Sign up for our mailing list Real artists creating records on their own terms
Close

Sign up for our mailing list

News

Richard Reed Parry Releases 'Quiet River of Dust, Vol. 2' Today
Friday, June 21st, 2019

Richard Reed Parry Releases 'Quiet River of Dust, Vol. 2' Today

Multi-instrumentalist Richard Reed Parry is thrilled to release his entrancing new album Quiet River of Dust Vol. 2: That Side of the River today, the companion piece to Vol. 1 that was released last year.

Watch Parry discuss the album’s meanings and origins in the Vol. 2 album trailer HERE.

The first volume of Quiet River of Dust was released on the autumn equinox of 2018 and this second volume was created at the same time. It was originally set to come out on the spring equinox but nature had other ideas, as it look longer than expected to wait for salt crystals to grow on the artwork to create wave caps and mountaintops—do not underestimate Parry’s attention to detail.

The genesis of these songs came after Arcade Fire’s first tour of Japan in February 2008. Parry stayed on for weeks after the last show, heading to a monastery for some solace in “the biggest silence you’ve ever heard.” One day he was walking alone in a massive, snow-covered cedar forest when he heard distant voices, voices that sounded a lot like his father’s folk group back in Toronto, Friends of Fiddlers Green. (Parry was 17 when his father died in 1995.)

“There was no reason for something to sound like full-throated, British-Isle folk singing there,” he recalls. “I walked and walked but I could never get closer to where the music was coming from.” He started writing meditative songs about mortality. On a later trip to Japan, he discovered the “River of Death,” a body of water understood in pre-Buddhist Japanese culture to be a liminal space between life and an afterlife.

Both volumes bleed into one another, by design. “It feels like a multi-sided window to me,” says Parry, “a different view into this prismatic song world.” Japanese folk myths, death poems and British folk music are tributaries flowing into a river of late-20th century avant-garde composition and traditional song craft, written and performed by a member of a Grammy-winning rock band. This is a meditative, widescreen musical experience with Beach Boy harmonies and a hypnotic pulse. Layered songs that move in a linear fashion, following a current rather than circular composition.

Parry is returning to Montreal for a residency at the Society for Arts and Technology (SAT) dome as part of the Montreal International Jazz Festival from June 25 – 29 and July 2 – 6 and will also perform at Planetarium Hamburg in Hamburg, Germany from August 16 – 18. The immersive performances will combine music from Quiet River of Dust: Vol. 1 & 2 with hypnotic, transforming, nature visuals shot in 360º by Richard on his world travels. Expect an unparalleled live experience that delves into the murky waters of memory and the unconscious mind. Each Friday night of the residency will include an additional show, ‘Late nights in the dome: Ambient improvisations in a stunning 360º visual world,’ featuring a musical ensemble made of Parry’s band and many Montreal musical luminaries. All upcoming Richard Reed Parry tour dates are listed below.

2019 TOUR DATES
6/25 – 6/29 – Montreal, QC – Quiet River of Dust Immersive Dome Residency @ Society for Arts and Technology [SAT] Montreal
7/2 – 7/6 – Montreal, QC – Quiet River of Dust Immersive Dome Residency @ Society for Arts and Technology [SAT] Montreal
7/12 – Guelph, Canada – Guelph Lake Conservation Area
8/16 – 8/18 – Hamburg, Germany – Quiet River of Dust Immersive Dome Show @ Hamburg Planetarium
11/26 – Tokyo, Japan – WWWX
11/27 – Osaka, Japan – Shangri-La

2020 TOUR DATES
5/29 – Hamburg, Germany – Elbphilharmonie – Kleiner Saal

Browse by Artist

2101All Artists 100Tom Waits 74Mavis Staples 59Neko Case 51Lost In The Trees 50Sean Rowe 48Dr. Dog 45The Milk Carton Kids
41Jolie Holland 40Bettye LaVette 37Man Man 36Son Little 35Tinariwen 33DeVotchKa 33Tim Fite 31Grinderman 31Islands 29Glen Hansard 28Delicate Steve 28Saintseneca 27Galactic 27Wilco 26Andy Shauf 25The Drums 24Michael Franti and Spe... 24Xenia Rubinos 22William Elliott Whitmo... 22Doe Paoro 22Bob Mould 21Nick Cave & The Bad Se... 21The Frames 20Joe Henry 20Christopher Paul Stell... 19Yves Jarvis 19Cass McCombs 19Booker T. Jones 19Sage Francis 18Gary V 18Deafheaven 18Calexico 17Yann Tiersen 17John K. Samson 16Jason Lytle 16The Antlers 16Danny Elfman 16Ramblin Jack Elliott 14Daniel Lanois 14Madi Diaz 14Jeremy Ivey 13The Dream Syndicate 13Billy Bragg 12Peter Silberman 12Leyla McCalla 12Half Waif 12Combo Chimbita 12Girlpool 12Xavier Rudd 11Mose Allison 11Lyrics Born 11Rain Machine 11Ryan Pollie 11Roky Erickson 11Purr 11The Weakerthans 11Glitterer 11Jade Jackson 10Alfa Mist 10Japandroids 10The Swell Season 10Darrin Bradbury 10Moor Mother 10High Pulp 10Christian Lee Hutson 10So Much Light 10The Melodic 9Hey, King! 9Curtis Harding 9Marianne Faithfull 9Wynonna 9Josiah Johnson 9M. Ward 9Cameron Avery 9N.A.S.A. 9Lido Pimienta 8Katy Kirby 8Greg Graffin 8Kate Davis 8Slow Pulp 8The Coup 8Solillaquists of Sound 8Cadence Weapon 7Kelly Hogan 7Ben Harper 7Title Fight 7Dead Man's Bones 7Ben Harper and Charlie... 7Alec Ounsworth 7Richard Reed Parry 7Beth Orton 7Eddie Izzard 7Elliott Smith 6Broken Twin 6Rafiq Bhatia 6Busdriver 6Deradoorian 6A Girl Called Eddy 6MJ Lenderman 6Kate Bush 6Bonny Doon 6Os Mutantes 5Foxwarren 5Kristine Leschper 5One Day As A Lion 5Ezra Furman 5The Tallest Man On Ear... 5Scott McMicken and THE... 5Beat Connection 5James Brandon Lewis 5Jasmyn 5Keaton Henson 5Art Moore 5The Field 4Ersi Arvizu 4The Good Ones 4Sparklehorse 4Pops Staples 4Waxahatchee 4Marketa Irglova 4sunking 4Jackson+Sellers 3Walter Wolfman Washing... 3Plains 3Marc Ribot 3Mothers 3Danny Cohen 3Sam Akpro 3Petra Haden 3Sierra Leones Refugee... 3Mavis Staples & Levon... 2Fleet Foxes 2Various Artists: RANGO 2ANTI- Records 2Jeff Tweedy 1Various Artists: ROGUE... 1Rogue's Gallery 1Antibalas 1Simian Mobile Disco 1Porter Wagoner 1Blackalicious 1Lightman Jarvis Ecstat... 1Joe Strummer And The M... 1Solomon Burke 1Youth Group 1Merle Haggard 1case/lang/veirs 1The Locust 1Taylor Vick 1Tricky 1Kronos Quartet with Br...
See Full List+