| Recorded at home on vintage analog equipment, Adobe Creek is a song cycle about embracing and accepting change. All instruments, and most of the vocals, are performed by Derek See, who is also a member of bay area folk-rock band Careless Hearts (and who was formerly in Chicago based bands Resplendent, I Sharko, and Long Division). But in Adobe Creek, Derek strips his 12 songs down to their emotional core, and the instrumentation balances simplicity and dynamics, leaving space for the listeners imagination. While many of these songs seem like love letters, theyre not necessarily about romantic relationships, although the folk-tinged Hair From Your Face and You Danced Into My Life focus on the glory and innocence of new love. A highlight of the album is Your Ghost, which deals with loss and how it can play games with your consciousness. Stargazer laments the loss of friends who burned themselves out while still young, and the emptiness felt by those left behind. Step Down is one of Dereks rare forays into politics, prompted by the heartbreak of governments utter failure in the wake of Hurricane Katrina. Other songs on this wide-ranging album confront mental illness, alienation, and breaking free of conformity. Together, the songs of Adobe Creek comprise an insightful journey across both physical landscapes and the inner space of the human spirit. After spending his childhood living just outside of Los Angeles, See spent his teens and twenties in the Chicago area. He now calls the San Francisco bay area home. Reared in a musical household -- his mother also is a singer / songwriter and his stepfather is a musician -- See was weaned on '60's rock and pop as a child before discovering punk as a teenager. He also got his first major taste of acoustic music while working at a record store in his teens. A guitarist since he was a child, See began writing songs when he was a teen. "There really wasn't much deciding," he said. "It was always around me. It seemed kind of logical. Music, I think, kind of chose me." Over the years, in addition to his solo works, Derek has also served as a member of the rock outfits I, Sharko, Resplendent and Long Division. For his solo work, See drew on a variety of acoustic and acoustic-minded artists, ranging from the Kinks to Nick Drake to Robyn Hitchcock to Elliot Smith, to name just a slight few. See states however that Neil Young and the Beatles are his largest influence. "Their music is so personal, it's so timeless," he said of the above-mentioned songsmiths. "To me, it's interesting because it's like looking into someone's diary. It's very vulnerable, and musically, its melodies are very, very strong. There's something about an acoustic singer and songwriter that's always been appealing to me." |
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