When Endless Field, the “ambient Americana” (NPR) acoustic duo of guitarist Jesse Lewis and bassist Ike Sturm, released its eponymous debut on Biophilia in 2017, the album was hailed by Downbeat for its “awe-inspired tranquillity,” evoking “distant horizons and airy, windswept melodies.” Endless Field received a four-star review and was included among Downbeat’s Best of 2017.
“Distant Horizons” indeed: when Lewis and Sturm contemplated their follow-up effort, they hatched plans for an album recorded wholly outdoors, in remote locations of rare and stunning beauty. After arduous logistical planning, they ventured into the sweeping, endangered wilderness of Southern Utah to record Alive in the Wilderness, their second Biophilia release.
With a solar-powered recording rig, an engineer deeply committed to the project (Dana Nielsen), and National Geographic photographers and videographers to document every performance (each track has an accompanying video), Lewis and Sturm pushed themselves to the physical limit, yet arrived at moments of pure inspiration, elevated calm and clarity of musical intent. Today XS Noize is pleased to premiere the video for ‘The Well’.
“The Well was recorded by a stunning waterfall in Southern Utah. Once we saw the waterfall, we knew this was the right tune for the spot. The sandy hilltop was barely wide enough for us to stand without sliding down. The water was extremely loud and we worried there’d be too much in the mics to be usable. The hike to this location was exhausting but well worth it, as we absorbed everything we could from this extreme vantage point.”
Watch the video for ‘The Well’ – BELOW:
Alive in the Wilderness was released by Biophilia Records as a Biopholio, a double-sided, 20-panel origami-inspired medium with vibrant artwork and liner notes; each one made entirely out of FSC-certified, robust paper, hand-folded and printed using plant-based inks. In order to reduce the label’s carbon footprint, digital download codes are provided instead of plastic CDs. More on Biophilia Records here.
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