Echoes from the North

Amber creates improvisatory soundscapes for yoga, meditation and relaxation. This solo project, titled Echoes from the North, is a musical meditation that supports rest and introspection, reflection upon ones origins.

Zebulun Barnow

Re: Visit

In 2018 cello and guitar duo Amber & Zebulun were invited by Via Rail to participate in the Artists Aboard program. On trains from Toronto to Montreal to Halifax and Vancouver, they played music for the other passengers.

”The combination of the elements, the music, the scenery and the passage of time caused a gentle transformation in me.
When we returned to our work in Toronto I discovered the impact of this trip.
As I listened to the work that would become "Re: Visit", I could see vistas and memories of the different beautiful and breathtaking places across Canada we had observed.
This collection of music is directly inspired by those experiences.”

-Zebulun Barnow

released October 21, 2020

bass, drums, guitars, harmonica - Zebulun Barnow
recording - Zebulun Barnow
mixing - Igor Mescheriakov

Invitation to the Unknown

What started as a sonic exploration of the sounds of dream pop and post-punk/shoegaze became an epic tribute to Love.

Zebulun began crafting these songs early in 2020 and was able to focus completely on them during the first wave of "lockdown" in Ontario.

With nods to seminal bands such as Siouxsie & the Banshees, The Cure, Cocteau Twins, The DelGados and many others he was able to challenge his "all acoustic" aesthetic that had been in place for quite a while.

Utilizing an unfamiliar palette of synthesizers and effects he heard things differently than before. He knew from the hop that the lyrics were going to be about the Love of his life, his wife.

Their adventures during their marriage provided the anecdotal inspiration and devotional context to construct many different poetic forms for the lyrics.

Most of all, it was a wonderful amount of fun that was crucial during the otherwise unpleasantness of 2020.

released November 6, 2020

Instruments and voice - Zebulun Barnow
Mixing engineer - Igor Mescheriakov
Mastered by Carl Saff

Thus It Is Written

For many years Zebulun wondered what a rock record about the Psalms would sound like. 2020 was the year that afforded him the concentrated time to find out!

He was able to allow the selected Psalms to guide and dictate the forms of these songs. He wanted them to reflect as much about the individual stories as possible.

Several of the selected Psalms are originally songs and/or mini theatrical presentations. This opened the creative door to be as Biblical in scope as he wanted.

So out came the big vintage rock and roll amplifiers and the giant rock drums and cymbals. Overall, he wanted to capture some of the powers of classic heavy metal to accompany the verses.

You may hear the influence of Black Sabbath, Iron Maiden, Thin Lizzy but also some proto-punk MC5, Stooges and pop-punk Naked Raygun. Rounding out the collage of influence might be the operatic textures of Queen and the relentless pulse of Static-X.

Ultimately, as Bill Hicks said, "It's all about the f*%$#ing catharsis." If you are in the mood to rock out, "bless and praise" or just get down with some nasty songs, "Thus It Is Written" may be that choice.

released November 11, 2020

Two Gets You Three

This track is possible because the influence of these Black Artists: doc

Zebulun Alison - vocals
Mike McClelland - reeds

Recorded by Shirmps at Serviceroy Studio, Toronto, ON
Mixed and mastered by Alexei Ozerov

Art by Kyle Bice - www.kylebice.com

It Is As If

Nineteenth century rock and roll. Songs of hope and despair, victory and calamity, tenderness and terror delivered in a style often acerbic or ridiculous, conjuring images of bleak nostalgia, doubtful sentimentality and howling katharsis. Criminal folklore, complicated lullabies, an operetta sprezzatura. An adventure that begins while reflecting on an urban sprawl from the perspective of a fire escape, through a series of unpredictable misfortunes and winding up on a train in Canada that does not have a specified destination. All aboard! Tickets please.