Rain Song by Michael Potter
"When Already Dead Tapes last checked in with Michael Potter on 2017's 'Garden Portal Almanac,' he was painting expansive soundscapes and riding on spacey grooves, yet a more traditional song element was largely present in each piece. On his latest EP, 'Rain Song,' he has abandoned any semblance to traditional song and created one lengthy instrumental composition which grows and changes gradually over the course of its twenty-one minute duration.
This piece begins with the sound of rain and car tires on wet road. This familiar soothing sound is soon joined by droning synths and chiming guitars. Arpeggio acoustic guitar soon enters, followed by other instrumental additions to the fold. However, no real melody or theme is ever established. It almost feels as though Potter has created a soundtrack to accompany the naturally existing free-form percussion that is rain.
Whether or not this is Potter's intention, the track does contain its own jazzy drumming; the rain sounds are no longer audible after the first few minutes, but it continues to feel as though we the listener are experiencing rainfall, and sparse drum hits and cymbal crashes feel like distant thunder and the heavens pouring down. The storm reaches a pitch around the eleven-minute mark—with all the instruments flying in different directions—and then gradually tapers off for the remaining half.
Much like Potter's previous work, 'Rain Song' is an adventure, it's a journey, it's a story. And it's largely up to the listener to interpret. Get your limited edition copy soon as the b-side of the cassette features tape-only live tracks (three different ones)."
- Peter Cook, Already Dead Tapes, 2019
All genre record label focused on small edition cassette, vinyl, and VHS releases.
Est. 2009