Ben Sollee @ Songbirds

Like so many, the COVID-19 pandemic years, which Sollee refers to as “the great pause,” brought loss and grief. The deaths of his mentor Jon Rieger, his father Bob Sollee, and his long-time musical partner Jordon Ellis presented him with opportunities for reflection and growth. This in turn, gives the new record a sense of buoyancy, a feeling of rising out of a depth, seven years coming after his last album in 2017.

While working on the record, Sollee lived by the mantra, “show our fingerprints,” referencing the guidance of NY Times tech reporter Kevin Roose in his book Futureproof. In this age of automation and generative technologies, Sollee chose to employ breathy woodwinds, choirs, tactile hand percussion, and his signature cello style, all of which shine through in the Dolby ATMOS Spatial Audio version of the album (a first for Sollee). Evoking the music of Paul Simon, there is a forward momentum to the songs that creates a sense of journey.

Sollee’s desire to bring hand-percussion to the album led him to multi-instrumentalist, Patrick Duke Graney. Other creatives featured on the album include Grammy nominated Jason Clayborn and the Atmosphere Changers, Stuart Bogie who arranged and performed the winds and horns, bassist Alana Rocklin, of STS9, long-time friend Dan Dorff on keys and drums, and multi-instrumentalist Brandon Coleman. Kentucky-based artist Ceirra Evans painted the album cover. The image features a man sauntering along a winding path through Eyvind Earle-esque woods. It conveys a sense of wonder and flow, similar to the record, with the man distinctly in the middle of his journey – constantly arriving, but not yet finishing – on a long haul.