"From the River to the Ocean" favorably brings to mind the pioneering artistry of New Age labels, Windham Hill and Private Music in the 1980’s. I would strongly suggest indulging in her latest offering. Little wonder MacPhail took home Female Artist Of The Year honors at MusicNL in 2016." - Tony Ploughman, Fred's Records
Rozalind MacPhail’s original music soundtrack combines traditional songwriting and multi-layered looping through electronics, field recordings and flute, MacPhail’s specialty.
ABOUT THE ALBUM
"This project explores a favourite place of mine, Wilmington, North Carolina. The years: 2014-2016. The entire direction of my life changed when a friend posted about an artist residency through the Cucalorus Film Festival. I had never been to Wilmington before although I had wonderful memories of spending my childhood summers in the Outer Banks of North Carolina. Who would have known that 30 years later I would be travelling to this magical place where I would meet my husband and be inspired to create this project.
In 2014, I took a great risk. I put up my St. John’s apartment for sublet, took time off from my jobs and placed my belongings in storage to spend three months as an artistic resident through the Cucalorus Film Festival. I lived in the Pinkhouse with other artistic residents on the festival’s compound. Inspiration was everywhere. It was during this residency that I began collaborating with six local and visiting filmmakers to create an audio-visual performance piece in which music and film weaves together place, memory and identity.
How do you capture your memories? We decided to capture our experiences in Wilmington through audio-visual storytelling. The films range from 1950s archive film to subtle (and not so subtle) social commentary, manipulated VHS and Super 8 footage that we shot and hand processed. The films were completed once I returned to Newfoundland and I spent the following summer in St. John’s recording the soundtrack, combining traditional songwriting, sound samples I captured during my time in Wilmington, multi-layered sound loops, effected omnichord, and my favourite instrument, the flute.
The pieces: "Overture for Pinkhouse" was inspired by sunny afternoons practising outside the Pinkhouse when tiny lizards would keep me company. "Leave a Note" is autobiographical in nature and was inspired by my time on Wrightsville Beach and how hard it was to say goodbye to Wilmington. You can hear an ice cream truck driving around in "Now Accepting Food Stamps" which I later learned is a song of racist origin. The POV Super 8 footage I created in "Now Accepting Food Stamps" explores some of the differences and similarities between Canada and the southeastern US. It was my way of coming to terms with the poverty and racism I was witnessing during my time there. "Film=Jobs" was created from archive footage and photos of the Wilmington Film=Jobs rallies, gathered from the Wilmington film community. Thousands of jobs lost and incentives cut, the film shows the passion of the people. "Wilmington Tide" was inspired by a North Carolina band I fell in love with that year, Sylvan Esso. The track includes a sound sample I recorded of crickets during a hot humid night.
We hope this project inspires you to capture your own memories."
- Rozalind MacPhail - August 26, 2016
THANKS:
Cucalorus Film Festival, Dan Brawley, Natalie Lentz, Ingrid Veninger, MusicNL, CFM Local 820, Moksha Yoga St. John’s, UNCW, Krisjan Leslie, Justin Merdsoy, Dejan Vucicevic, Brad Weber & Mary Cronin, Craig Follett, Brent Beshara, Mariah Kramer, Shona Thomson, Mandi Edwards, Matthew Malloy, Matt Gossett, Andre Silva, Madeleine Tangney, Brad Howard, Naomi Montes, Ruth Paxton, Addison Adams, Francine DeCoursey, Randy Brant, Diana Zaccaria, Bonnie Fedrau, St. John’s International Women’s Film Festival, Nickel Film Festival, AIFF, Maureen Power, Anne & Julian Pickard-Vaandering, Linda Maire Conway, Roger Maunder, Chris Darlington, Ruth Lawrence, Latonia Hartery, Martine Blue, Greg Bruce, Paul Bendsza, Peter Gardner, Evelyn Osborne, Cara & Steve Wildesmith, Conor Nelson and the love of my life, Josh Caine.
Produced by Rozalind MacPhail
Recorded by Justin Merdsoy, Krisjan Leslie and Rozalind MacPhail
Mixing & Mastering by Krisjan Leslie and Justin Merdsoy
Photography by Ruth Paxton and Scott Amos
Design by Dejan Vucicevic
* The Gaze - Lyrics by Shona Thomson
Rozalind MacPhailSt. John'S, Newfoundland and Labrador
Rozalind MacPhail explores new ways to combine image and sound in works that speak honestly of people, place and the human
experience.
A classically-trained flutist, MacPhail layers moody vocals, electrifying flute loops, omnichord and driving electronics through her effects pedals and the digital audio workstation, Ableton Live....more
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