The Water Tower 7″ is finally available!

After a very long delay… the Split (Water Tower) 7″ (Empty Cellar’s founding release) featuring a track each from Joseph Childress and The White White Quilt is finally available (check out the rad video by the American Opry above). There was a mistake with the pressing – the labels were pasted to the wrong sides of the record – and then the records disappeared into some sort of vortex.  They are safe now, thoroughly soaked with natural water-tower-induced reverb, and ready to spin on turntables world-wide. The labels are still pasted on the wrong side, though.  It will be distributed by Revolver and is currently only available from the Endless Nest store.

This is what we have to say about it:
 Recorded by the American Opry while trespassing inside an abandoned three-story water tower, this record pairs haunted songs from Bay Area folk favorites – Joseph Childress and The White White Quilt.  Saturated in natural reverb, these are single-take, battery-powered field recordings at their finest.  Joseph Childress’s spirited performance of “Leaving the Barren Ground” is captivating and raw. The arrangement, improvised on the spot, features members of the Quilt throwing themselves against the walls of the water tower to create the cavernous sound of over-sized drums. Joseph’s sorrowful wails imbue his track with an uneasy beauty that will be familiar to fans of Jackson C. Frank, Roy Harper, and Bill Fay. The White White Quilt respond with “Papa”, a sedated slab of soulful folk reminiscent of early Cat Power records, where each quiet verse unfolds with an easy calm similar to that found on J.J. Cale and Devendra Banhart albums. Together, these acoustic tracks create a well-engineered snapshot of an unlikely venue. Recommended for fans of Will Oldam, Brightblack Morning Light, Vetiver, and Jason Molina, this 7” is pressed on clear vinyl and limited to 500 copies. Keeping with the times, each purchase comes with a download of the record plus an unreleased bonus song from the tower sessions by the White White Quilt.

Also, check out these videos of the White White Quilt & Joseph Childress by The American Opry:
The White White Quilt at the Hotel Utah, San Francisco


Joseph Childress at Mississippi Studios, Portland

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