Redshift Horizon by Spiral Island ft. Danielle Ellen

This song came out of February Album Writing Month this year. I had a funky beat and was aiming to write some sci-fi lyrics to become a Jamiroquai space-funk song.

But the lyrics I came up with took a turn took a turn for the more melancholy and anthemic. So for the demo, I played autoharp through a reverb pedals to create a big washy pad, and then side-chained that to a kick drum, and that became the foundation of the song.

In July, I came back to this song, to try polishing it into something poppier, and less muddy. Because of the song's theme of seeking reconnection, I wanted it to use it as an opportunity to collaborate with someone, and I realized that with a few changes, the lyrics could become a duet.

I reached out to Danielle, a long-time friend and a fellow musician in Madison's music scene, suspecting that, if she was interested, she could deliver on the song's emotion.

Apparently the email reached her in the Vancouver airport, on the way home from a trip to Australia, and soundtracked a sleepless sunrise far from home.

From there, we worked out who'd sing what, and in August, we had a recording session in her basement to record her vocal parts--even the goofy pings, and the high notes. Her vocal took the song to a new level.

"What's a redshift horizon?"
As the expansion of the universe accelerates, two points can be pulled apart at a rate faster than the speed of late, making it impossible for them to ever reunite or to even see one another at a distance. In other words, the redshift effect creates an event horizon between them.

Spiral Island is Nick Davies, aka Aster Loxley. Currently one fifth of Gentle Brontosaurus. Formerly of TL;DR.

ndavies.org
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