Limited Indie Exclusive Edition Back To Oz Emerald City Green Vinyl!

It has been said that writing about music is like dancing about architecture (impossible and absurd). But what about singing about movies?

That's exactly the idea behind »A Beginner's Mind«, the new collaboration album by Sufjan Stevens and Angelo De Augustine. And they implemented it as follows: The American singer-songwriter and multi-instrumentalist and his fellow American musician took a break in a friend's hut, watched films at night and in the morning they wrote songs, together, taking turns, music and lyrics. It ended up being 13 songs. They are loosely based on mostly popular movies.

The source material is sophisticated, undemanding and everything in between. It ranges from zombie horror like "Night Of The Living Dead" to psychological thrillers like "Silence Of The Lambs" and action films like "Point Break" to the Bette Davis classic "All About Eve". They have been the inspiration for songs that explore the meaning of life, the meaning of death and culminate in existential questions. John Carpenter's "The Thing" inspired a song exploring the disease of social paranoia, while Wim Wenders' "Wings Of Desire" provided the building blocks for a song about human suffering and isolation.

Turning old movies into vibrant new songs, Stevens and De Augustine challenge us to look at ourselves from a previously unconsidered point of view - a new way of seeing and hearing - an exercise as necessary and relevant today as ever and ever.

Stevens and De Augustine describe the music on "A Beginner's Mind" as folksy, sweet, sincere and harmoniously effervescent, Simon & Garfunkel with new-age flourishes. The album runs the gamut and enjoys it, even as the two musicians and songwriters remain rooted in the melancholy folk idioms they are known for. They revealed how the record sounds in advance with the singles "Reach Out" and "Olympus".

All tracks were arranged, scored, recorded, mixed and produced by Stevens and De Augustine. Casey Foubert plays drums and bass on "Back To Oz", Melissa Mary Ahern sings backing vocals on "Lacrimae".

Daniel Anum Jasper, a pioneer of Ghanaian film poster painting, has been commissioned to paint a series of new works for A Beginner's Mind. His paintings reflect the same sense of wonder, puns, and intrigue that characterize A Beginner's Mind.

Labels:
Asthmatic Kitty Records AKR143
Format:
Vinyl, LP, Album, Limited Edition, Green Emerald City
Country:
EU
Released:
Sep 24, 2021
Genre:
Rock, Pop, Folk, World, & Country

tracklist

A1Reach Out
A2Lady Macbeth In Chains
A3Back To Oz
A4The Pillar Of Souls
A5You Give Death A Bad Name
A6 Beginner's Mind
A7Olympus
B8 Murder And Crime
B9(This Is) The Thing
B10It's Your Own Body And Mind
B11Lost In The World
B12 Fictional California
B13Cimmerian Shade
B14 Lacrimae