Milieu - Ambitropic Bedroom Carnival (2017)

Upon leaving South Carolina and moving to Ohio late last year, I was sad about having to leave my Lowrey organ behind. Everything we were taking had to fit into one shipping container, and there simply wasn't any room for it. The organ has been a mainstay in my studio, appearing in some capacity on nearly every single album I've recorded since buying it in 2002. Longtime friend and collaborator David Tagg was going to try to drive out and pick it up, but he hasn't been able to swing it. At this moment, it's set to be left on the curb outside my old house, for either the county waste pickup or some curious passerby to pick up, free.

So, as I enjoy settling into my new White Pillar Workshop, things still only feel as if they are 90% complete without the organ here. I'll eventually replace it, of course, but I'll likely opt for a different model or something even more graduated than the Lowrey. Thrift shoppers can't be too choosy. This is why I felt it pertinent to craft a special sendoff to the old Lowrey, something to wave goodbye to an old reliable friend with. The result of this initiative is Ambitropic Bedroom Carnival.

A 2-track long player, containing brother-sister mixes of the same piece, has been built using only sounds from my Lowrey, sampled and taped and backed up across the years of use. It also features some field recordings of a windy spring day outside my first Columbian studio, 114RKD, which is visible in the Holga photograph used on the cover. The first piece is for the late nights that turned into mornings in that space, and the second is for the evenings that turned into late nights. A warm missive for something that's been such a vital part of my exploration as a musician.