Smelter by Faith Coloccia + Daniel Menche

Notes from The Artists

The field recordings on this album contain the common theme of water in different states: snow, ice, hail, streams, creeks, in the Puget Sound passing under a ferry boat, pouring from a leaking sea wall, in frozen ponds, as it turns a water wheel, rain in thunder storms, in a pool during winter swimming. These were recorded between 2017-2024. They were usually made quickly while out with my son, and later edited to preserve the sounds of our voices while obscuring the specific content of what was said. In contrast, when Daniel records, he has a predetermined place in mind, and sets off on whole day adventures to document through both photography and audio. Working together melds his high fidelity, pre-meditated recordings with my spur-of-the-moment low-fi recordings.

Daniel and I first met in 2011. We became friends through a shared interest in photography, music, hiking, and in subverting expectations and templates. Since then, we have collaborated on numerous visual and musical projects. When we decided to work together on Smelter, I gave him five recordings of my piano compositions which he treated and added his own elements to - turning them into long drone formations. These were then combined with the various water based field recordings we’d made individually.

Making records this way creates an aural archive of place/time and environment - in the same way a film photograph holds onto a vision in time: the single moment when light is suspended in microscopic halide crystals which can then be recreated and reinterpreted: a form of time travel, where the past is both fixed and also accessible in the present. Daniel is a great story teller. Every album he’s made holds a narrative, and I have been lucky enough to hear many backstories! With “ Smelter” perhaps we have created a time capsule, an index in which to place our combined story telling for listeners to share. -Faith Coloccia

When I was young kid my favourite book in the world was the Dictionary. Hey, It’s the book of life from A-Z! I worshiped the Dictionary like the holiest of books. One Sunday morning I was being bored out of my mind at church. The pastor gave a sermon and preached that “There is no definition in the dictionary for the word “Faith” and that is why it’s so special”. As soon as I got home I cracked open my holy dictionary and searched for “Faith”. Found the word in there but really not much of a definition offered. That mystery of the word “faith" stuck with me all my life and has been a great influence. I’m always searching for the impossible to define things in life. Or even try to create the undefinable! In which I strive for with my own music. What the HELL does this childhood story have anything to do with this collaboration album with Faith Coloccia???? Maybe nothing or maybe EVERYTHING! But this silly childhood church story came to mind when asked to write about our album. This collaboration recording with Faith Coloccia took many years and the longer it took for Faith Coloccia to finish it the better and stronger and even stranger the music became. Whenever Faith would apologise to me for the delay I would respond: “Faith…… I got faith in ya!” And so here we are with a collaboration album that is so special to Faith and myself that I do believe this music cannot be defined or captured by words. And that’s why it’s so special. - Daniel Menche

Room40, a beacon of sound...ringing out from the deepest south. Also home to our sibling labels Someone Good and A Guide To Saints.

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