about the record

Other Lands is the solo project of Gavin L. Sutherland.

Channeling his considerable improvisational skills to evoke notions of island life, the guiding idea was to create music that could feel at home both in the wilds of the Western Isles and in sunnier parts of the world. The more he played with this idea of groups of islands, of archipelagos the world over, the more it also became about people experiencing isolation as individuals, while still feeling a sense of togetherness with others in the same boat.

Working partly at home but mainly in the Athens of the North studios, he would come in each day over the course of a few weeks and simply hit record, playing at times almost without conscious thought. Sometimes the mood would call for keys, strings, or drums sent through delays for days at a time. Often, the music emerged by chance as much as by design. One rule he tried to adhere to was not to overthink things, capturing moments honestly with minimal editing or digital processing.

What emerges is a beautiful, spontaneous, timeless, and honest meditation on what it is to be at once both alone and part of a larger whole.