"As 2020 closed in around all of us last spring, I found myself in the fortunate position of living a couple doors away from Emily Lacy, a tremendously talented musician I’ve known for more than a decade and a half. Emily is a folk singer - her version of Bob Dylan’s “She Belongs to Me” might be the best one that exists - and she’s also adept at using looping pedals to create immersive, mediative vocal soundscapes. 

Last year, maybe a month before the pandemic, Emily moved into the same quadplex apartment building as me. When everything shut down, I became deeply grateful to be in close proximity to such a creative force. For a couple of months, she livestreamed her daily musical practice sessions, which were a combination of vocal exercises along with explorations of songs she was learning. Among those was The Pretenders’ “I’ll Stand By You,” a song I’d forgotten from my earliest days of watching MTV but which resonated deeply in the present tense. As I studied the song along with Emily, I became enamored of the song’s structure (the key change… my god) and decided that we should try to record a cover together. 

Even though we lived just a few feet away from eachother, due to Covid precautions we recorded ourselves separately. She recorded all of her vocals by herself over a basic MIDI version I gave her of the backing track, and once she was done with that I built the arrangement around her by adding beats, guitars, an electric organ, and eventually my own voice. It was a fun reversal of the normal recording process. although I had a hard time deciding when it was 'finished.' I think it is now! Soft Sailors is a lifestyle." -Geoff

"I'll Stand By You"

Emily Lacy & Soft Sailors - "I'll Stand By You" (Pretenders Cover)

From Disco Shrine's debut EP 'Soft Fur'

Email discoshrinemgmt@gmail.com for all inquiries

Moar

the cave, by tomemitsu

you have secrets

Beat Heart Verse

Soft Sailors Mixtape

Oh If This Song Could Make These Clouds Just Disappear (Slow Version)

That ratchet pop at that traffic stop 
Ratchet pop at that traffic stop 
It's whack bro, but it's facts though
That ratchet pop at that traffic stop
Ratchet pop at that traffic stop
Ratchet pop at that traffic stop
I'm deadass with yo' dead ass
Cuz that ratchet popped at that traffic stop

Lookin' like a MACK, DOLEmite, no pimp hand
All through the hood got a good reputation 
Even overseas, ya got a few friends
British cats like "he a good CHAP, MAN!"
But cop wondering how you look so clean
Fuck you mean? I BOUGHT THEM JEANs
Reach for receipt but you know what that mean
Pop, pop, pop like you went mainstream

Hair done with them nails too
Out Malibu and she feelin' GIRLY
The night was slow but, po-po roll up
Even though she left early
You could be Cinderelli in the Disney gown
With the Disney sound comin' out ya mouth
But you best be in 'fore the CLOCK strike midnight
At your grandma's house

Somethin' innocent like out there fishin'
And in a sense it was intuition
Hyped to shoot on first suspicion
Despite the suit TAILOR made for a Christian
Bitch you know what I'm wishin? (What?)
Cop kill a nigga, cop get locked up
Maybe then my BROWN skin
Wouldn't be finna get me shot up

His blood brother was a undercover
Now another black mother cryin'
Her heart can't heal from that ordeal
When they CAST STEEL from the iron
A black boy in South Troy
She knew the shit from day one
It could be for his life or his dignity
Either way, they gonna ROB HER SON

That ratchet pop at that traffic stop 
Ratchet pop at that traffic stop 
It's whack bro, but it's facts though
That ratchet pop at that traffic stop
Ratchet pop at that traffic stop
Ratchet pop at that traffic stop
I'm deadass with yo' dead ass
Cuz that ratchet popped at that traffic stop 
(x2)

It's GRAY skies over Baltimore
Blue lights make red, it's the Art of War
And BOY THough when they through with you
You gon' need a CRUTCH OR two
It got much ado about nothing new
But these dreadlocks ain't a safe look for you
And my HARRIS not the main issue
But each dread raise my threat level

Why these niggas always eyein' me
But don't never ask BRAD FOR that ID
That's that po po policy
So he get off SCOTT free
And we the one's end up in cages
Fuck up and they GARNER wages
Yeah I sold some loosies but
Lemme do some 'splainin' bruh!

