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How are you today?
Welcome back, or welcome if this is your first visit to SWT. Please look around the site and stay awhile. Our search bar at the top of each page is both lovely and comprehensive. Type in a noun and see what you get. You may be surprised.
I’m excited to talk once again about Harrison Lemke. Last week we shed some spotlight on his song, “The Song of the Summer.” To help you get to know Lemke a bit more, his current Bandcamp bio succinctly notes, “tape-hiss symphonies to God.” Lemke is a talented singer-songwriter and multi-instrumentalist based in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. He has been crafting music for a while and releasing it on Bandcamp for over a decade, even as he moved a few times. For Lemke’s more devotional music, look back at his earlier Bandcamp catalog. Plenty of solid EPs and albums are worth exploring. For more secular music, look no further than more recent releases Forever Only Idaho (2021) and Lemke’s most recent release in September, the terrific The Autumn Tape.
Recently, Lemke reached out to us, noting being a huge Replacements fan and described the album as “It’s a small, homespun record about standing on the precipice of massive changes, in my life and in the world. It’s a mixture of lo-fi folk, jangle pop, ambient, and tape experimentation. Some reference points, or things that inspired me anyway, would be The Microphones, Felt, Yo La Tengo, and the weird home-recorded records the Beach Boys were making in the late 60s.” Sold. A few times over. Definitely within music that appeals to me. So I checked it out. I listened to it a few times and knew I’d have to share at least a couple of songs with you. I enjoyed both the tight-knit songs and the more experimental stream-of-consciousness moments and melodies on this album.
From the Bandcamp page for the album, Lemke peels back the onion, sharing more: “This music arose from a dream I had in British Columbia. I don’t remember the dream. It wasn’t autumn yet then, but my body, Texas-starved for rain and wind, dreamed it. I spent some time by the sea, on stretches of beach that have stood in for so many other beaches in film and television, and tried to remember the dream. I could only pull out a few phrases. They made about as much sense as music. Later on, at home, the dream ran under everything, and I made these recordings, quickly, intuitively, while the shape of my life was changing. I was thinking about jangle pop and K Records and the sound of wind, restless sounds that pull you along with them. That and the dream I couldn’t remember.”
But don’t just take my word for it; press play and listen for yourself to song #9, “Why Finish A Masterpiece?” And tell us what you think:
Take a good look at the cover art for The Autumn Tape:
The track list for The Autumn Tape:
- Ocean in My Ears [1:09]
- The Song of the Summer [2:20]
- A Voice in the Leaves [1:20]
- Butterfly Kissing Booth [1:41]
- A Body For the Wind [1:07]
- Waving Hi [2:00]
- Wish on a Passing Car [3:01]
- The Silence [3:09]
- Why Finish A Masterpiece? [1:22]
- (Wind in Trees)Â [00:43]
- So Long, Sun [1:54]
- Down in the World [3:33]
- Being Erased [1:31]
- Another Morning [1:44]
You can connect with and listen to more of Harrison Lemke at the following links:
- Bluesky: bsky.app/profile/hplemke.bsky.social
- Bandcamp: harrisonlemke.bandcamp.com/music
- Bandcamp merch (awesome cassettes and CDs): harrisonlemke.bandcamp.com/merch
- SoundCloud: soundcloud.com/hlemke
- Apple Music: Harrison Lemke on Apple Music
- YouTube (some great older songs): youtube.com/@brotherandroidÂ
Dig this format? Check out more Spotlights here. Or choose your own adventure by restarting your journey on SWT here.
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Scummy Water Tower Productions co-founder, reviewer, business manager, and editor. Thank you for visiting this site, scummywatertower.com, and YouTube for Water Tower Sessions and SWT Interviews. And all of our socials.
Questions, feedback, or more? Contact me: alex@scummywatertower.com
