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Is there an overall scene you had in mind for this album?

Yeah, definitely. Looking back on these tracks now, they were heavily inspired by a trip I took through Europe back in December 2018. I was an Eastern European history major in college, and spent so much time reading a daydreaming about traveling through Europe, but never had the chance. A lot of the imagery and feelings in this album came from snapshots of experiences I had on my trip.

Ethan at Canterbury cathedral

Any special meaning behind any of the track titles?

The titles really came from small impressions and snapshots I had during the trip. Walks through the Jewish Old Town, reading Tolstoy’s Sevastopol Sketches on a train through old forests and industrial heartlands. I wanted these tracks and the titles to impart a hazy impression of these places.

What was the timeline for this album like, and where do the bonus tracks fit in? Was there any overlap with your older project—Rest You Sleeping Giant?

Fall of 2018 was a really productive period for me musically. I had just moved to Chicago after finishing grad school where I didn’t know anyone, and my girlfriend (now fiancé) had just left to study abroad for a semester in the UK. I spent a lot of that time experimenting with tape loops and acoustic guitar.

I wasn’t really happy with how my prior RYSG release Celestial Orchestra had turned out, so I was wanting to move away from that project and start something different. All of the tracks, including the bonus ones, were recorded during this period between August and December 2018.

pedal board from the Age of Aristocracy era

Was there any thing interesting about the writing process? anything new you were experimenting with?

These tracks were much more stripped back compared to my previous work, and focused primarily on acoustic guitar and tape loops. I was really wanting to release music that emphasized the guitar rather than just have it as a layer or texture. I was really getting into traditional folk music and American Primitive guitar at this time, so I was really enamored with the idea of bridging my love of folk fingerpicked guitar with my ambient-tendencies.

It was rediscovering a love for tape machines that really sparked this creative endeavor that became Black Brunswicker. Tape can be really unpredictable – for instance, in Bohemian Paradise, there’s a few moments where the track suddenly stops. That wasn’t intentional, it was just a blank spot on the tape. Originally, I struggled with tape’s unpredictability, but have come to embrace it for what it is. I also was experimenting with recording setups, running an acoustic guitar into an electric amp into an old Tascam unit. I always struggled with recording music, so a lot this time was spent finding a setup that worked for me.

Several of these tracks were put together using multiple tape loops. Serf Song, for example, was made using multiple tape loops that I was running from Tascam and Walkmans. I must have re-used the tape loop with the melody from Serf Song in another take, which resulted in the track that became Serf’s Melody.

[album cover art] Black Brunswicker - In the Age of Aristocracy

What about the album art?

The art itself came from a postcard I found. I’ve always had an interest in collecting old postcards, especially landscape and old world scenes. When I found the postcard that I would use as album art, it just kind of clicked with me. I thought “yeah, this is what I’m imagining this music to look like”

Do you tend to improvise, compose, some mixture of both?

That’s a tough one. I’d say I’m more composition side now with the tracks that emphasize fingerpicked guitar, but I’ve always been big on improvisation. Looping has always been a big part of my writing process. It allows me to do a sort of structured improvisation, where I can experiment and find something that sticks with me and build it out. Austro-Hungarian Blues is a good example of this approach, where I landed on a progression that I really liked and added on more layers. Guitar is very much at the core of this track, but I layered in multiple guitar tracks, tape fuzz, and field recordings.

Do you feel influenced by any artists in particular? What music have you been enjoying lately?

Lately, I’ve been listening heavily to William Tyler, Jack Rose, and Rick Deitrick (as well as a lot of other artists on Tompkins Square artists). I find Rick Deitrick’s old home recordings as very inspirational as of late. It blows my mind that he was able to make such beautiful mellow pieces playing open strings in Standard tuning.

I haven’t really kept up recently with what’s been going on in the ambient scene. I’ve mostly been listening to acoustic music and stoner/doom bands. Moving to Manchester has also reignited my love of Joy Division and New Order as well.

Ethan playing guitar from the Age of Aristocracy

What got you into making music?

That’s tough to say. Over the past decade, I’ve done numerous home recordings, from black metal to noisy bowed banjo. What got me started on using acoustic guitar as my primary instrument was a video Hakobune did a number of years ago – Live at Nacoh Amulet. I loved the sound and imagery in the video, and thought it was really cool how he could make such beautiful ambient music using just an acoustic guitar.

