#balcksburg

[oz-the-hummingbird]

My newest album just released on Ramble Records!! Give it a listen :)

“Ephemera are any transitory written or printed matters that are not meant to be retained or preserved.”

In music, ephemera can be improvised moments in a live performance or musing ideas in the rehearsal room that get scrapped. These musical ephemera are unique because they are discarded; they do not exist beyond their first and only playing.

So, Ephemera Collection 18-19 by Cyrus & Oz is a bit of a misnomer. These are ephemera that were collected, but might have been lost to the ether if no one had pressed ‘record.’ These sounds were captured delicately and caringly from live venues at DownerEast Fest of Belfast, Maine, and She-Sha Hookah Lounge of Blacksburg, Virginia, as well as other music-filled basements, attics, and outdoor spaces.

These tracks are heard with added weight as we collectively endure times when live music has been largely impossible to fully experience. The chatter of a crowd or the banter of a few voices brings listeners into the space of each track – as if they were standing around the moment these fragile slices of music were pulled from imagination. Bittersweetness abounds in Ephemera Collection 18-19 as we grow into a new understanding of how fragile and fleeting these musical experiences can be. credits released May 19, 2023

Ephemera Collection 18-19 is written through improvisation and looping by Blake Parker, with contributions from Wynne Parker (electric guitar) and Ben Parker (table saw) on track five, “Family Time.” Original album art by Thiel Secrist aka Glowhazel, with use of reference photo by Kaela Campanella. Produced and mixed by Blake Parker. Engineered and mastered by Zach Weinstein. Design and layout - Atharwa Deshingkar.