Description
#weeksisland #vinyl #vinylrecords
In 2020, a unique sound emerged from the Southern Louisiana music scene that would captivate audiences and critics alike: Weeks Island’s album, Droste. This indie music album, filled with deep, ambient pedal tunes, radiates the charm of the area, and carries a story that resonates on multiple levels. With one of its own members, Jonny Campos, as the driving force behind the creation, Weeks Island would give birth to an album that embodied the euphony of impermanence and serenity reminiscent of fading landscapes all over the world.
Campos, a Grammy-winning guitarist known for his work with the Cajun group, Lost Bayou Ramblers, embarked on this solo journey in 2018 during a hiatus from his main band. His inspiration sparked when he visited his bandmate, Kirkland Middleton, for a couple of afternoons, armed with a pedal steel and the unique currency of Cane’s chicken strips. Those afternoons in Middleton’s house became exploration sessions where harmonic melodies, like deep-sea creatures, took form and shape, defining a new echelon in ambient music.
The creation was not without challenges. The transformation from an acoustic version to vinyl format presented considerable difficulties, thanks to the razor-sharp hills and valleys of harmonic distortion imbued in the music. It took several attempts and the addition of three new tracks to finally achieve a sound cut that did justice to the auditory essence of Droste. With the meticulous assistance from Bob Weston, the vinyl cut was finally perfected, ready to leave a lasting impression on its listeners.
The album “Droste” stands as an ode to transient landscapes, illustrated by the album’s track names all bearing memories of Louisiana’s bodies of water, which are now absent from modern maps due to eroding shorelines. These tracks don’t serve merely as tuneful compositions; they take the listener on a journey, slipping in and out of one’s consciousness like silhouettes at dusk. The listening experience it offers can be as tranquil as a passive afternoon nap or an in-depth musical odyssey, probing long after the last note has been played.
Having started as a local project under the home-grown label, Nouveau Electric Records, “Droste” by Weeks Island was widely appreciated. It received mentions and support even from Korey Richey, a former member of the illustrious music group LCD Soundsystem, eventually making its way into the larger arena of the music world. While its musical roots are reminiscent of Louisiana’s Lost Bayou Ramblers, it still holds a distinct demeanor, aligning more with contemporary ambient acts such as The Album Leaf and Eluvium.
By creating a reverberating echo of ever-changing landscapes combined with a unique listening experience, Droste by Weeks Island manages to turn temporal into timeless. Its ambient pedal steel passages, symbolic track naming, and the journey from its local inception to a widely appreciated vinyl reveal a narrative equal parts whimsical and profound, making it a compelling chronicle of Southern Louisiana’s continually evolving musical landscape.
