Rafael Anton Irisarri 'The North Bend' [LP]

The North Bend is about the Pacific Northwest region of the USA, where I lived at the time the album was made. Still, today I consider that region my spiritual home, even though I am now living on the East Coast

I had met Lawrence English while on tour in Poland back in 2009. He kindly invited me to make a record for the label. As a fan of his releases, this was a really obvious thing for me to say “yes” to and a chance to create something special. Previously I had released a few EP’s and one LP under my name. They were all influenced by the so-called “modern classical” ambient style pioneered by the late great Jóhann Jóhannsson and minimalist composers like Harold Budd and Arvo Pärt. The North Bend was the first work that dealt with “place" and explored a locality, the first in a series of recordings all released with Room40.

Since this album came out, I’ve left the Pacific Northwest for another location, New York state, which couldn't be a starker contrast from the life I lived in the PacNW. I had to start from scratch here in NY, as everything I owned until age 36 was stolen the night before I left to drive to NY. It was both a curse and a blessing. Not having the baggage & pitfalls of old ideas was wonderful, but also...  more