EP

Artists

Album Info

Release Date: 2019-12-24

Label: Afterthought Records

The EP is an exploration of the inbetween - the transitional state of a sedated anxiety where one is neither OK, nor able to understand why; neither closing a chapter nor turning a new page.

Placed amongst a collage of field recordings from a month spent in Japan, the EP draws from the country's continual reframing, in a place between its difficult past and uncertain future. Sounds of public transport clash with the peace of nature to consider whether time spent in these places are a break from the difficulty of life, or the breaking point; paralysis in the culmination of struggle.

This period was difficult to navigate - entering Japan marked my departure from Australia, and the gateway to my time in North America. While filled with hope for adventure, it became more and more apparent what I was leaving behind, and what I had taken with me; what struggles I had left, and what emotions I was left to deal with.

In this between state, how we frame and negotiate the things we think we can control becomes important. Yet in the end, time is the only constant and the only thing that drives us forward.

The three tracks were recorded live the day of the last gig, within days of Elliot and I leaving abroad. Released now, well over a year later, the tracks mark a moment in time, one that will likely be revisited again.

- Tom


A statement on the artwork.

The artwork pairs film photographs taken in Japan in July of 2018 with a unique Japanese promotional tool called an ‘obi’ strip. The strip might include the band line-up, the price, information about bonus tracks or promotional quotes. A piece of plastic or paper that is removed upon opening, the practise of using ‘obi’ strips not only reflects Japan’s fondness for packaging, but also their tendency towards physical releases. It is used here to further evoke the Japanese influence on the release - both as a time and place, and in the themes the EP explores.