some videos featuring Cousin Silas' music

My friend Adam Howie is an inspirational artist. He likes to record his creative process and put it up on the interwebs for others to see. His most recent video contains zombies and features a track off Cousin Silas' recent album "Unhinged Constellations (waag_rel005)". I found it fascinating viewing.



Madame Papillon is a very prolific videographer who has put some beautiful images to some of Cousin Silas' music.



Both Cousin Silas and I are very grateful to her for her work... so much so... there is a track dedicated to her on the upcoming "Endless Summer EP (waag_rel008)".





Her YouTube channel is a source of wonder and well worth getting lost in for an hour or two. She has taste and I am grateful that she chose to feature Cousin Silas' work.

Tx

A review of The Path Between The Trees from Damian O'Keeffe

"I'll be honest, it has taken me a little time to really get to grips with this release. Not because it isn't any good; on the contrary, it is very good. More because I wasn't quite sure what it was! .../

...The sense is of someone collecting all of the key tropes of this genre, putting them in a foil-lined sack to keep them fresh, and shaking them up! As they tumble back out, forming new and interesting patterns, the beauty and scope of the work begins to emerge. .../

...I'll be honest, it took a little time to get to know Cousin Silas but now he is like a member of the family."

My dear friend Damian O'Keeffe recently reviewed The Path Between The Trees over on his blog and his kind words really made my day.

Thanks mate... I'm glad you are enjoying Cousin Silas' work and hope you'll enjoy his next album... due to drop on the 19th August.

Tx

Some thoughts on waag_rel001 from Tim Rowe aka @innervox

I wanted to share this email I received from Tim Rowe aka @innervox ...

Having recently been exposing myself to an overdose of Drone and long-form music in general, it was a refreshing experience to hear these varied tracks from Cousin Silas.

If I were to sum up the whole album in one word it would be "Atmosphere." Each track manages to convey a sense of this in a most unique way.

I was also impressed with the variety in what could be called the style of each track. With some ambient (or similar) music it is easy to allow it to "bland out" and, whilst this can be OK if one is using the music as a background for, say, meditation - it is not always inspiring. :)

This has been written after only a few days brief exposure to the album, but I am looking forward to letting it soak in more fully.

I really appreciate encouragement like this... and am grateful to Tim for sending it over. Delighted he is connecting with the music.

Tx

The Path Between The Trees featured on John Toolan's "Music To Wash Up To" blog

"...During our passage through the album we have encountered many changes in mood, warmth and texture, but there is no sense that these changes have been contrived, and indeed, the journey seems as pure as one may encounter on a personal level. The artwork on this release manages to capture the sense of poignancy, yet with an underlying unease, as the organic image of a tree lined lane is displayed at an angle that is ill at ease, and colours are synthetically enhanced. As an inaugural release, We Are All Ghosts should be rightly proud of this release, as it encompasses all that it is possible to achieve from a private musical passage."

John Toolan - Music To Wash Up To

My friend John has taken the time to write up his thoughts on "The Path Between The Trees"... and to say I am delighted would be an understatement. Please take the time to read his full review.

Thanks John!

Tx

weareallghosts is now on bandcamp

After some discussion and a bit of tooing and froing... I've decided to open a Bandcamp account. I've done this for three reasons:

1) It's the best distribution channel for music downloads... bar none... and allows the listener to download any format they wish... with the minimum format 320kbps.

2) It's a great way to expand our reach from this blog, word-of-mouth (including Twitter) and our presence on Archive.

3) It allows for embeddable streaming. The Archive player got too many complaints, to be honest.

I've embedded the player below... have a listen... and if you haven't downloaded "The Path Between The Trees" or wish a lossless format then please download.

Oh and whilst the album is available to download for free... if you wish to throw us a few pounds to help with the costs etc, please feel free. All profits will go to Cousin Silas in the vain attempt we can offset his musical instrument addiction.

Tx

Some thoughts on waag_rel001 from Tom Laird

On Wednesday night I met up with Austin Radio DJ Tom Laird aka @progscot... he was over in Scotland and I grabbed the opportunity to meet up with him. It was a fab night with more on in available over on my blog.