Made an honest living and kept it real
Had some hits in New York like PAUL O'NIELL
But if the cop at the stop feeling some type of way
It's fifty-fifty I'ma die today
Catch one from a number nine to the head
Now his hair all Ron MCDONALD red
You a disgrace to the human race
With yo' resting bitch ass nigga face

Them murderers be at home reclining 
So I see no STERLING silver lining
Reminding me what a black life worth
Could stay on course but of course you cursed
Feel like I need some Oxy 
Or morphine the way it hurts
Just want education and knowledge from Eden
I'm on them "ED" WORDS

God told me to be a tsunami
So I got apocalyptic flows
My dog told me to murder this beat
So the woof how son of SAM DO, BOSE
Chicken fried rhymes I was cookin' down south
But my only goal: to keep it BLAND up in your mouth
I hear that woo-woo and I know for who that BELL toll
Always been shootin' first man, the po po Han Solo

And a lil' grain of RICE could tip the whole fuckin' scale
So let's throw our weight around, cuz Tamir was only twelve

Collaborations

Traffic Stop

Though I could go in so many directions
Oh, I’ve got to pick a road
The past doesn’t exist
I am this moment of intense confusion
But lost delusions hold

I’ve got to get to that place
I know I’ve been to that place
You know I’ve got to create
Feel the energy


I work so hard to concentrate 
With all these noises
Ringing in my ear
Oh everybody hears them sometimes…

Angels they fall in every direction
As my thoughts they spill on the microphone
Yet language defiles all human expressions of feeling

I’ve got to get a new start
I’ve got to catch a few breaths
I’ve got to find my feet but all I hear is
Time ticking
Time bleeding
Time killing time

You work so hard to concentrate 
With all these noises
Ringing in your ear
Oh everybody hears them sometimes
This isn’t what I pictured
This isn’t what I bargained for

You work so hard to concentrate
With all these voices
Ringing in your ear
Oh everybody heeds them sometimes
This isn’t what we wanted
Life isn’t what we want, it’s what we live

-------

Track details:

Written by Geoff Geis (Obama Porn Music, SESAC)
Arranged by Geoff Geis and Tyler Sabbag

Geoff Geis: Vocals, Omnichord, Keyboards, Drum Machine
Tyler Sabbag: Drums, Keyboards
Alex Myrvold: Backing Vocals
Duncan Thum: Guitars
Jon Engelhard: Bass

Produced and mixed by Tyler Sabbag at Animaux Studios
Additional production by Geoff Geis at Murderland
Mastered by John Greenham at John Greenham Mastering

What We Live

The Black Irish
Available 10/13

Lyrics:
I leave the game on snooze, yall got like ten more minutes
Rap's SEC, I'm getting all up in your business
By my third album I'll be a triple crown winner
Yall talking horse sh*t, neigh-saying ass n*ggas

It's a game but I don't play, Triz is realer
So yall gonna feel this like the late Mrs. Diller
But your rhymes are still a lil' sluggish bruh
Sounds like hyphy-glycemia (Yuh!)

Got the toast in my pocket, B
That's what happens when you keep your bread next to the heat
Right hand to Jeezy I ain't running these streets
But last time I checked I was the man on the beats

On your girl's fantasy team, I'm RB1
Cuz your boy the meats like Arby's son
We ain't peers lil n*gga your career is done
You got 99 tracks but a hit aint one

I'm going all-in betting on myself n*gga
Still ballin' - don't know nothing else n*gga
And while you on the shelf stallin' like a Soviet
I'll tie you to a missle on that Wile E. Coyote tip

Icy B.M.'s - that's cold sh*t
And when I wrote this I was so baroque kid
That's why my sound so classic
And since these rappers stay whining I had to let em have it!

