The Obvious I, by Ed Dowie

The Obvious I

by Ed Dowie

supported by

J. S. Gordon Fantastic record, my most played of 2021 and lovely to have the physical version. Excellent quality vinyl, sounds brilliant. Thanks Ed! Favorite track: Dear Florence.

carlamudpie Singular, beautiful, approachable, outstanding. Truly seems like the type of record with which the entire world could find a connection.

Teedubyabee Number Eight Wire is THE feelgood hit of the summer; the earworm to eat all other earworms; the ayatollah of baroque n' rollah! (the rest of the LP is great too...) Favorite track: How Light I.

jon zellweger I've owned this for almost a year. Had the CD shipped from the UK to the US and it was worth the additional cost to support Ed. Dowie has an arresting, "fragile" voice, at once possessing a plainchant choral quality mixed with contemporary minimalist sensibilities. It's a subtle recording, demanding the listener focus on each and every tonal and textural quality. This only unfolds upon multiple listens giving the a work a timely urgency as well as something for the ages. Love this album deeply! Favorite track: Dear Florence.

TengoMiedoTorero Such a wonderful ear for melody. Love the vocals.

martin sainty vinyl received and love it. smashing record, really really good. gonna take some beating on my end of year pole. cheers for the swift service and personal note as well. Favorite track: Under The Waves.

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Compact Disc (CD) + Digital Album
CD with lyric booklet, and lovely artwork by Felicity Hickson

Includes unlimited streaming of The Obvious I via the free Bandcamp app, plus high-quality download in MP3, FLAC and more.

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Streaming + Download

Includes unlimited streaming via the free Bandcamp app, plus high-quality download in MP3, FLAC and more.

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The Obvious I 12" vinyl
Record/Vinyl + Digital Album
BLACK vinyl with pull out lyric sheet, featuring wonderful artwork by Felicity Hickson

Includes unlimited streaming of The Obvious I via the free Bandcamp app, plus high-quality download in MP3, FLAC and more.

Sold Out

1.	Then Send Them 05:09	buy track
2.	The Obvious I 04:33	buy track
3.	Red Stone 04:14	buy track
4.	How Light I 02:30	buy track
5.	Number Eight Wire 02:58	buy track
6.	Under The Waves 04:59	buy track
7.	Dear Florence 03:25	buy track
8.	The Island 04:51	buy track
9.	Robot Joy Army 03:28	buy track

about

‘The Obvious I’, the second album from Ed Dowie, is the second new master release from Needle Mythology, the label founded by music writer, author and broadcaster Pete Paphides.

In 2017, Ed released his feted debut album ‘The Uncle Sold’, prompting The Quietus to hail him as a “bold and starry-eyed visionary” and The Skinny to praise his “beautiful… stolen snapshots of glimpsed futures and lost pasts.” and BBC Radio 3’s Late Junction made the record one of their albums of the year. Now, four years on, Ed is to return with an album that will surely find him new followers alongside longtime fans such as Lauren Laverne, who described its predecessor as an “absolutely extraordinary” achievement.

The Obvious I is a record that would see Dowie drawing on musical lessons learned throughout his life: from his childhood as a chorister in Dorset, taught to play piano by his father who himself composes choral classical 20th Century Music, to pivotal friendships made following the dissolution of his first group Brothers In Sound, when Dowie enrolled to study Music, Technology And Innovation at De Montford University in Leicester. The first module studied by Dowie during his time in Leicester introduced him to the work of minimalist composers such as Morton Feldman, Pauline Oliveros and La Monte Young. “It helped break down the barriers between what pop is and what all this other stuff is. I love the way sometimes little pockets of beautiful melodies sneak into the world of experimental music – Gavin Bryars’ Jesus’ Blood Never Failed Me Yet, the songs of Cornelius Cardew, the beauty and emotion in something like Terry Riley’s In C, and obviously the way the work of minimalists Philip Glass and Steve Reich seem to stray into quite sentimental areas.”

The Obvious I was co produced by pioneering British experimental musician and sometime member of Polar Bear “Leafcutter John” Burton “John’s become something of a hero of mine over the years. Way back when he was in Polar Bear, I approached him after a couple of gigs, and he’d remembered me from those days. And really, his presence on the record was invaluable. He lent me equipment and gave me advice, then when I finished recording, I sent him the stems and he mixed the album.”

What ultimately emerged from these efforts – and what reveals itself with successive plays – is a beguiling process of alchemy. Each song from The Obvious I is the culmination of a beautiful process of distillation. A crystal extracted from chaos. Tumult distilled into lullaby. “My biggest battle,” says Ed Dowie, “was to ask myself how I can make something that reflects the turbulence of this period without adding to it.” By that metric, and several more, The Obvious I is no small triumph.

credits

released March 26, 2021

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about

Ed Dowie London, UK

Ed’s first album came out in 2017 on Lost Map Records. His music has regularly appeared on BBC6 Music and BBC Radio 3's Late Junction, which included The Uncle Sold in their Top 12 albums of 2017.

His 2nd album, The Obvious I is out now on Needle Mythology ... more

eddowie.com

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