Whilst I was there I did do my bit to promote the net label and, predominately, the inaugural Cousin Silas release... knowing in my gut that "The Path Between The Trees" would be Tom's kind of thing. Below is an email I received from him last night. It kind of speaks for itself:

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Tom,

I am not the best reviewer but I really like this release. I like the different genres that are performed.....Dark Ambient, Cinematic pieces, piano/guitar/soundscapes. All in all it is a really nice album.


In One Corner - Outstanding piano so simple and beautiful. Love the clicks and glitches in the background. Great opening track.

Of Ancient ways - Nice mixture of keys and guitar and those wispy soundscapes in the background. Nice sound panning too.

Beneath The foundations - Dark ambient, what else is there to say. never been good at describing dark ambient but the dark ambient music on this release is very listenable.

The Path Between The Trees - As above, bit less dark......twilight ambient if you like. Really nice textures.

Rediscovered - Great beats and rhythms on this track. Big wide sound field that gets filled with those swirling soundscapes.

Strange Qualities - Very dark ambient track, and i can sense a touch of melancholia as well. Never lifts itself, always on the downside.

Lost Images - This piano/guitar mix really works for me on this album and this track is just beautiful.

The Sealing Of The Pothole - Dark ambient with more going on in the background. More industrial in sound i feel.

Diversions - Nice rhythm and there is primarily guitar playing. More free form sounding with not a lot of melody.

Lowland - Amazing soundscapes accented with guitar and keys, stunningly beautiful.


So there you have it, I think it is an excellent release. But there are two sides to Cousin Silas, maybe even a bit of Bipolarity going on somewhere. One one hand is the dark ambient stuff and then on the other it is guitar/keys/soundscape which are cinematic in nature but stunning musicianship on these tracks.

Thanks for releasing this, i look forward to more like it.

Cheers

Tom

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Both Cousin Silas and I are over-the-moon. Our thanks to Tom for taking the time to listen and express his feelings on the music featured. It is appreciated.

Tx

The wait is over... presenting "The Path Between The Trees"

The wait is over and I am delighted to present "The Path Between The Trees" by Cousin Silas... the inaugural release on weareallghosts.

On this release... Cousin Silas has created a series of soundscapes that feed the soul and inspire the heart with their warmth and vitality. For me, I think you can hear the real progression of an artist at the top of their game... the classic "Ballardian" ambient soundscapes are represented here but there is more... an expansion of his sound... an evolution into new areas that I just find fascinating and absolutely love. I hope you will too.

Kudos to Cousin Silas for help make this dream come true... and my sincere thanks to everyone who has followed the journey.

To download directly (320kbps mp3) please use this link or go to Archive.org.

Tx

waag_rel001 back graphic and tracklisting

Next stop... the release itself.

Tx

Coming soon... waag_rel001 aka "The Path Between The Trees"

waag_rel001 :: "The Path Between The Trees" :: Cousin Silas

I am proud to present the artwork for the first release on weareallghosts... and, more importantly, announce who it's by.

I have been a fan of Cousin Silas for a number of years... ever since I discovered his Ballard Landscapes on Shaun Blezard's mighty Earth Monkey Productions netlabel. Over the years our friendship has developed and I've been very fortunate to design the artwork for a number of his more recent releases. I love his music and felt it the natural next-step to develop a vehicle to release some of his music.

I need to finalise a few things and get the tracks up into Archive.org... which I hope to do this week whilst I am off... but I was eager to spill the beans and share with everyone who have been so kind and encouraging in this endeavour.

The album will be released for free and it marks an evolution in Cousin Silas' sound. I won't say any more than that... other that to calm fears he's gone all dubstep... he hasn't.

I hope you will enjoy this release as much as I have over the last month. I am very impressed and am not just saying that because he's a friend and he's releasing this album on my netlabel... it is very good, in my humble opinion, and I can't wait to share it.

Thanks to everyone for their patience and support. Please spread the word.

Tx