Under the Veneer Release Notes

Under the Veneer started with a giant snow storm in Bellingham, Washington, in March of 2019. I had just finished recording Nocturnal Signal and wanted to dig deeper into using sounds from field recordings and making my own sample based instruments. The snow storm inspired many field recording sessions which ended in the construction of a set of sample-based percussive instruments. I went on many hikes in the snow-covered forests around my house, capturing environmental sounds with my field recorder: fresh snow falling off ferns, snow balls pounding on frozen steel doors, footsteps crunching, fallen tree limbs snapping in the ice cold air, icicles breaking. This set the backdrop for the album; all of the samples have a kind of frozen crispness to them, frozen soundscapes from the forest. I’ve come to see the relationships between the samples as important as any individual sound. The time, location, season, and my relationship with the sounds contributes enormously to the emotional impact of the sample collection. 

The main instrument on the album is an old rusty music box. It has a rich harmonic resonant sound but it’s also broken and vulnerable. It’s attached to a painting I've had for many years, one that has moved around with me many times. It has hung on the walls in both broken and loving homes and has become a symbol of how important having a peaceful place to call home really is. The painting and the music box represents a complex sense of home for me. A lot of the themes on this album were inspired by that concept; scratch a bit of veneer off the surface and you can often find something twisted and complicated underneath.

Enjoy.

Release Notes:

All songs written, recorded, and mixed by Jeads.

Mastered by Taylor Dupree at 12k.

Graphic design by Aleksandar Veselić and Dragana Veselić.