Stages, by Home Baker

Stages

by Home Baker

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Edition of 55 pro-dubbed tapes with design by Mike Nigro.

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	1.	Stages 06:27
	2.	In Step 06:35
	3.	Liquid Levain 12:16
	4.	I Will 05:24
	5.	Pickled 06:54

about

Finding inspiration in the in-between moments of his home bread making practice, Austin, Texas’ Walter Nichols (one-half of the electro-pop duo Emme) patiently unfurls a wonderland of sonic delights as Home Baker. Typically one doesn’t mention what else was going on in the room where a record was made, but the bread is not inconsequential here. Fermenting, rising, baking, cooling - these are all moments of transition: alive, vulnerable, and incomplete.

Taking this in-betweenness as a starting point, and change as a constant present, “Stages” playfully straddles the lines between ambient and pop, inner and outer, micro and macro. The record has a particular knack for turning musical conventions upside down: melodies wander more than than they lead; percussion fizzes more than it grooves; and vocals are atomized into stutters, breaths, and exclamations (“Oh mama!”). The other side of transition peeks through as well - seasons change, friends drift away, and time stops for no one. At times, the record’s sonic collage comes off as a sort of scrapbook, a collection of moments that trigger a flood of memories.

“Stages” is a one-of a kind record, guided intuitively and charmingly by Nichols’ genuine curiosity, fascination with details, and inclination to look past the obvious: to see a world in a grain of sand (or loaf of bread, as it were).

--

the patterns inside
echo
the patterns inside

Recorded and mixed by Walter Nichols at home in Austin, often with bread dough fermenting in the kitchen, while he fermented in his thoughts.

Voices heard in “Stages”: Tom Langhorne (aka Fandabi Dozi), Katherine Milling, Sam Rosen, Emily Wagman, Matt Hochman.

Guitar in “Stages” by Joel Derusha.

Thanks to Sowmya Somanath, Paul Marbach, Mike Nigro, Caitlin Cash, FDN crew, 24 crew, the Ransom Notes, and family and friends without whose love and support this album wouldn't exist.

credits

released April 3, 2020

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Oxtail Recordings Sydney, Australia

Ambient noise and broken songs.

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