An Update: Been Listening

I have not been updating this blog for many reasons: a demanding (but much-loved) new job, a lot of weaving, and an emotional hell of a winter. It happened gradually. What I thought would be a quick break to allow me to finish up some weaving projects became a several-month-long hiatus. In that time–to my surprise–I have received emails, texts, and in-person requests that I continue the blog. So, though I can’t promise I will update every day as I once did, I am going to place renewed effort in this project I started nearly two years ago. I’ve met a lot of new people making incredible things and shaking up life down here in Durham, North Carolina. I’ve found a lot of beautiful things all over the internet. I’m excited to start sharing them all with you again. I think you’ll love them.

Today though, I offer up an impromptu “Been Listening” post as it seems quite fitting. I’ve written about my good friend’s band The Relatives before on this blog. Recently they wrote and recorded a song inspired by the events in my life the past six months. It’s a beautiful, sad, prayerful song, and I’m so thrilled that something so beautiful has sprung from what has been a pretty painful period. I love being reminded of how talented and wonderful this friend is, and so thankful to have her in my life.

Pushed Around from Relatives on Vimeo.

The Relatives Release: Former Friends

The Relatives are releasing a new EP this week, one that has been a year and a half in the making. Titled Former Friends, the project consists of six songs co-written by Katie Vogel and Ian Davis. The recordings themselves, though, are part of a much larger collaborative effort, featuring the talents of many other musicians, including drummer Ian Chang, bassist Spencer Zahn, pianist and vocalist Ross Edwards, and additional strings, brass, and back-up vocals by many others. Also of note is the gorgeous cover art done by David Foarde. The official release is Friday, May 2nd and will be accompanied by a party and house show in Ditmas Park with sets by Isaac Gillespie of The Due Diligence and Wyndham Baird. In the meantime, you can listen to their single from the EP, “Love Me,” available now for download and streaming on Bandcamp. The rest of the EP drops Friday! And trust me, I know I’m biased, but I’ve heard the full spunky, alt-folk janglings of Former Friends and it is definitely some of the group’s best work!

Meet the Relatives

Today’s post is a shameless plug for my dear friend’s band The Relatives. Yup, the above adorable pair of redheads–Katie Vogel and Ian Davis–make wonderful music together and have become frequent players in the underground folk scene of New York City. Katie and Ian started playing together in the fall of 2007, and, though the roster has shuffled a bit, they are still going strong. Their music combines Appalachian folk music with the dissonance of more modern 20th century sound, or in other words alt-folk. Together they have released two EPs, They Love You Well, and Tardy Mark, as well as a self-titled full-length album, The Relatives. The Signs that Mock Me As I Go is their newest release. Produced by  Mason Jar Music, which seeks to “preserv[e] analog principles in a digital age,” MJM’s organic approach to recording pairs perfectly with The Relatives’ twangy tunes. If you can catch The Relatives live in New York you should as their sound changes very much in live performance, especially when they choose to step out with a full band behind them. I’ve had the privilege of seeing them play on more than one continent and loved every minute of it. But their recorded music is beautiful and always worth a listen, particularly on a cold, grey, snowy day like this one in Ohio. Purchase their music or listen to free samples on their bandcamp site.

Image Credit: The first photo of Katie and Ian was taken by Sasha Arutynova. The second photo was taken by Brid O’Donovan.