Nightstream by Jeff Pearce
The songs on “Nightstream” were recorded in the early morning hours of July 17th, 2024- which happens to be my birthday. A few days before my birthday, I thought it might be an interesting “what would happen if I…” experience to record some songs before, during and after the exact day/hour/minute of my birth. And that would have been a bit easier, sleep-wise, had I been born at an acceptable time of day, but I came into the world around 3:30 AM central time.
So- with a nice cup of tea, I recorded these songs in the low lights of our house, the only audience being our cat. And I recorded a lot of songs, but these four felt like they belonged together. As with other EPs I’ve put out, there are short songs, a long improvisation, and an older tune of mine- this time, one that first appeared over 24 years ago.
1) Another Circle: the title reflects the birthday (I/e “another circle around the sun”). The song itself started with an odd guitar tuning (for those interested: low to high- E, B, D#, G#, C#, F#) and the first version of this was an improvisation that clocked in at roughly 27 minutes. The version here is a much shorter, and more structured, version.
2) A Fading: This song was from my year 2000 CD “To the Shores of Heaven”, and it was nice to revisit this old friend. The slow, minor key loop invited some introspective guitar lines over the top of it . The last time I played this song was when I recorded it in late 1999, and I’m thinking that may have been a mistake; this would have been a fun song to play at any of my concerts. But there's a good chance it might show up in future shows.
3) Home: If we’re lucky, there’s a place that comes to mind when we hear the word “home”. In that respect, I’m very lucky, because when I hear the word “home”, two places come to mind: the place I grew up as a child, and the place where I’ve watched my children grow up. Musically, I just let this song say what it needed to say, no more and no less, and the end result surprised me; there were elements of nostalgia in the music, certainly, but there was also a touch of longing. As I’m writing these notes at 4:23 AM, I’m still not entirely sure how this song just “showed up” in the early morning, but, to my ears, it’s one of the prettiest songs I’ve ever written.
4) Nightstream: Thanks to the abundant July rains in Indiana, the stream that cuts through our property has been entertaining ambitions of becoming a river. And even in these early hours, in this quiet house, you can hear the sound of the rushing stream outside. With this track, I wanted to capture that same feel and flow in music. I used the same guitar, with the same strange tuning, that I did for “Another Circle”, and I greatly enjoyed following where the music led.
Tracklist
| 1. | Another Circle | 2:42 |
| 2. | A Fading | 3:31 |
| 3. | Home | 2:20 |
| 4. | Nightstream | 9:40 |
Credits
License
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2X Billboard® charting ambient musician Jeff Pearce has been called “an avatar of ambient guitar” by Echoes radio host John Diliberto, and “one of the top two electronic guitarists of all time” by the AllMusic guide. Jeff has quietly and consistently pioneered his ethereal style of ambient guitar since his first CD release in 1993.