Open Ocean
$0.00 + Optional Donation ($35 suggested)
Open Ocean
$0.00 + Optional Donation ($35 suggested)
We suggest a donation of $35. Give what you can. If you can give more it would be greatly appreciated. This is how we fund bringing music to the world. Thanks!
Release Date
5/31/2022
“What if Enya were in Minor Threat?” asks guitarist Matt Walsh. “It would have been extreme and direct, but also vast and ecstatic.” The concept of Sky Creature’s first double EP-- two EPs on one 12" record-- reflects the basic concept of the band: the collision of two different musicians with strangely compatible sound worlds.
A double EP might be an unexpected choice for a new band, but the two sides strike an entirely different tone. They also began as separate projects: one a Sky Creature EP, the other Majel’s own solo EP.
“Matt and I do everything together, and at a certain point my stuff started to feel a lot like Sky stuff,” says Majel. “We even threw some Childworld songs into our live show, and nobody blinked. So at a certain point the question was, why isn’t this a Sky Creature EP?”
Bear Mountain (Side A) is a tidal wave of energy from beginning to end, and a celebration of raw materials taken to extremes: maniacal beats, gigantic guitars, and wildly varying vocal styles. Says Walsh of the final track, “No One,” “It’s like hardcore, but from another planet. It’s Hüsker Dü, but with opera.”
The single, “Bear Mountain,” describes a mystical experience on a school trip to Bear Mountain during a thunderstorm. “It’s an experience that never left me,” Matt says. Hence the lyrics: “things will never change,” a statement both completely true and untrue at once. “On one level, it’s about the euphoria of tripping on a mountain during a thunderstorm, and also the strange feeling of looking back on it, and contemplating how things both do and don’t change.”
Childworld (Side B), showcases the band’s softer, darker side. “By the standards of any functioning adult, being a kid is being insane,” says Connery. “Santa Claus is real and you’re gonna get a pony, and the next minute you’ll get sick and die from eating something off the floor. Our music does this: first it’s terrifying, then it’s technicolor.”
“Childworld was a word that Matt came up with to describe both the music I write and also the world I inhabit, and it seemed apt,” explains Connery. “I like ghostly, toyish sounds and big, haunted places.” They both have freakishly vivid memories from childhood.“I still sort of live and operate in the world like a child,” admits Majel. “I feel weirdly big in small spaces, and am simultaneously afraid of and excited about things that shouldn’t matter.”
Childworld is the introversion to Bear Mountain’s extroversion: now a hollow android lullaby, now a faraway elvin choir, now the lonely sound of a child singing itself to sleep.
Sky Creature’s central musical question: does it make you want to move? The band is unconcerned with genre. Asked to name their inspirations, they may bring up Wu Tang, Enya, Hüsker Dü, The Crystals, Billy Joel, Stravinsky, and, of course, the best American band ever: Shudder to Think. “This is all in our music in various ways,” says Matt. “Sky is anti-bedroom. It’s not about sculpting layers with built-in synths that come with your computer. It’s not weighed down by chords. I want great melodies, I want to dance, and I want it to sound thug.”
Jackets were hand painted in Rockaway Beach and screened in Brooklyn -- each one is unique and beautiful!
Track Listing
- Bear Mountain
- Cold Light
- Light Reflected
- Beyond The Mountain
- No One
- We Need A Room
- Pretend To Cry
- She Is Older
- Unnatural Heart
- He Was Dying
FAQ
What is Open Ocean?
We are a not-for-profit record label based in Rockaway Beach, NYC. We use donations to produce and distribute beautiful vinyl records on a gift basis.
Why is this record free?
We believe that recorded music is public art, to be enjoyed together. It is for listening above consuming. It is essential for our well being. We want our records to be available to our community without the barrier of cost. In the spirit of sharing, we give them to you as a gift. We truly believe these records can transform you, the community, and the world. A record is a document of communal magic and genuine expression. How can we put a price on that?
How can I support you?
We rely on individual donations to produce and distribute records. We don’t cut corners. These records take a lot of time and space to be made well. The best way to support us is to make a contribution here or make a donation as part of ordering a record. This is what enables us to do this. Think of your donation as giving others the record as a gift. If you are not able to give, that’s totally okay. Please pick up the music you would like to listen to. We want you to have it.
Can I get a tax deduction for my donation?
Absolutely! Open Ocean is a registered 501c3. Any donation you make to us is tax deductible. The easiest way to get a written acknowledgment of your contribution for your files is to make a donation here.
Why vinyl?
Nobody is going to inherit their parents’ Spotify playlists. A vinyl record has lasting value beyond our lifetime. We want it to exist in the future because it will become a part of how we look back and see ourselves. We make an extra effort to design and hand print our records ourselves. They are beautiful physical objects to care for. Don’t worry, we have a digital format available at all times as well.