For many, Offthesky will need little introduction. With his discography spanning back to 2002 through labels such as Home Normal, Databloem, SEM, Autoplate, Resting Bell, Term and Somnia, this press release will serve as little more than a formality to fans of the artist and the words written below will do little to further encourage already eager individuals to take a listen. For those of you who are unfamiliar or just interested in reading more about this artist’s colourful decade of intelligent sound design and his latest addition to it, please read on…
Originally from Kentucky, Offthesky is Jason Corder who currently resides in Denver, Colorado in the United States. From an early age, Jason has experimented with simple piano melody patterns, tape deck recording, tracker software and 8bit explorations. He went on to teach himself guitar, learning more advanced music production software and eventually began to translate these ideas into
his own tracks. Tracing back these regularly shifting learning patterns which started at the tender age of five, they were perhaps born out of an early Attention Deficiency Disorder diagnosis. This restlessness is something that Jason is comfortable with in music and embracing it has led to a gradual honing of craft over a lifetime of sound experiments. The more strings that he adds to his bow, the more curious he seems to get and with each release, he likes to carefully explore his latest ideas and techniques. So for those of you with a few Offthesky records in your collection, you’ll notice a different shift and evolution explored within each. In 2006, Jason even decided to change the then Off The Sky moniker to the unique one-word morpheme ‘Offthesky’. If nothing else, this expresses his desire to hold evolution as a major facet of his artistic process.
Magnetically drawn to melody and texture, Jason’s sound typically comprises of a deep and quirky aesthetic that draws in on all his influences. Musically, he cites an early interest in jazz and orchestral music as the foundation to the odd way in which he likes to think about music. Elsewhere, he concedes that he has learnt more about music through film, painting and his own sound experiments along the way.
For his latest record ‘The Beautiful Nowhere’, Jason had initially set himself a loose rule to use as many acoustic instruments as possible, whilst limiting the use of heavy electronic processing techniques. Instruments including guitar, harmonium, cello, toy piano, violin, kalimba, vibraphone and voice were recorded in a cabin near Carter Lake, Colorado in the peace of a beautiful, yet remote space. It was this secluded environment that encouraged and an existential state of mind and the resulting material gleaned of ideas relating to isolation and the surrounding rural landscape. Around the time of recording, Jason also watched a documentary called ‘The True Meaning Of Pictures’, about a photographer called Shelby Lee Adams. His subjects lie in deep Appalachia; an incredible culture caught on film that has haunted Jason ever since.
Like many Offthesky records, there is a loose concept that leaves lots of room for abstract interpretation. Ideas of simple backwoods life and pastoral existence are what permeates the sound throughout this beautiful set of songs. Other than this, it is hoped that the music itself will do the talking and that all who listen may open their ears to the stories contained within…
Credits:
Music by Jason Corder
Mastered by Taylor Deupree
Photography by Iris Ann Sigurðardóttir
Links:
http://offthesky.com//
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