David Parker unveils new single, “A Murder of Crows at Dawn”
David Parker‘s upcoming album, Witches’ Butter, grew from a single idea: the mushroom. Parker’s son was born in 2019. He was communicating with him by making spontaneous music and by reading him books, including a great book about mushrooms. Mushrooms became a shared interest.
Musically he was leaning towards long-form compositions, mantras, drones, chants, and maximalism. Drone music song forms allow us to commune with the now-ness of an unchanging musical statement. In this form, the music is at peace while slowly changing over time, maintaining an adherence to a point of focus, a dominant theme – like a mushroom.
The album was recorded by the artist, mixed by Jason Mercer on Wolfe Island, and mastered by Kevin McPhee at East End Mastering. It will be released on March 16, 2023.
In advance, David unveiled the first single from the album, “A Murder of Crows at Dawn.”
Listen to “A Murder of Crows at Dawn” below and learn more about David Parker via our Five Questions With segment.
Care to introduce yourself to our readers?
My name’s David Parker. I’ve been a musician all my life, but I really started writing, performing, collaborating, and experimenting in music around 2012 when I moved away from Halifax, Nova Scotia, to my current home of Kingston, Ontario. I’ve also spent some time in the circus; my partner is an aerialist and handbalancer. I toured as a sound technician aboard a 90-foot-tall ship for nine months in 2017. I became a father two years later. I like making music with all kinds of people and enjoy new chances to create, compose, and improvise.
Tell us a bit about your most recent release.
I just dropped “A Murder of Crows at Dawn,” the first single from my forthcoming full-length album Witches’ Butter, due March 16th, 2023. The album is a series of long-form compositions of drone music: sustained notes, meandering, slowly evolving, and developing. It’s made of layers of electric guitars, synths, bowed upright basses, voice, and various instruments. The album features remixes of each of the tracks by some really exciting friends: Nick Schofield, Michael C. Duguay, and ELMS.
Where do you tend to pull inspiration from?
All over the place; particularly the natural world and the community of people around me. Lately, I’ve been drawing a lot of inspiration from my 3.5-year-old son. He sees the world in a wholly different way from me, and I’m learning so much about myself through the process. It’s a struggle sometimes, but it has changed me and changed my worldview. This album is for him, and it’s about a shared interest of ours: mushrooms.
Do you have any upcoming shows you’d like to tell us about?
I have a regional tour planned for the release of this album in March – stay tuned for details at my website or on social media. I’ll be announcing details in mid-February.
What’s your goal for 2023?
Find time to unwind and reconnect with my values; keep building my home studio; write, record, and release more music; hang out with friends; go on bike rides; and grow food in the backyard that doesn’t get all eaten by rabbits or squirrels.