Acorn
SCR-014
Release date - 2021/07/16
8 Track Full-Length - Vinyl, CD, Digital Download, Streaming
Singles: Keeping Watch, Making Forests, Pulsing Place, Chance’s Wake
Video by Phil Moore of Bowerbirds
Click here for release notes, vinyl/cd preorder, digi, and streaming of the single "Pulsing Place"
Inspired by the world building, Afrofuturist radicalism of the novel “Parable of the Sower” by Octavia Butler, the latest Trippers & Askers LP “Acorn” blends spiritual jazz and traditional styles in ways that pose fundamental questions about the nature of “American” music. With cover art from acclaimed comic artist John Jennings - whose work includes multiple graphic novel adaptations of Butler’s work - this concept album ushers the listener through the narrative of the novel as it pertains to the very real political and emotional challenges of the present.
Parable of the Sower was written in the 1990’s and set in 2020’s U.S. when society has collapsed for everyone but the super wealthy due to climate change, wealth inequality, religious fundamentalism, and corporate greed. The protagonist – a woman named Lauren Olamina – embodies a kind of radical hope that has nothing to do with denial. In fact, it’s a kind of hope that can only spring from the fact that she understands the severity of her and her community’s situation better than anyone else. It’s a hope that is anchored by a religion that she creates called Earthseed, a way of seeing the world that many contemporary black feminist activists and musicians such as adrienne maree brown, Toshi Reagon and so many others have taken up as a spiritual roadmap toward liberation from an increasingly unacceptable present.
Side A of “Acorn” deals with the childhood of humanity on earth, with the discovery of Earthseed ushering us to the stars. Side B deals with a “sweet, sad and terrifying” adulthood that is oriented toward the creation of the first Earthseed community, “Acorn.” An album based on the second novel in the series, “Parable of the Talents”, is in process.
Acorn was recorded primarily in Durham, North Carolina, and features some of the area’s finest including Andy Stack (Wye Oak, Joyero), Joseph O’Connell (Elephant Micah), Joe Westerlund (Califone, Megafaun), former Sun Ra member Ken Moshesh.
Credits
Performance
Jay Hammond | Voice, Guitars, Mandolin, Bass, Electronics
Chessa Rich | Voice, Keyboards, Organ, Piano, Flute
Andrew Carlson | Voice, Bass
Joe Westerlund | Drums, Percussion
Ken Moshesh | Percussion
Joseph Decosimo | Fiddle
Bako Jaf | Saz
Mike Grigoni | Pedal Steel
Joseph O'Connell | Pump Organ
Andy Stack | Saxophone, Organelle
Production
All songs written and produced by Jay Hammond
Engineering @ Silkworm Sound in Durham, NC by Saman Khoujinian
Engineering @ The Rubber Room in Chapel Hill, NC by Saman Khoujinian
Engineering @ Arbor Ridge Studios in Chapel Hill, NC by Jeff Crawford
Engineering and Initial Mixing @ Everywhere by Jay Hammond
Saz by Bako Jaf recorded in Pigneto, Rome
Final Mixes by Scott Hirsch @ Echo Magic Studios in Ojai, CA
Mastered by Michael Hammond
Original Cover Artwork by John Jennings
Package design by Gabe Anderson
Lyrics
coming soon