Innovative multi-instrumentalist and multi-disciplinary artist Randall Taylor is best known for his musical project Amulets and his new album under that moniker, ‘Blooming,’ is set for release on April 2nd via The Flenser. The LP pays homage to the paradox of memory and growth, and creates a deeply immersive musical landscape in the process. It’s opening track, Blooming, is colourful and organic. The song builds and unfurls over the course of five minutes where Taylor’s brilliance is on full display. Listen to Blooming via YouTube below.
Written and recorded fully in quarantine in Taylor’s home studio in early 2020, ‘Blooming’ came to be as his personal life was in upheaval as was the world around him — the isolation, sadness and change had him missing “… what it felt like to feel alive and the need to feel that again,” he says. With widespread global pandemic and social distancing protocols in effect, Taylor would go on daily walks to clear his head and was struck by all of the blooming flowers surrounding him during springtime in Portland. Within that beauty came his realization that nothing lasts forever and that everything is cyclical — ultimately resulting in themes of growth, decay, melancholy and beauty inherent throughout ‘Blooming’. Revisit previous singles The New Normal and Heaviest Wait.
By constructing and modifying tape loops and repurposing antiquated cassette players, Taylor creates dense, never-ending, looping soundscapes for both his live performances and sculptural sound art installations. If you aren’t yet familiar with Randall Taylor’s ingenuity, check out a short a short documentary about the artist, titled “Tape Wizard” (directed by Killian Vidourek), here on YouTube.
‘Blooming’ track listing
1. Blooming
2. The New Normal
3. Heaviest Wait
4. Observer Effect
5. Tears in the Fabric
6. Collapse in Memory
7. Empty Tribute
8. Whirl
Amulets’ debut for the Flenser, ‘Blooming,’ will be out on digital and physical formats on April 2nd, 2021 and is available for pre-order here.
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