They don't even live by a code
So I'm treating their features like a no-fly zone
And even though I love the mud on the highroad
I know so many bloods yall thought I was type-O

I'm like Rambo with a lil Son of Sam though
Had to murder this beat cuz my dog told me so
And til they throw me in Guantanamo
I'll be #LikeAGirl working on her period, I hustle & flow

My ho eco-friendly, got a very little waist
And with you I'm malpracticing, I got no patience
I'm like Drake w/ the coach of the Raptors way I'm on your back
Cuz yall whack n*ggas got it all backwards

Like saying Trump Donald f*ck
Spit truth in the booth n*gga what!
I got a slick mouth cuz talking Greecy is a must
So it's Athens to Athens and dust to dust

Trust, if I'm keeping it 100 you don't want it
Cuz I talk with my hands like a damn sock puppet
And interrupt if you wanna kick the bucket
I'm in a mood like stank cooch, not to be f*cked with

I see an uptick in impostors that prosper
So I knock em dead in a pool - Wade in the water
Rhymes so sick, but I'm wary of doctors
So I'm eating more ginger than a grown Harry Potter

I'm nice, but for what? Cuz I'm fed up with starving
So I'ma take extra steps like J. Harden
On point with that rocket when I blast it off
And you could trust me whenever I ain't lying my ass off!

The cast off, now I'm dealing Serial Arms
These Trix up my sleeve be my Lucky Charms
Ya jive turkey, we in the same gravy boat
You salmon ass n*gga, you f*ck around - get smoked

I'm hungry, just wanna keep food in my mouth
And it's hard to believe I ever had any doubts
Way p*ssy chasing me, must be a mouse
Cuz the track so g n*ggas wanna rob their own house

No sense of decency, my other one's heightened
So I can see the whole rap game and it's frightening
A bad bl*wjob - everybody biting
I clap-back with thunder that's enlightening

Whack Follol De Rah (What Would Beanz Do?)

“Mao ZeBron” is a takedown of Lebron James’ recent comments about the ongoing Hong Kong Protests. Over an electro track I made, @Triz-Nathaniel claps back at James’ comments from last fall that the protestors don’t deserve our support by illustrating governmental atrocities, reminding listeners of James’ supposedly-progressive ideals, and ultimately comparing his “profits over people” stance on China to that of Donald Trump. Cover art by instagram.com/sketch_ghost.

@Soft-Sailors is a lifestyle.

Mao ZeBron

Triz Nathaniel and Soft Sailors - "Mao ZeBron"

Now listen 
I did it for you all 
I dug for days 
I stood here for an hour 
Got stuck on all these deeds 
I couldn't melt away 

To all the forgotten and the strange 
Well here's a message in your direction 
Cause it seems true 
You're not that different 
And all the troubles you struggle to contain 
And all the bad voices in your mind will be subdued 
You'll be a lot like everyone 

Hush 
I dug for days cause I saw you 
I dug for days for that smile 
And if you find the kingdom 
You'll live forever in his head 
The mysteries will all be solved 
And this old man will rise and feel refreshed 
But it's a bit of a guessing game 
And words cannot express my thoughts
credits

Streaming on Spotify, Apple Music, etc from 3/31/2020
Written by Geoff Geis & Tyler Sabbag 

Geoff Geis: Vocals, Guitars, Synth 
James Hazley: Drums 
Andrew Parker: Guitars, Synth 
Jenna Parker: Bass, Vocals 

Produced by Andrew Parker. Mixed by Tyler Sabbag.

Dug For Days

Cover of "Sappy," also called "Verse Chorus Verse," by Nirvana. Written by Kurt D. Cobain. From the NO ALTERNATIVE compilation. Soft Sailors is a lifestyle. All voices and instruments by Geoff Geis.

Emily Lacy & Soft Sailors - "I'll Stand By You" (Pretenders Cover)

Soft Sailors

Related tracks