A/am/ams is the debut solo release by composer Rufus Isabel Elliot of the OVER / AT project and label: a trans music-making world that released FOLK SONGS E.P. in March 2021 to much critical acclaim. Recorded live in one evening in Glasgow in September 2021, A/am/ams arrives here in cassette form with the help of GLARC, the Greater Lanarkshire Auricular Research Council (GLARC) as a limited edition tape and digital release.
A/am/ams (come ashore, turn over) is the story of two characters, A/am/ams and E/e/e, walking forever down an eternal beach, spiralling down and down and down. There’s a mystery – who are these characters, and what happened between them? It is an expansive piece about apocalyptic love and loss, and a kind of raw, dead anger.
The music features Scots traditional singer and GLARC alumni Josie Vallely, a.k.a. Quinie, and a small supporting cast of instruments with their own characters, played by three other musicians whose work spans traditional, experimental, and classical modes – Stevie Jones (Sound of Yell), Harry Gorski-Brown, and Andrew Herrington (Awkward Family Portraits).
The cassette release comes in a specially designed and handmade fabric pouch, with an accompanying text in Gaelic by Cass Ezeji, and artwork by Jamie Crewe.
credits
released November 28, 2021
Music and words by Rufus Isabel Elliot
E/e/e portrayed by Josie Vallely (voice) and Stevie Jones (bass guitar)
A/am/ams portrayed by Andrew Herrington (guitar) and Harry Gorski-Brown (violin)
Recorded and mixed by Stevie Jones
Mastered by Gordon Bruce
Gaelic words by Cass Ezeji
A/am/ams (come ashore; turn over) was commissioned by OVER / AT as part of Sound and Music’s Composer-Curator programme. Sound and Music was funded by Arts Council England and PRS Foundation. OVER / AT was funded by Creative Scotland.
Initial development of A/am/ams (come ashore; turn over) was supported by Magnetic North.
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