Salt Spring Sounds
Portraits by Sophia Burke
If you’re looking for a soundtrack for these slow island days in the Spring sun, may we suggest “Salt Spring: Sun and Shadow”, a new ambient collection, by local musician Graham Van Pelt, which will be released May 28th via Arbutus Records.
This album comprises of tracks he recorded here on Salt Spring Island, in early 2017. The island has since become his home but this album is “an earlier document of [his] enchantment with the place.”
“I had been taking a couple months off, spending time with family, walking by the ocean and through the wooded trails around the island, taking photographs, taking time and enjoying the landscape. I began recording this music early in the mornings, sipping coffee with a view into the forest, before the rest of the people in the house were awake.”
— Graham Van Pelt
When asked about his inspiration for making this album, Graham responded:
“I had been taking a couple months off, spending time with family, walking by the ocean and through the wooded trails around the island, taking photographs, taking time and enjoying the landscape. I began recording this music early in the mornings, sipping coffee with a view into the forest, before the rest of the people in the house were awake. The pieces were made with simple, asynchronous keyboard and guitar loops, using analog echo effects to devolve and degrade the sounds. I mixed to and from tape at The Pines recording studio in Montreal, messing with tape speeds, plate reverb and various atmospheric effects along the way. The results are, I hope, a simple quiet accompaniment for time spent reading, unwinding or unplugging by whatever means are desired.”
You can also catch Graham’s radio show Island City on fsr.live Friday mornings at 9 am.
Order Salt Spring: Sun and Shadow on Graham’s website.
