Songs for the Moon
New album out on March 28 via Misery Mother Records
Preorder Vinyl & Digital album on Bandcamp
☾☾☾
In the deep uncertainty of the last few years, songwriter Alex Daud found solace in her living room. After a move to the Hudson Valley, she, along with her partner Andrew Emge, became attuned to the small details; the changing colors of their yard or the mischief of the neighborhood cat. Daud bought an upright piano, which quickly became the sonic motif to the mundane. She would trill on the keys as Emge and their roommate would cook in the kitchen, fold laundry or play video games.
The pair had previously played in the Brooklyn-based five piece Freind, garnering a reputation for shrieking guitars and moody, avant-garde electronic work. Swapping out her guitar for this new piano as a main songwriting tool, Daud’s creative output became a patient and kaleidoscopic introspection. The result is their new album Songs for the Moon: an exploratory, communal collection that celebrates reflection and resilience through the handmade lens of acoustic instruments. It serves as a follow up to their self-titled 2019 release, and attempts to alchemize ennui and despair, replacing the overwhelm with comfort and optimism.
Together with Dylan Nowik (Camp Saint Helene, Clairo), Daud and Emge have taken the intimacy of their new life and shaped it into a soft and curious soundscape. As the burdens of isolation began to unravel, Daud and Emge started attending shows at their local bar and music venue, The Avalon Lounge in Catskill. They connected with the local scene and felt inspired by the artistry of friends both old and new, eagerly inviting them to collaborate on their new collection of songs. Songs for the Moon acts as a gathering of harmony and encouragement: while Daud and Emge recorded and mixed the album at home, they enlisted instrumentalist and songwriter Wesley Harper (Camp Saint Helene) to provide additional engineering on “Parable” and “Invitation” from his home studio; songwriters Elizabeth Celeste Ibarra (Camp Saint Helene) and Holland Belle’s vocals adorn “When I Was A Girl”; Vanessa Castro provides vocals, while producer and composer Jon Notar plays cello on “Não Parar” and instrumentalist Brendan Fay plays upright bass on the closing title-track.
There is space here to stretch and to play. The album urges the exhale of a daydream and the frivolity of new ideas that emerges only with true attentiveness to yourself and the community around you. There’s sincerity with a smirk, and an openness to whatever comes their way. “Is there any wonder left / Can I find it in myself?” Daud ponders on the velvet-lush opener “Parable.” Inspired by the writings of Octavia Butler, the repetitive psychedelic pulse urges a self-soothing but not in a pessimistic sense, more in a way that tells us the answers we’re looking for are closer than we might imagine. “I'm a little further away from some of those young emotions and heated events in my life,” Daud explains. “I’m leaning a little more into earnesty.”
Songs for the Moon exists in phases. The Fascinating Chimera Project understands that there is never one self, or one right way but rather a multitude of meandering paths that hold an overflow of potential. There is the sweet, devoted love song “Redwoods,” all acoustic-strums and windows-down proclamations of finding your person; there’s celebration of the local cat’s celebrity on “Big Red’s Theme,” full of child-like, cheeky percussion that points to the joy of playing music just for the hell of it; or there’s the golden-dipped harmonies on “When I Was A Girl” that acts as a brush-stroked memory, tinged with the sorrow of nostalgia. It’s a testament to the extent of The Fascinating Chimera Project’s taste, and their ability to seamlessly weave them all together.
“Não Parar” is the first song Daud wrote in Portuguese. As the daughter of a Brazilian parent, it was a feat she had always strived to complete, but was never certain how to execute. Thanks to their at-home studio setup, Daud and Emge were able to play around with Brazilian pop rhythms until it clicked, ushering in a compelling sonic vitality. The landscape throughout the album often features minimal chord changes or repeated piano lines which speaks to the spirituality of their process. “Time Passes,” “Interlude” or the album’s title track, mostly all instrumental, point to the serenity of existing––and creating––with people you love.
Songs for the Moon is an album of fluidity, femininity and intentionality. By building a world of comfort away from the confines of responsibilities and expectation, The Fascinating Chimera Project creates an ode to the infinite, within ourselves and the people who make up our lives. This contained, cozy collection of songs ebbs and flows as we do, never rushing to the next chapter or mourning the last. It’s a reminder that to slow down is to see; that this idea of going inward can open up a realm of connection.
☾☾☾
written, recorded, and mixed by Fascinating Chimera Project:
Alex Daud - vocals, piano, guitar, flute, clarinet, penny whistle
Andrew Emge - percussion, guitar, vocals, synth, zither, mixing
Dylan Nowik - bass, singing saw, vocals
additional engineering on Tracks 1, 2 by Wesley Harper
additional performances by:
Holland Belle, vocals, Track 6
Elizabeth Celeste Ibarra, vocals, Track 6
Vanessa Castro, vocals, Track 3
Jon Notar, cello, Track 3
Brendan Fay, upright bass, Track 9
mastered by Amar Lal at Macro Sound Studios
album bio by Sammy Maine
Art direction & graphic design by Alex Daud
artwork adapted from Kay Nielsen's "East of the Sun and West of the Moon" (public domain)
Thank you Corey Rubin & Elizabeth Ibarra for the vinyl layout help