhere in between, with sounds reappearing and juxtaposing in ways that only hint at the familiar—a hall of mirrors, perhaps.

Completed in 2020 using material recorded between 2012 and 2020, The Refrain draws on tapes of shelved, unfinished, and forgotten projects: field recordings from various locations, domestic sounds of plastic bottles, bubble wrap, creaking chairs, voice, and instrumental recordings, including a guest appearance by Crys Cole on Casio. These were re-amped, processed, and edited, with additional instrumental layers—synths, guitars, plastic saxophone, melodica, and percussion—added to form drifting, episodic assemblages.

Though essentially a tape piece, The Refrain presents as a crude, non-idiomatic composition that feels both timeless and transitory.