Artists / rainwater
Rainwater
Swimming in Sunlight
Catalog Numbers: FH-042 / FH:VI-018
Release Date: August 12, 2016
Genre: Indie Pop / Folk Rock / Post-Easy-Listening
Radio Friendly: Yes
Type: Album
Purchase: Bandcamp
Links: Discogs Info | Spotify
pressing information
Digital: Worldwide
Cassette Tape: Furhoof: Sixth Man
1st Press (2016): 100
Pink cassette with purple imprint A-side, full-color 4-panel J-Card (two-sided), in clear plastic Norelco case. Hand-numbered.
Compact Disc: Furious Hooves & Pavonine Packaging
1st Press (2016): 50
Handmade CD made by Pavonine Packaging comes in a unique handmade slip-case with diecuts to reveal the hand-cut gatefold wallet-style CD jacket within. Hand-numbered.
Tracklisting
1. Ditmars – 03:46
2. Blackberry Pie – 06:18
3. Lonesome You – 04:40
4. A Reason To Leave – 03:23
5. Rid – 02:24
6. Dead Frogs – 03:51
7. Thundercloud – 04:14
8. Out Of Focus – 04:25
9. Love Glow – 02:32
10. For Aviva – 04:04
Total Run Time: 39:37
Side Split: A 1-5, B 6-10
Lyrics: Clean
Credits
All songs written and performed by Blake Luley with:
Aviva Stampfer: Voice
Patrick Curry: Drums/Percussion
Charlie Rudoy: Drums
Clare Plunkett: Cello
Dane Zarra: Additional Guitar
Neil Acharya: Saxophone
Zubin Hensler: Trumpet
Recorded, Mixed, and Mastered by Blake Luley in Brooklyn, NY.
Additional recording by Patrick Curry at Marinara Studios, and Brian Hurlow.
Photography: Blake Luley.
Design & Layout: Ryan McCardle.
CD Packaging Design: Pavonine Packaging.
- - - - - -
Thanks, first of all, to Aviva Stampfer for truly being a saving grace for me in life and for playing such a crucial role in the creation of this album. Thanks to Pat, Dane, Neil, Clare, Charlie, and Zubin for being such good friends and sharing your brilliant talents with me. Thanks to my parents and grandparents for nurturing me and inspiring a lot of the material on the album. Thanks to Ryan at Furious Hooves for putting out the album. Thanks to anyone listening.
Release Biography
‘Swimming in Sunlight’ is the debut release from Rainwater, released on August 12th 2016 by Furious Hooves digitally worldwide, as well as on limited edition cassette and CD. The album is an intimate, personal journey out of the dark wilderness of adolescence and self-loathing into the light of love and acceptance. These gentle, shimmering songs were written and recorded in a variety of places, from bathroom floors to studio spaces, over the course of eight years, charting the ups, downs, and quiet revelations of Blake Luley’s young adulthood in Brooklyn, NY. Heartbreak, loss, and anxiety give way to newfound love, reconciliation, and hope as the album’s ten songs mark time spent fighting darkness, not in vain. In a way, this debut almost feels like the end of a chapter as Rainwater relocates to Seattle, WA.
During his time in Brooklyn, Blake Luley has 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. Though ‘Swimming in Sunlight’ represents a sharp shift away from the dark ambient soundscapes of Luley's composition work, he retains his ear for texture and rhythm. Like a pleasant daydream, the songs change shape from ramshackle, whispered indie reminiscent of Phil Elverum (Mount Eerie, The Microphones), to cavernous, free-floating shoegaze more akin to Slowdive, to even more surprising realms beyond. This is a guitar album where bright tones ring like wind chimes, acting in concert with the lyrical themes of light and darkness. Heavily reverbed sax floats in and out like a breeze, while tufts of electronic menace drift by like clouds. Tender harmonies from Luley’s partner Aviva Stampfer drive home the sense that over all, this is an album about finding strength and guidance in love. These are meditative, patient songs that find deep wells of grace and feeling in their seeming simplicity.
Press & Accolades
“Ditmars” from ‘Swimming in Sunlight’ LP was included in BIRP!’s August 2016 Playlist.
"Blake Luley undoubtedly has a penchant for atmosphere... on the furiously pretty new track."
– GoldFlakePaint, premiere of “Dead Frogs” from ‘Swimming in Sunlight.’
“Bashful tropical birds falling asleep on a giant diamond.”
– SMALL ALBUMS, review of 'Swimming in Sunlight’ LP.
Product Shots
Audio/Video
Music video for "Lonesome You" from 'Swimming In Sunlight' LP. Directed by Blake Luley & Rebecca Hadley. Choreographed by Rebecca Hadley. Filmed by Blake Luley and Angela Cruz. Edited by Chalres Rudoy.