“Oh Everything” 8/6/2021

“This past year, the year of the pandemic, was everything and its opposite. Immersed in the world, and at the same time, isolated from the world; so much happening, so little going on. Oh, everything. I haven’t slept well. But… insomnia plus isolation equals the luxury of time to think. Most of these songs were a spinoff of tossing and turning in the dark.
The window of the room where I’ve been sequestered looks out onto an ancient maple tree (buds, then lush green leaves, then brilliant red and yellow, then bare branches, then buds again) that collects crows. The crows overheard me working out early versions of these songs and laughed. Crows – those jokers, survivors, scavengers, tricksters who can spin adversity into advantage… an allegory for the passage in which this recording was made. And so, crows appear on the cover.
And… speaking of spinning adversity into advantage: Harvey Jones, British born, New York-based madman genius of the artful synthesizer, on hiatus from his steady work due to the pandemic, was miraculously available and willing to take on this project. Peter and I recorded the songs here on the coast of Maine, then dropboxed the tracks to Harvey’s studio in New York, where he created the wild, evocative, intuitive, inventive, beautiful and witty soundscapes that you hear on this project. Oh everything.” – AG