ARTISTS

Rainwater

Blake Luley & Friends

Genre: Indie Pop / Folk Rock / Post-Easy-Listening
Home: Seattle, Washington, USA
Associated Acts: Air Waves, Valley Maker, Ajnabi, Howth
For Fans Of: Yo La Tengo, Fleetwood Mac, Valley Maker, Air Waves, Arthur Russell, 70s Soft Rock
Favorite B-Ball Player: Shaq

Bandcamp | Complete Playlist | Facebook | Instagram | Spotify | Soundcloud | Twitter | Website | Youtube

Press Photos at bottom of page

Biography

During the span of 6 years, the now Seattle-based Rainwater has released 3 full-length records,1 EP, and a few special songs specific to the Furhoof catalog. However, during songwriter Blake Luley’s time in Brooklyn, he had been a multi-instrumentalist with the indie rock bands Air Waves and Howth, as well as a solo composer of experimental music under the name Ajnabi. In 2016, Furious Hooves released the debut ‘Swimming in Sunlight’ which was actually written and recorded over the course of 8 years by Luley. The album charted the ups, downs, and quiet revelations of Luley’s young adulthood in Brooklyn, NY. In a way, this introductory debut almost feels like the end of a chapter as Rainwater relocated to Seattle, WA. The ‘Place’ EP from 2017 documents the cross-country move from New York City to the Pacific Northwest with songs that embody the ramshackle amble of the long drive itself. This EP features multiple artists from NYC and Seattle, building upon the more solo output of ‘Swimming in Sunlight.’ In 2019, Rainwater recorded their sophomore full-length ‘Saturn Return’ mostly as a full band direct to tape at the Unknown Studio in Anacortes, WA with Nich Wilbur (Mount Eerie, Stephen Steinkbrink, LAKE) over two long weekends, finishing the album at home in Luley’s spare time in-between. The opening line on Rainwater’s sophomore album asks “What the hell is my Saturn Return, a place I go or a lesson I learn?” In Western Astrology, a “Saturn return” is when the planet Saturn returns to the same position that it occupied during one’s birth, resulting in a period of extreme personal growth and change starting in one’s late 20’s and lasting into the early 30s. ‘Saturn Return’ represents a sort of re-birth of Rainwater and is the work of a highly collaborative band truly coming into their sound. After the move across country, Luley re-grouped Rainwater with new bandmates Drew Fitchette and Amy Godwin, Stephen Steen, and James Kasinger and began to take stock of his new surroundings and new life. The songs on ‘Saturn Return’ are duly concerned with turning points and moments of transition, from the human to the astrological. Questions of death, marriage, belonging, friendship, family and faith are juxtaposed with cosmic wonder as the band matches this intimate introspection with lush, melancholy arrangements. ‘In-Between’ (2021) is Rainwater’s first record to be released on vinyl via Furious Hooves and The Home Dome. It was recorded in Luley’s guest bedroom in Seattle during a stressful couple years through graduate school and his first year as a teacher in the unholy year of 2020. In little pockets of time between school, a new job, and preparing to have his first child, he laid down bass lines, synth parts, and wrote songs. Even with this pieced together approach, ‘In-Between’ is a fully realized exploration of grief, mental illness, and love. ‘In-Between’ sees a return to Rainwater’s beginnings with Luley playing the instruments, only accompanied with luscious harmonies by his wife Aviva Stampfer, cousin Amy Godwin, and friend Stephen Steen. Despite the home recorded effort, this is Rainwater’s sharpest songwriting and fullest production to date. Who knew working through the hardest experiences of your life could sound so fun?

Press & Accolades

• “Us Only” from ‘In-Between’ LP listed as #98 of SMALL ALBUMS’ 100 Best Tracks of 2021.

• “Clean Air” from ‘In-Between’ LP was included in BIRP!’s September 2021 Playlist.

• “Ditmars” from ‘Swimming in Sunlight’ LP was included in BIRP!’s August 2016 Playlist.

“With its weightless synths and near-whispered vocals, the track evokes the shimmering dread of sleepless nights, emerging raw and tenderised and in search of some reprieve. The atmosphere will be familiar to anyone who’s had even the briefest of skirmishes with insomnia. The hyper-vivid textures of sleep deprivation, a kind of emotional knife-edge where everything is cast in its most extreme light. The state finds Luley turn inward, collapsing the world down into its smallest, most bearable form. Taking consolation from the love close at hand.”
– Various Small Flames, premiere of “Us Only” from 'In-Between’ LP. (2021)

“The project of Blake Luley is a consistent place to find well written songs that are easy to get into and good for repeat listens.”
– SMALL ALBUMS, “What Rules” feature on Rainwater. (2021)

"Rising out of a crepuscular quiet, the song slowly rises into something insistent and fierce."
– Various Small Flames, premiere of “Pink Flowers” from ‘Saturn Return’ LP. (2019)

"Seattle's lucky to have these lovely sounds in our city."
– KEXP, premiere of “Coffee” from ‘Place’ EP. (2017)

"Blake Luley undoubtedly has a penchant for atmosphere...  on the furiously pretty new track."
– GoldFlakePaint, premiere of “Dead Frogs” from ‘Swimming in Sunlight’ LP. (2016)

Furhoof Discography

Audio/Video

Press Photos