at the riverside stage in ERBA Park in Bamberg, Germany, where i performed in September 2021, sitting with Baerbala, a good friend who has endured my singing and pacing now and then over the past weeks, as i continue work on album #6 (though as a statue, she hasn’t had much choice).
getting closer to finishing the album, and hoping to announce a couple of live performances soon.
love,
eric.
(1) fifteen years ago tomorrow, on january 11th, 2010, i released my second album, no ghostless place, which i wrote over a period of four years, using a borrowed ADAT machine (thanks again Andy), an old drum machine (now so dust-choked it’s like a relic from a tomb), the bass guitar i bought when i was 14 years old (stolen ages ago/forever missed), a weirdly tiny, malfunctioning keyboard that i eventually traded to a guy in an electronica band for a case of beer, a cheap acoustic guitar that i started writing “old fires” with on the same day that i found it, and of course, my “one and only”, my beloved japanese telecaster that’s been my sole electric guitar since the dawn of time, and which a team of even the most skeptical medical professionals would have to begrudgingly conclude has become a living extension of my body, were they to scan it – shared nervous and circulatory systems and all. if you were to press your ear against it, you’d hear my heartbeat, like a seashell holds the sound of the sea.
sitting here flooded a bit dangerously with too many memories of recording at the original location of the House of Miracles (if you listen carefully, you can hear a lone truck pass by on Wellington Street before “north of light’s end” begins; that’s always gotten to me, in an odd way). and of those four years, and of the people i love, who’ve helped and supported me over the years, in so many ways. it’s all too much, especially when one is sitting alone in the history section of one’s local library, with only a laptop and a half-eaten apple as company. so i will stop there.
i’m a day early in posting this, but happy 15th anniversary to “no ghostless place”. CD copies are still available through bandcamp (link), and can be mailed almost anywhere in the world; all sales of any of my CDs will go towards helping in all sorts of important and very appreciated ways as work continues on (2), below.
(2) i’ve nearly finished writing album #6.
love,
eric.
today is the 10-year anniversary of Öxnadalur. here’s a little video i made in tribute (click image; opens in YouTube):
thank you for listening. ❤️
eric.
#20 of 20.
someone wrote a few days ago to remind me that i’d not posted the lyrics for the final song from volume 2: run with the silent wildfires. to complete a 20-part series that began a year and a half ago. for an album that came out in early 2023.
it seems an apt one to break a long silence with. and to start anew from.
on that note: i’m writing album #6, and hope to release a song or two from it before the end of the year. it will be relatively compact – nine songs, maximum.
love,
eric.
storms while we’ve slept
drink from the river
let the river take something
from me
somehow as sure
that it can swallow me
that i am pure
blank stares on the subway
tired reflections
the illusion of speed
flow under ice
no one will follow me
end of the line
but i did it
and i’d do it again
take my heart out to the hollow
where the moon is
a friend
just as tender
and as troubled
as the world it resists
as its fingers trace the ocean
and the ocean
submits
secret duets
storms while we’ve slept
lay down beside the river’s edge
woke as the dragon i had left
for dead
drink from the river
let the river take something
from me
flow under ice
no one will follow me
end of the line
but i did it
and i’d do it
again
in the distance there’s a hollow
where the moon is
a friend
pouring silver
over lovers
silencing their regrets
there is music in the darkness
that the darkness
protects
secret duets
storms while we’ve slept
lay down beside the river’s edge
woke as the dragon i had left
for dead
(from “raised by swans is the name of a man, vol. 2: run with the silent wildfires”. available now. all lyrics and music written and performed by e. howden)
tomorrow night (friday, may 24th):
raised by swans (accompanied by a full band), by divine right, and hyness, live at room 47 in waterloo, ontario. 9:00 pm / $20.
i can’t imagine a sweeter way to say good-bye to canada until autumn. hope you can be there. tickets still available, or cash at the door.
love,
eric.
a gentle reminder that my new song “locket from a wreck” is available now on spotify, apple music, youtube music, tidal, bandcamp, and more.
for those who have asked for its lyrics, i’ve just posted them here: https://raisedbyswans.com/?page_id=49.
eric.
show #2 of 2.
tickets are available now for a very special triple bill on Friday, May 24th, at Room 47 in Waterloo, Ontario, featuring Raised By Swans, By Divine Right and Hyness.
this is the second of only two concerts i’ll be playing with a full band accompanying me until autumn 2024 at the earliest, as the day after the show, i’ll be heading overseas for the summer.
thrilled to be sharing the stage with By Divine Right and Hyness, and to stoke up the fires the Rivoli show lit – can’t bear to have them fade away just yet.
hope you can be there.
love,
eric.
ticket link: https://www.eventbrite.ca/e/raised-by-swans-with-a-full-band-by-divine-right-and-hyness-room-47-tickets-851170583127
completely overwhelmed with gratitude for all that last night’s show was. could probably power a small city with the afterglow.
thank you all for making it such a beautiful and unforgettable night.
back to glowing now.
lots of love,
eric.
the wave = just one of my heartbeats when i think about tomorrow’s show.
tickets available here: https://raisedbyswansattherivoli.eventbrite.ca .
6:30 pm doors / music @ 7:00 pm.
see you soon, toronto. ❤️
“locket from a wreck”, my newest song, is now available on spotify, apple music, tidal, youtube music, and more.
thank you to those who purchased it through bandcamp – every dollar and listen helps on a fundamental level, however you support my music, and is profoundly appreciated.
love,
eric.
listen on spotify: https://open.spotify.com/track/0G7c4UreHnx1va0sxqHwQi?si=7491bb7899394963
listen on apple music: https://music.apple.com/us/album/locket-from-a-wreck-single/1743472952
listen on youtube music: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9cn6rouD4dM&list=OLAK5uy_mGYq10WW1l2LFVswUNel7Kbv3b6pzWyYs
listen on tidal: https://tidal.com/browse/album/359879497
listen/purchase on bandcamp: https://raisedbyswans6.bandcamp.com/track/locket-from-a-wreck-single
