John B. McLemore, the subject of the famed podcast S-Town, created a series of ambient works in 2003. Entitled Witness Marks, it now sees the light of day via a release from Dais Records.
The release is comprised of field recordings and remixes of painter Tor Lundvall’s works. While the podcast star died from suicide in June 2015, details have emerged of the musician exchanging emails with, and sending his music to, Lundvall in 2012.
Lundvall, who co-runs Dais Records, hadn’t previously been acquainted with the popular podcast, and found to his surprise that McLemore was the subject of the series and the musician behind the emails.
In 2012, McLemore shared a statement that described his music as “slow moving textures”.
It said, “This recording was done just days before my Father died, and there are many feelings of guilt associated with the time spent on it.”
In a breakdown of the album, McLemore described how the first part involved him “fiddling around with old clock bells”, with the second being an interpretation of Lundvall’s Dark Spring, and the third part consisting of “ambient Field Recordings inspired by the work of Francisco Lopez”.
He stated, “There are some very Quiet passages in this piece, so it requires a nearly Isolated listening environment… It should be heard After Midnight, in the Late Fall of the year, and, not surprisingly, a Very Long Attention span is a Prerequisite.”
Listen to Witness Marks below.
