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The Songs Which Are

by Stranger Still

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    Includes unlimited streaming via the free Bandcamp app, plus high-quality downloads of The Songs Which Are, Music of Nick Fraser, Volume 1, Permanent Moving Parts, False Ghosts, Minor Fears, Bog Standards, Perdidox, Songs of Bread, Wine and Salt, Songs of The Mike Smith Company, and 7 more. , and , .

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1.
Snapshot 03:51
2.
3.
I, Icarus 04:09
4.
Biography 02:56
5.
The Bhikku 03:34
6.
7.
8.
Friends 02:30
9.
Exile 01:44
10.
Reunion 01:08
11.
Nancy 05:01

about

The sophomore record from Stranger Still, which consists of musical settings by composer Pete Johnston of poems by Canadian poet Alden Nowlan (1933-1983). Johnston and Nowlan share a birthplace of Hants County, Nova Scotia, and the poems tell stories of the people, seasons, and landscape of the Atlantic coast of Canada.

"The Songs Which Are evokes both the alluring Celtic folk roots of Canada's Maritime Provinces and the stark commanding beauty of plainsong, conveyed in the pure, tone-perfect solo and harmonised offerings of vocalists Mim Adams and Randi Helmers... a fine fit for Nowlan's reflective, intensive and lovely versification. Words and music both reward a deep listen to this unusual offering."— Jeff Kaliss, Songlines

“Pete Johnston’s song project Stranger Still plays music profoundly rooted in the culture of his native Nova Scotia... [the] pieces are honed to a warm evocation of Nowlan’s work, suggesting medieval chant, minimalism, and folk music in a lucid rendering of hard-edged struggles suspended between vision and loss.” — Stuart Broomer, Musicworks

credits

released April 14, 2023

Mim Adams - vocals
Randi Helmers - vocals
Rob Clutton - string bass, vocals
Pete Johnston - acoustic guitar, electric guitar, banjo, vocals
with Andrew Killawee vocals, organ

All music © Pete Johnston (SOCAN), words by Alden Nowlan (1933-83). All poems reproduced from the book Collected Poems of Alden Nowlan (ed. Brian Bartlett, Goose Lane Editions/icehouse poetry, 2017) and used with permission from the Nowlan family and House Of Anansi Press Inc, Toronto.

Recorded at Fang Recording in Dartmouth Nova Scotia.
Engineered by Alex Burris and Charles Austin.
Mixed by Lisa Conway, mastered by Fedge.
Produced by Andrew Killawee and Mike Smith.

Artwork by Mike Smith, band photo by Kerr Comeau.
Nowlan sketch by Jake Oelrichs, notes by Michael Pacey.

Stranger Still acknowledges the support of the Canada Council for the Arts, the Ontario Arts Council (an agency of the Government of Ontario), and the City of Toronto through the Toronto Arts Council.

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All-Set! Toronto, Ontario

Dedicated to releasing sounds from Toronto’s left-field music scene, All-Set! Editions aims to cover everything from bent song-craft to wobbly synthesis, with frequent stops between and beyond.

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