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Light Exchanges

by Sister Species

supported by
Cyan Pepper
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Cyan Pepper I just love this album, the range of the tracks, the relaxed melancholy of magnolia buds, the marching onward vibe of heat death, the ethereal ancientness of cottonwood trees Favorite track: Magnolia Buds.
tancredeh
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tancredeh This is such an exquisite album. Definitely one of my favourites of 2020. I was so happy to be able to redeem a download code on Christmas Eve! I look forward to returning the favour by buying a physical copy as soon as I can <3 Favorite track: Magnolia Buds.
walker
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walker one of my favorite albums of this year, possibly of all time. the writing is astounding, the arrangement is beautiful, perfect album. 10/10 Favorite track: Be Multiple.
mandy
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mandy absolutely in love with all the tracks released so far, so excited for the full album to drop!!! <3 Favorite track: Heat Death (Hold Me Here).
oliviar699
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oliviar699 they personally hand delivered this album to me cause I was in treatment for my eating disorder. it was incredible sweet act and you should buy it to support genuinely amazing human beings who deserve wonderful things in life. Thank you for being amazing Sister Species
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  • Streaming + Download

    Includes unlimited streaming via the free Bandcamp app, plus high-quality download in MP3, FLAC and more.
    Purchasable with gift card

      $7 USD  or more

     

  • Record/Vinyl + Digital Album

    Limited edition of 300 // sliding scale $20-25

    Cover Art by Cora Rose Nimtz (corarosenimtz.com)

    Clear 12" vinyl, 180g, plays at 45 RPM. First 100 orders include a hand printed lyric sheet!

    *no handprinted lyric sheets remain as of 11/2021

    Includes unlimited streaming of Light Exchanges via the free Bandcamp app, plus high-quality download in MP3, FLAC and more.
    ships out within 10 days
    edition of 300 

      $20 USD or more 

     

  • Compact Disc (CD) + Digital Album

    Like the record, but it's a CD! Great for people who have CD players :)

    Includes unlimited streaming of Light Exchanges via the free Bandcamp app, plus high-quality download in MP3, FLAC and more.
    ships out within 14 days

      $10 USD or more 

     

  • Poster/Print

    Limited edition 4X6 linocut! $1-10 sliding scale. Hand pressed.
    ships out within 7 days
    edition of 150  1 remaining

      $1 USD or more 

     

  • Poster/Print

    sliding scale $1-10

    What kind of party is better than a TPT PRTY?! Featuring our lovely trumpet trio.

    handmade block cut prints, 4 X 6
    ships out within 7 days
    edition of 30 
    Purchasable with gift card

      $1 USD or more 

     

  • Poster/Print

    lincut print featuring Pickle Witch's hands + lyrics from "Light Exchanges" (I want you on my skin / like onion & garlic)

    ltd edition of 40; specify color ("medium purple" is the most available color).
    ships out within 10 days
    edition of 40 
    Purchasable with gift card

      $5 USD or more 

     