As far as training, I took some lessons from Charles Kim at the Chicago Old Town School of Folk Music to improve my fingerpicking technique. He really opened my eyes to how you could harness open tunings and fingerpicking patterns for ambient music. He’s who got me hooked on DADEAd tuning.

This is my third full-length album, entitled ‘cloudform’. This release is absolutely huge for me for a number of reasons which I will explain. A lengthy post ensues (so thank you for reading to the end if you do) as this is perhaps the release that I am most proud of so I feel it deserves full explanation.

To start: the concept of ‘cloudform’ is thus – much like how the clouds come and go revealing their true fate along the way, I feel that this sentiment is paralleled in life as we weather its storms, only discovering what will ultimately be as we go through the process of enduring its trials. It is this continual encounter with attempting to accept the uncertainties in life that is the principal theme of ‘cloudform’.

The album signifies both self-reflection and a reflection of my interaction with life. Ambient music has been a big part of my life for many years now, and I wanted to delve even further into its creation with this release. Writing ‘cloudform’ has allowed me to experience a different way of creating music and (hopefully) constructing enveloping atmospheres.

For the first time since the inception of this project, my music is being released on a label – Stereoscenic Records. Founder and owner, Andrew Klimek, has been a key figure in this release and is not only releasing it on his label but has also skilfully and beautifully mastered the tracks. I am truly thankful for all his efforts to allow ‘cloudform’ to reach its full potential and his belief in my music. I am still in disbelief that it is actually being released via Stereoscenic Records; a huge moment for me.

For a long time, I have wanted to combine poetry with music. And for this release one of my close friends, Anjali Oza, has generously lent me her creative gift by writing a beautiful and fitting poem which aptly accompanies the sentiment of ‘cloudform’. Included in the download of this album (along with the artwork) is a handwritten copy of the poem, scribed by Anjali herself in beautiful calligraphy. Here’s what she says about it:

‘…the most beautiful thing about this project lies in the way Kamal has captured the universal sentiment that life unfolds in ways we can never be sure of, and the understanding that acceptance is our only peace of mind. When I was asked to write a poem for ‘cloudform’, I felt I had to find a way to bring this vision to life, to make it relatable and real. This poem is nothing short of a celebration of life’s uncertainties, and a chance to remember that humble persistence takes us far.’

The artwork for ‘cloudform’ was created by Justine Howlett. As with all good art, little explanation is required to outline its beauty. I am so pleased with what she has produced and, once again, I have been fortunate enough to work with an artist who has constructed artwork that is completely fitting.

Not only is this release a venture deep into ambient territory, it has also come from a very deep place within. Losing myself in music is the way I know to best process all of the events in life, especially those that are most significant. And this year has been fairly significant for me, in more ways than one. For about nine months prior to June of this year, my father’s health had been rapidly declining and, following this prolonged period of suffering, he eventually passed away at home. During this period, I was continuing to write ‘cloudform’ and I feel that its sound portrays much of my state of mind at that time. One track in particular (Hiraeth) I feel especially connected to. This track was played at my father’s funeral in June and will always hold a poignant significance for me. It is somewhat fitting that it is the last track on the album.

Every emotion, every loss and every challenge I have confronted in the past year or so has been poured into this album. I hope that it gives you a chance, for however long, to reflect on life and take stock of how many challenges you have overcome and how many more unknown trials you are likely to face with a buried courage you are maybe, as yet, unaware of.

Cloudform (by Anjali Oza):

Through what seems an eternity,
Many moments have passed,
Where words seemed in vain,
And brewing storms have been cast

Aside for another story,
A dwindling tale left to tell,
Slipping slowly through these fingers,
Like a thirst left to be quelled

And when sweet melancholy drips,
From the sorrow-ridden clouds,
You drown in an ocean of alternatives,
Immersed in a feeling so loud,

That it robs you of your silence,
And blinds you to the core,
And the only way out of this danger,
Is to surrender a little more

Until you notice the rains subside,
The sky painted in orange hues,
And the whistling of the wind,
Becomes an old, familiar tune,

That someone once sang to you,
On a day like today,
Where uncertainty hung in the air,
And your sorrows simply lay,

At rest with what was to come,
And made peace with another day,
Because to wage a war with the unknown,
Is a game we cannot play.

Music written, recorded & mixed by Kamal Manzar
Mastered by Andrew J Klimek (Stereoscenic Records)
Album art design by Justine Howlett and Andrew J Klimek