Courage Left In A Tree

How do our surroundings look from a different vantage point, and what encounters feel different when moving through the world on two wheels?

Chicago-based Zander Raymond takes us on a reflective ride with ‘courage left in a tree’, an album inspired by the sonic and physical experience of travelling by bike throughout a metropolitan landscape in winter, yearning for the sensation of an August sun. The track titles reference sites and geographic points stumbled upon during his daily commutes to and from work, while the sounds heard throughout speak to a deeper personal process for Zander: “I am very sensitive to sound, so I turn to field recorders to capture the unpleasant, and I weave those into compositions in an attempt to understand them, but also as a way to make them beautiful.” Keyboards, field recordings, and modular synthesizer bring to life sounds found and made, where solid forms and sonic waves co-create in harmony.

The first track “abbott” opens Side A in a burst of motion. Crinkly sonic textures are in focus, a blurred frenzy stirring against a pallid line of sound. The steady line fades into a bellowing synth that expands and contracts on “asks for a hand,” beads of light cross-hatching the air. The light scatters, losing a sense of its dimension, as it breaks into bleeps of sound in “it goes side to side.” Soon the sherbet-colored sky fades. The buzz of voices and insect chirps take the listener to the edge of day on “held on paper,” where soft synth melodies thread through and delicately dance with the sky. Grainy sounds coagulate on “i look from the side,” their fuzziness instilled with a sense of vivid warmth while the synth’s gentle rumbles are barely scathed by an ensuing storm. Side A closes with “to point”—gossamer droplets whose uplifting melodies motion the listener to look up, dreaming of a blissful summer sunrise.

As we enter Side B, a plum sky lies overhead with “east toward damen” inviting in a slightly darker atmosphere. Moving with a slower pace, “it came from under the wall” captures what sounds like a passageway where slight quivers shuffle in this darkened space. The ripple of sounds continue in “orange shape lower left,” resting under the shadows of the synth’s melancholic murmur. This murmur breaks with a flurry of bird chirps in “sold on tables.” Those feathery beacons of hope remind us that better weather is on the horizon. The atmosphere is sprinkled with pleasantries before an abrupt ending, the jolt mirroring the start-stop nature of a bike. “underneath the pass” brings us closer out of winter’s endless tunnel. The pulsating sounds feel like the sun breaking through, the gentle stir of what’s to come. We come to the last bits of our journey with “two sided ramp,” a tactile delight as found objects awaken for one final chorus of animistic wonder.

Zander notes that this album is not only inspired by biking, but captures the experience of easing into and adjusting to adulthood. When listening, however, Zander’s precise ability at connecting isolated fragments and recordings into wondrous sonic worlds reminds us that, no matter what we face outside our doorstep, there’s courage and awe to be found.