Long Future by Phil Motion

My first full length album, recorded with support from the Ontario Arts Council: https://www.arts.on.ca/

LONG FUTURE
‘Long Future’ is a deep DIY exploration of dark tones and timbres drawing inspiration from books like Orwell’s 1984, films like Blade Runner, and the rise of Trump. The music is set in a post-Trump, post-apocalyptic modern day ‘Escape from New York’ vibe as I pictured myself waking up in a world I couldn’t recognize, lost, scared and piecing together fragmented memories through song and studio explorations.

THE ALBUM
I wanted to juxtapose real acoustic instruments like congas, bells, blocks, a Colombian tiple, and real horns, against analog drum machines and synthesizers, setting the music in something that was not identifiably new or old, neither futuristic nor retro. This go-between, marked by certain dark melodies and harmonies is meant to point to this delicate crossroads I feel we are are at today, so inwardly focused and self-absorbed, buried in our own digital lives while deeply longing for human connection that deep down we still intuitively know to be essential and at the fabric of our being. The music is meant as a soundtrack to the search for ourselves in this new digital world as we struggle to stay rooted through the eroding of our patience and capacity to reflect on who we are, what we need and where we are going.

THE STUDIO
Arriving at this collection of songs was preceded by a year or two of all kinds of work to get to this point, in both artistic and technical terms. While exploring my own voice, trying to write better horn lines, arrive at better arrangements, I was sometimes derailed by having to stop and make time to reimagine my setup. The recording and production of these songs was at the core of writing them; these songs emerged from the studio setup, in particular at the helm of a beautiful analog console that I found and so desperately wanted to include. I wanted to move my eyes away from a computer screen, feel the faders under my fingers, twist knobs, and have real compressors, EQs, and delays interacting, even fighting with each other at times and capture magic in the moment rather than overly doctor or edit the end result. Countless hours researching, soldering, wiring, and imagining allowed for a special kind of quiet reflection and at times a feeling that I was building the vessel that would take me where I was hoping to go.

THE ARTWORK
The artwork was commissioned artwork by Dixon a.k.a. Juan Carlos Noria. Communicating the journey as described above and having an artist capture this in their own mind and give something back brought a whole new feeling to the work. I find myself often looking at the artwork finding new things in these songs.

Big thanks to the amazing musicians that played on this record and brought their own unique energy to the sum of the parts of what I hope is a unique record that resonates with some of you.

Tracklist

1.	Caminou	3:12

2.	Stuck in Here	4:26

3.	El Muro	4:27

4.	Higher Level (feat. Ray Tabana)	4:29

5.	Pied Gauche	4:16

6.	No One Knows	4:10

7.	Eu ou você (You or Me)	4:45

8.	The Rhythm I've Come to Know	3:53

Credits

released January 19, 2021

Produced and recorded by Phil Motion. Additional mixing by Jay Jaknunas.

Phil Motion: vocals, drums, percussion, 808, synths
Ray Murray: vocals, tenor sax
Ed Lister: trumpet
Chris Vincent: trombone
Greg Stone: guitar
Marc Decho: bass

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We would like to acknowledge funding support from the Ontario Arts Council, an agency of the Government of Ontario.

Nous tenons à remercier le Conseil des arts de l’Ontario, un organisme du gouvernement de l’Ontario, de son aide financière.
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