Danny

May I be filled with loving-kindness
May I be well
May I be peaceful and at ease
May I be happy

May you be filled with loving-kindness
May you be well
May you be peaceful and at ease
May you be happy

May we be filled with loving-kindness
May we be well
May we be peaceful and at ease
May we be happy

MANTRA - Essential Prayers - Brazelton

Coming November 18th, 2014 on New Amsterdam Records.

Pre-order here:  https://anawan-newam.bandcamp.com/releases

Anawan (formerly known as TWVE) is a five-piece band based in the waterfront neighborhood of Red Hook, Brooklyn. The project of composer and multi-instrumentalist Trevor Wilson, Anawan is a hybrid animal: part avant-garde vocal ensemble and part wildly-experimental pop group. Wilson, the de facto leader of the group whose mentor Meredith Monk is but one discernible influence, is a restless and prolific musician who has written and released hundreds of songs. In Anawan, Wilson's innovative vocal stylizations are mirrored by the rest of the group, evoking the image of a five-headed beast harmonizing with itself. Their third album together, Anawan is the first to be released under the group's new name and has the feel of a debut. With the band sounding tighter than ever, Anawan aims for the heart and at the same time impresses the mind with its intricate and inventive arrangements. 

Since first forming in 2011 as Trevor Wilson and Vocal Ensemble, the band has carved out an idiosyncratic niche for itself. Their sound includes a mixture of five-part layered vocal harmonies, nylon string guitar, electronics, synths, and keyboards. Yet the songs never feel tedious or over-wrought: on the contrary, the arrangements sound deceptively simple. For example, many songs begin with a single instrument: a strummed acoustic guitar, a keyboard melody, or in the case of "Breaded Me," a drum machine. But it's how the songs spiderweb out from their relatively humble beginnings that is most impressive about Anawan. It's this constant push and pull between restraint and catharsis (exemplified perhaps most dramatically on "Where Are You Now") that gives the album its subtle grace. 

Going one step farther, the members of Anawan actually embody this simplicity in their everyday lives. Wilson, who grew up in Rehoboth, Massachusetts, uses no social media and for a time lived and worked out of an RV with other members of the band (during heavy rain, a tarp would be thrown over the RV to prevent leaking). Wilson has only a basic computer for correspondence, and espouses a DIY-ethic for everything from concert promotion to album art (their previous LP All Material came packaged in beautifully hand-stenciled sleeves). Anawan takes advantage of this itinerant POV by exploring big, philosophical questions from an outsider's perspective. 

The members of Anawan all met while studying at Bennington College. Since their debut album release Soft Wings, Anawan has toured across the northeast and performed in New York at Glasslands, Pioneer Works, and at Baby's All Right with fellow artists Nat Baldwin, Celestial Shore and Son Lux. Their sophomore album All Material, released on New Amsterdam Records revealed a tight knit group of friends growing together to create beautifully human music which evokes a curious nature and reflection. Anawan is yet another evolution, sure to inspire.

Anawan - One Of Us Is Dead

Zion

Traditional North American folk songs performed by Colorado based band, Hot Eagle.

All tracks recorded live, in one take.

St James Infirmary

comet song break the old church i was not afraid when the guns went flaccid took my breath back from them foreign ties that strangle them

calling card right in front of me couldn't make the granite bark like a dog yours was stone pillared down placate in the needing game

tell the right i am overwhelmed with empty reasons you looked back salty pitch just admit you like my easy pace its not too much to say out loud

how will i know
that the chains have
pulled my hands in front of the airless sky
where is my place is it
in the sullied tide
your tide

where's the place i can hide away all my thoughts scattered in the black sand airport coat rolls away when i become a slimy bug

pull the noose in the dark of the stadium beat on your wooden drum when the war has begun it's too much to handle could i

change your mind with a magazine fifteen drums beat us down careful sights one sweet town i am wanting nothing but the warmth of bed and tickles of the grass along my toes your hands in my hair all day long

how will i know
that the chains have
pulled my hands in front of the airless sky
where is my place is it
in the sullied tide
your tide

Sullied Tide

springtime baby chickens

Trevor Wilson - songwriter, based in Sandymush, NC. Former bandleader of Anawan / TWVE / Tall Ships

Danny

Trevor Wilson

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