1.
lyrics: cold is the ultimate absence- shockingly measurable though at some point, all you feel is void cold air sticks on the insides of pockets & bags & the inevitable heat death of the universe plays on as a backdrop to our lives beyond that final exhale of expansion you can find me dreaming of the other side hold me here, like you would hold a ladder- casually you steady it against the fall hold me here, like you would hold a hammer tightly with a tenderness as you aim for the wall still I am still it’s the world that is moving can you hold me here/ will you hold me here? while the inevitable heat death of the universe plays on in the backgrounds of our lives beyond that final exhale of expansion you can find me dreaming of the other side pull me in with a well-woven story one by one, my limbs unfold across the pages lost I am lost in the streets & the simplest things when you pull me in can you hold me here / will you hold me here? while the inevitable heat death of the universe plays on in the backgrounds of our lives beyond that final exhale of expansion you can find me dreaming of the other side can you hold me here / will you hold me here?
2.
TPT PRTY I 00:27
3.
I want you on my skin like onion & garlic to remind me where I’ve been when I’m fallin’ a daily habit we bring the knife down toward the table the practice stays with me in a close & shifting angle and again, I’m as sure as ever I have never been here before- eerily obscured in the familiar again, I’m all in- forget I have my back to the door the rapture came & went I didn’t notice the changes all still & crystalline a series of light exhanges I’ll make the bed for you with a stampede of horses not for the trampling, but the freedom of course is welcome and again, I’m as sure as ever I have never been here before- eerily obscured in the familiar again, I’m all in- again again, I’m all in- forget I have my back to the door I want you on my skin like onion & garlic
4.
TPT PRTY II 00:24
5.
lyrics: do I first show you my best or do I start with the mess? a tumble of sheets & the books left unread I charted the stars they said, “just go back to bed why are you up so late, wasting your sweet breath?” and every fire burns out the heat all escapes so when the flame is gone in the light that remains put your hands on my face all you touch you change when you lie down & rise up you’ll say it again a symbol before your eyes & a sign upon your hands I charted the stars, they said, “try to remember that you come from a long line of people who’ve left knowing there was no way back” so I’ll keep moving here I’ll fill in the blanks recite from lines and grids, pretend I still know how to pray but with your hands on my face- maybe I can remember that way just put your hands on my face put your hands on my face- maybe I can remember that way with your hands on my face all you touch you change do I first show you my best or can I start with the mess? the piles of material things I’ve kept I charted the stars, the patterns repeat in my head: even with all new tools, your hands will still build the same nest
6.
TPT PRTY III 00:25
7.
Be Multiple 03:28
slow bending thru branches to find a bench of stone we sit with the thaw - it is a force that demands to be known by name & all I grasp is all I can see oh last night, what I held fast, today I let leave from me the thaw is coming I feel it in my blood a humming, a buzzing an echo built to flood what if I all am is all I ever knew oh, all the thing I pushed and pulled and put you through to be multiple to be it all to be nothing at all to be it all, at all oh, with my eyes close the waves panned out wide the spring can bring a sweetness and nectar through the tides but to thaw is a messy a messy thing how I tidy, I clean up the edges but the middle still seeps thru oh, I held intact all I ever was but now that I see clearly it's clear to me that there is only mud can I be multiple can I be it all to be nothing at all to be it all, at all
8.
TPT PRTY IV 00:28
9.
circling backwards, a spiral parade of lives that you once could have lived, now erased and here in their place reflecting the light the magnolia buds burst & drown in yr eyes all comes out right if you give it the time a place you return to if only to find that the stores have all changed, but the horizon's the same and the love that you named, like a gas held encased spread out to fill, beyond being contained in a slow fading spiral a cascade of vines the quiet, unchanging obsessions of time soft tending hands to give shape to the form I can only hope that the beauty of this place outlives me- that the deserts will bloom & the tropics will breathe and even if all cities fall into the sea then the shells of the scallops will find new edges of beach to be crushed into sand by the palms of some beast that's gone yet unseen & all of the time I spent distracted by what had already gone or not yet to arrive while here in their place holding blossoms of light the magnolia buds burst & drown in yr eyes
10.
lyrics: the summer snow in the cottonwood trees say what it is, but don't say what it means the lilacs are gone- but their scent stays on me & I know this time you see I know your kind you see as surely as the seed is rooted below you will be gone from me you will be gone from me so what can I have to keep? you were not mine to keep you were mine to hold, like the summer snow the cottonwood trees in the june breeze the june breeze in the cottonwood trees

about

ON "LIGHT EXCHANGES"

“Think about the beauty of everyday life in Studio Ghibli movies. Like, how cutting an onion or tending a garden is suddenly a spiritual experience. “Light Exchanges” is like that… a neat tribute to the familiar.” - KGBA Radio

"Chamber pop from Minneapolis filled out by golden three-part trumpet, with a lyrical approach both wry and tender” - Bandcamp "New & Notable"

"Light Exchanges" is a love letter to staying put. Written with a gardener's eye, "Light Exchanges" is full of acute & sensual observations about our daily lives & practices, from cutting onions to holding hammers to magnolias in bloom. 

Ranging from a pop song about the inevitable heat death of the universe to a drone influenced track about loss & cottonwood trees, "Light Exchanges" is punctuated by 3-part-trumpet interludes that serve as emotional counterpoints to the songs. Imagine the trumpets as alien guides bringing the listener through the galaxy to visit the different planets of lyrical songs.

credits

released May 22, 2020

“Light Exchanges” was written, arranged and performed by Sister Species:

Emily Kastrul (she/they) - vocals, accordion, songwriting
Jake Baldwin (he/him) - trumpet, backing vocals (tracks 1 & 9)
Lars Johnson (he/him) - drums
Noah Ophoven Baldwin (he/him)- trumpet, backing vocals (track 9)
Ryan Hays (they/them) - bass
Sten Johnson (he/him) - trumpet, backing vocals (tracks 1 & 9)
Willow Waters (she/they) - guitar, backing vocals

Featuring modular synth by Jason McGlone in "Cottonwood Trees"

Recorded and mixed by Jason McGlone at The Hideaway Studios
Additional trumpets recorded at Future Dust Garage
Mastered by Rob Schlette at Anthem Mastering
Artwork by Cora Rose Nimtz

released on Aura Vortex Records (www.auravortex.com)

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about

Sister Species Minneapolis, Minnesota

mpls-based chamber pop septet

Fronted by accordionist/songwriter Emily Kastrul, chamber- pop septet Sister Species is known for their thoughtful, dynamic arrangements and opulent three-part trumpet harmonies.

"Heat Death (Hold Me Here)" music vid: youtu.be/hO44Io2GNgU
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