This album wants to stir, unsettle and surprise. But unlike with breaking news in the regular media, it refuses to transmit feelings of helplessness, fear and terror. Instead it wants to energize and revitalize, even when it grapples with incidents of violence and death. The pieces presented here were created between 1988 and 2012. In their togetherness they highlight and celebrate voices that are often relegated to the personal domain: sounds of new life, of unusual artistic sensibilities, of children’s and female voices. They have the power to tip the balance in our lives, in favour of love, resilience and human compassion. If we choose to listen!

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MotherVoiceTalk

earsay is proud to sign the Vancouver trio Squid in Chains to the label. Their combination of acoustic instruments with electronics is a fresh approach at a crossroads of classical, avant-jazz, and dark ambient.

Squid in Chains first release. A gift for all of us who feel this way about the current situation in Ukraine. We recorded this music between February 23rd and 24th, the night of the invasion. We had no idea how prescient this was…There is a mourning in this music, a weeping, crying, longing for peace.

As improvising musicians, we live and breathe and reflect the world around us. All music recorded in one take.

Improvised by Douglas Schmidt, bandoneon, and John Oliver, on GR-1 granular synthesizer in one take on February 24, 2022, the day Russia invaded Ukraine. Doug is half-Ukrainian, and he had no idea this event was occurring as we improvised this music.

Douglas Schmidt, bandoneon
John Oliver, GR-1 synthesizer

Editing, mixing, mastering by John Oliver

Sunflower Fields Forever

earsay is proud to sign the Vancouver trio Squid in Chains to the label. Their combination of acoustic instruments with electronics is a fresh approach at a crossroads of classical, avant-jazz, and dark ambient.

Squid in Chains first release. A gift for all of us who feel this way about the current situation in Ukraine. We recorded this music between February 23rd and 24th, the night of the invasion. We had no idea how prescient this was…There is a mourning in this music, a weeping, crying, longing for peace.

As improvising musicians, we live and breathe and reflect the world around us. All music recorded in one take.

Improvised by François Houle, basset clarinet, Douglas Schmidt, bandoneon, and John Oliver, on GR-1 synthesizer in one take on February 23, 2022.

Douglas Schmidt, bandoneon
John Oliver, GR-1, LYRA8, and MOOG synthesizers
François Houle, basset clarinet

Music by Douglas Schmidt, John Oliver, and François Houle.
Cover art by John Oliver
Editing, mixing, mastering by John Oliver

Spring Will Come

Improvised by François Houle, basset clarinet, Douglas Schmidt, bandoneon, and John Oliver, on LYRA8 and MOOG synthesizers in one take on February 23, 2022. We did not know when improvising that the very next day Ukrainian citizens would be abandoning their homes and apartments to seek shelter in the subway system.

Improvised by François Houle, basset clarinet;
Douglas Schmidt, bandoneon;
John Oliver, on LYRA8 and MOOG synthesizers

Editing and mastering by John Oliver

Crowd Life Underground

Squid in Chains first release, a fresh new mix and mastering of the original recording released as an independent album on John Oliver's bandcamp page in March 2022.

A statement from the band about the music: "This is our response to the current situation in Ukraine. We recorded this music between February 23rd and 24th, the night of the invasion. We had no idea how prescient this was. There is mourning in this music, weeping, crying, longing for peace.

As improvising musicians, we live and breathe and reflect the world around us. All music recorded in one take."

Improvised by Douglas Schmidt, soprano sax, and John Oliver, on GR-1 granular synthesizer in one take on February 24, 2022, the day Russia invaded Ukraine. Doug is half-Ukrainian, and he had no idea this event was occurring as we improvised this music. This music takes us back to our "avant-garde" roots in the post-serial trend that embraced texture and microtonalism.

Improvised by Douglas Schmidt, soprano sax;
John Oliver, GR-1 granular synthesizer.

Editing, mixing, mastering by John Oliver

Sirens Of Kyiv

"When the dance is done, the party is over, and you are standing looking at the sky, there remains the persistence of memory." - John Oliver

Douglas Schmidt, bandoneon
François Houle, basset clarinet
John Oliver, synthesizers

Mixing and mastering: John Oliver

The Persistence Of Memory

The Persistence Of Memory 5

The Persistence Of Memory 4

The Persistence Of Memory 3

The Persistence Of Memory 2

"When the dance is done, the party is over, and you are standing looking at the sky, there remains the persistence of memory." - John Oliver

Douglas Schmidt, bandoneon
John Oliver, synthesizers

Mixing and mastering: John Oliver

The Persistence Of Memory 1

Touch N Go - track 5 - Let Me See, How can I word it? 2

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