postpartum black clouds have retreated, in part thanks to the arrival of some CDs – several boxes each of both my brand new album (out one week ago today; please see past updates to listen) and also volume 1, which until now has not had a physical form, and has been haunting me like a disembodied spirit since february 2021.

i’m proud of how they turned out. also extremely relieved to be finished with their design; if i could count the hours i spent battling adobe photoshop and illustrator over the past months, the number might destroy the universe.

CDs will go on sale tomorrow via bandcamp; i’ll post about it here when it happens.

thank you once again for your very kind (and very moving) comments and emails about the new album. i couldn’t believe in it more ferociously, and even with the usual waves of vulnerability still moving through me, it feels really good to share it with all of you. thank you.

love,
eric.

i promise that i’ll post about CDs next week when i’m (hopefully) less of a wreck. i’m sorry for the confusion, in the meantime. i always forget how difficult a release is.

for now, i’m very grateful for your kind words about the new album so far.  i know that it’s a lot to take in, so i appreciate your patient and careful listening.  thank you.


love,
eric.

my new album is out today.

i don’t have any words for how this feels.  they’re all inside the album.

all of my love,

eric.

p.s. listen/purchase links below. CDs available tomorrow (31.03.23); they’ve only just arrived.

bandcamp: https://raisedbyswans6.bandcamp.com/album/raised-by-swans-is-the-name-of-a-man-volume-2-run-with-the-silent-wildfires

spotify: https://open.spotify.com/album/1XvRnp845ghuGLqhKFhqe8

tidal: https://tidal.com/browse/album/283443578

apple music: https://music.apple.com/us/album/raised-by-swans-is-the-name-of-a-man-volume-2/1677877030

youtube music: https://music.youtube.com/playlist?list=OLAK5uy_khULKaMOUhsAT3uxw9Vj7m7JPo9r_9O_0

very moved to finally see this Passe-moi les Jumelles documentary, set in the highlands of Iceland (link below). and to have so many of my songs appear within, intertwined with the story of a faraway friend.

Olivier Joly is a photographer and journalist from France who i met in 2018 in the Westfjords of Iceland, where i found myself living in a remote coastal community of 53 for seven months, (barely) managing a tiny harbourside grocery shop, sleeping in a cave above the sea now and then, and falling in love with a threatened river named Hvalá.

after our brief meeting, Olivier discovered my music, and we subsequently became friends via email (i was also honoured to appear in photo form in his wonderfully evocative book of black-and-white Icelandic photography, “Sagas”).

Olivier is the narrator of this documentary, and from what i gather, played my songs persistently enough in the company of Jean-Marc Chevillard, the filmmaker, as they travelled and worked together, to have them become a part of the experience. i’m grateful to both of them for their warmth and support during our communications, and for their generosity in including my music in their beautiful short film.

it’s called “Islande, lumières des Hautes Terres”, and you can watch it here if you’d like (subtitles available; go to settings>subtitles>auto-translate>choose language):

also: my new album comes out in three days. and some CDs should be arriving from the factory, too….

❤️
eric.

a pre-order of the digital version of my fifth album, “volume 2: run with the silent wildfires”, coming out on march 30th, is available now, via bandcamp (click here: https://raisedbyswans6.bandcamp.com/album/volume-2-run-with-the-silent-wildfires). please bear with me as i share a few words about this; the opportunity only comes up very rarely.

though i wouldn’t change a thing about what i do, making and releasing music as a lone, unsigned musician (especially one who takes years to make each album) costs much more than it pays. it’s a challenge to cover even basic living expenses while i’m recording, and i inevitably end up in debt when i’m done.

it’s all worth it to me – truly – but after eight continuous years of writing and recording these last two albums, the debt is larger than usual, and has officially crossed the line from “absurd, but slightly amusing in its enormity” into “am i going to have to move into that broken teacup i saw in the woods the other day, and would that snail be okay with a roommate” territory. meanwhile, i’m still travelling to and from the studio until mid-march, finishing things up.

so. seeing as i’m finally on the cusp of releasing this collection of 20 songs, every one of which i’m wildly in love with, i wouldn’t forgive myself if i didn’t say the following:

though i know that nearly everyone is struggling financially these days (and otherwise; i hope this message finds you safe, most of all), i leave the option open on bandcamp to “pay what you can” in case one is able to donate even a little bit extra (and because i won’t use fundraising platforms, like GoFundMe or Patreon). it’s never an obligation, but even an extra dollar will buy a banana, and truthfully i’m as moved by a good banana as i am by a few hours of studio time. even if you don’t use bandcamp, and feel like contributing a once-only donation for a download you’ll never use, it will get directly to me, and quickly. i could have that banana in my hand in 48 hours.

with all of this said, however you choose to listen to my music helps, so whether you stream it on spotify or tidal or apple music or download it or listen to my CDs, you’re contributing to future (and past) raised by swans music, spanning everything from studio and touring costs to basic survival. thank you, as always, for your support.

and thank you to those who have purchased and/or listened to the five songs i’ve released early.  it’s very much appreciated (note: they are included with the pre-order).

finally, having just discovered the option of manufacturing CDs on temporary credit (more debt, yes, but an investment, i hope), i’m happy to report that CDs will be available of both volume 1 (with “trains we both missed” and “pale blue black holes” added, as bonus tracks), and the new album as well, at the end of march. working hard on preparing the artwork for these now, as i creep ever closer to final mixes of the songs. so the pre-order will also give me a chance to see how many copies are possible. and if that number is too low to justify going ahead with the order, at least i’ll have something to negotiate with when i go see the snail in the teacup.  

thank you for your patience in getting through all of this. i couldn’t be more excited about the prospect of sharing “volume 2: run with the silent wildfires” with all of you on march 30th.  

love,

eric.

my fifth full-length album, “volume 2: run with the silent wildfires”, will come out on march 30th, 2023. it contains:

(a) 20 songs, and 

(b) everything i have. 

there won’t be any more monthly singles, as there is so much still to do. the five songs already out are only a small taste of what’s to come. 

a pre-sale, and some news about CDs, soon.

❤️ eric.

flicker around the edges of 
the frames we fill

lights in the corners of our eyes 
the night 
could never kill

run with the silent wildfires
live where your memories live

somewhere a raging river’s trapped 
in a glass plate negative

without each other we disappear

(“glass plate negative”, single #5 from album #5)

listen/buy:

bandcamp: https://raisedbyswans6.bandcamp.com/track/glass-plate-negative-single

spotify: https://open.spotify.com/album/3WY8UhelauqUuXle0BWlPJ

apple music: https://music.apple.com/us/album/glass-plate-negative-single/1657329087

youtube music: https://music.youtube.com/playlist?list=OLAK5uy_lxjxjniX9b02EYTCThEHoWaNeENJya7LM

tidal: https://tidal.com/browse/album/263972795?fbclid=IwAR22vGT9l-voD40H_hpAtvPuLIG_llNlGT8OqLgzDK7O6RqwGlytuY3bgHA

with all of my love, and years of my life,

eric.

tomorrow night (friday, december 2nd) i’ll be performing at the phog lounge, in windsor, ontario, opening for patrick krief (formerly of the dears). it’s a special show for me, my first in a long time, and i hope to see you there.
tickets available (click here), or $10 at the door. show starts @ 10:00 pm.


love,
eric.