A couple of weeks ago, I was at Hardware for Inventory Night when Ian Be (Aircraft, Bourbon & Coffee, Smokin' Black Tar) dropped the new EP from Eric Starchild into my lap. If you live in or frequent the Elmwood Village, especially near Bidwell Park, then you know or know of Eric. For those that do not, he's that guy who sells hemp jewelry all around town. Now my first reaction to the EP was "say what?" My next was "What the hell does it sound like?" Unbeknownst to me, Eric has been making music for some time, and this time around, Ian handled the recording and mixing of the self titled EP and released it for free through Super Rad * Great Times after some disputes between the two over the end product.
Before clicking the play button, I couldn't have begun to guess what ERIC STARCHILD would sound like. Eric is credited as playing piano and ocarina, but seriously, your guess would have been as good as mine. Maybe some bat shit crazy Flaming Lips pysch freak outs, or 90 mins of glockenspiel and pan flutes. To my surprise, the 4 song EP is an Eluvium-esque collection of atmospheric and meditative music. The opening track, "one," is over 12 mins (yep) of chilled out minimalism while tracks "two," "three," and "four" all showcase Eric's talent as a piano player. If you would have predicted that, then I owe you a drink.
You can download ERIC STARCHILD in full here or check out the ambient "one" below.
This made my day... no week!
best album release of 2013
I'm going to wear the 100% authentic Eric Starchild hemp bracelet I drunkenly purchased outside of Hardware and listen to this for the next 48 hours.