(Album cover photo | Courtesy of Elisha David)
“If you told me five years ago that I would make an album featuring banjo, harpsichord, theremin and pedal steel, I probably would’ve hated it.”
Bend-based artist Elisha David’s newest work, Pacific Wonderland, is — as the title implies — a sprawling 14-track homage to Oregon. Its intricate orchestration, paired with low-fidelity textures, provide a whimsical soundtrack to the surrounding nature and folklore associated with the state.
“There’s a famous Brian Eno quote about instrumental music, saying, ‘it must be as ignorable as it is interesting.’ That’s something that’s always in my mind as I’m making music… I’ve had friends tell me my music is calming but with an inherent movement, and I take that as a big compliment.”
Elisha’s goal has been to score films with his music, but there is a love for indie and DIYproduction that shows in this new batch of tunes.
“The sort of cinematic/soundtrack genre can feel very stale if there is not a constant humanness, which I think shows itself in flaws — the bow scratching a cello, the cracks and creaks of a piano [of which was recorded in a friend’s living room]. It makes the music feel as if it existed in a real time and place. If I had to categorize it, I’d call it ‘DIY Orchestral’ — on the cusp of being either elementary or brilliant, though you’re not quite sure which.”
Elisha picked up ten instruments throughout the recording process, and had help from a handful of musicians (Kerry Sheehan on cello, Raymond Richards [Blitzen Trapper, Local Natives] on pedal steel, Via Mardot on theremin and Spencer Hayden on harmonies); as well as a few ties to the Central Oregon Symphony (Leah Belshore on violin, Music Director Michael Gesme offering harpsichord access).
Pacific Wonderland is available now on Spotify, Apple Music or wherever music is listened to.