(Electronic, Indie Pop) Arp - More - 2013, MP3, 320 kbps

“I suppose this felt like a natural progression. After approaching things in a particular way for some time, you wonder what might happen if you approach things from a different angle. The unlikeliness of it became part of the attraction. I realized I could continue making records like The Soft Wave forever—and it might even be rewarding. But it felt like the right kind of challenge to do something I thought I might never do. After years moving away from the song form—the singing, the overly-familiar structures, the sentiment, the predictabilities —I found myself drawn to The Song again. Drawn to the very things I’d rejected. I found value in structures that had seemed at one point so formulaic. And the act of singing simply felt good.
In many ways, New York was the inspiration. Not only the physical city itself—the architecture, the monochrome palette, the rhythms, the renewal, the ceaselessness, the organism. But also the history of the city. The way it views itself. The way it constantly changes itself, and yet always refers back to itself. The characters that seem to only be found here. The materialism, the smoke and mirrors. The view of the city through literature and film. Even though New York is constantly changing, it seems to remain resolutely itself.
True, on the surface, this might seem a drastic departure. But, to me, there are some very clear throughways connecting my past instrumental work to this current batch of songs. They may not be as obvious, but hopefully that makes the process more interesting.”