Sean Carpio - Waves of a Present

Newly established Dublin based 10” record label, Ten Spot Records, is proud to announce the long anticipated solo album by Jazz Drummer and Multi-Instrumentalist, Sean Carpio - ‘Waves of a Present’. Fresh off the back of the critically acclaimed, dark and absurdist “Medicine” Theatre production by Enda Walsh, which Sean co-developed and performed in, “Waves of a Present” represents the now’s relationship with the future and highlights Sean’s evocative composing prowess and musicianship. It is also notably his first release as a vocalist and lyricist.

Comprising 6 original compositions, written and performed entirely by Sean Carpio, ‘Waves of a Present’ shows a marked change in direction for the Peruvian/Irish musician. Following on from 2013’s “Wowo’s” project, ‘Waves of a Present’ picks up where it left off. Featuring additional vocals by Aoife Nessa Frances and Bass Clarinet by Robert Stillman (who recently featured on the Smile project by Thom Yorke and Johnny Greenwood), this is a landmark album in Sean’s highly regarded musical journey.

Recorded over two sessions, one at Ten Spot Studios in a remote location in the Irish countryside and the other at Sean’s personal studio in Dublin City by Dek Hynes. Mixed by Dek Hynes and Brendan Jenkinson (Villagers, John Frances Flynn) and mastered from 1/4” Analog Master Tape. Each record is housed in a custom made - lithographically printed 10” Tip-On deluxe gatefold jacket designed by Ror Conaty at The Monolith in Dublin. The album has been designed and mixed to be listened to exclusively on vinyl record.

Hand numbered and limited to 500 copies available online at: www.tenspotrecords.com and a selection of independent stores throughout Ireland.

Shipping July 2022.

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The first single to be taken from the album is Ancestral Love, a sonically ethereal track with layered instrumentation from the drums through to the synth, bass, and guitars. Lyrically the song revolves around a meditation on how humanity is so ‘high on each other’ that we can’t see a greater vision for ourselves. The song questions the idea of being able to look down from above, maybe as someone who has passed on, and what we might do differently from there. The idea was reminiscent of a few artistic influences in Sean’s life, for one the film Nostalgia for the Light by Patricio Guzman, which juxtaposes the stories of people looking for family members buried in the Atacama desert, against those using satellites there to map the cosmos. This duality brings to mind how we think of searching for answers in space as ‘futuristic’, when in fact what we are seeing is the ancient past, stars that have already died. Bringing to mind this collective memory, the song asks then if we can recognise that we all come from the same place, could we begin to break away from being obsessed with the personal, the communal, the national, and actually begin to ‘relate’.

The video was created by Sean's brother Max Carpio and visual artist Cian McKenna. By projecting improvised hand drawn lines of light and patterns of some of the earliest recorded constellation maps, created in the 3rd or 4th century by Chinese Astronomers, Cian and Max mirrored the ethereal nature of the music. Cian devised a system whereby they could sketch in real time over Sean's movement and expressions to reflect the feeling that he was creating in the moment. These projections, in turn planned and spontaneous, fit with the themes and tones of the song, of people appreciating and observing something much larger than themselves, albeit imperfectly.

Dunes

Ten Spot Records is proud to announce 'Dunes', the second single from Sean Carpio's forthcoming limited edition 10" album, Waves of a Present - scheduled for release in July 2022.

'Dunes' debut comes with an announcement of a very special album launch event being held in the Fumbally Cafe, August 13th 2022. On the night, Sean will be joined by some very special guests, performing tracks from the album alongside new material written for this show.

Tickets available from eventbrite.ie.

Dunes is a song fascinated by the liberation found in being completely in the moment, a freedom that can unveil the future to us. This sentiment is echoed in the Japanese proverb, "This now is so perfect, it must be eternity." The music itself--with its delicate guitar melodies and four-part harmony vocals arcing back on themselves--is lush and dreamlike. Drifting slide guitar lines interwoven throughout conjure up a dreamlike land, and the finale lifts the listener still further into the heavens with a swelling flood of improvised drums. The song's original wellspring was a transcription exercise on Chris Weisman's and Milton Nascimanto's music: the works of both these artists can be found snaking their way through non-related keys before arriving back at their origins. Dunes' lyrics were inspired by Frank Herbert's Dune, a novel depicting a world where science and technology mingle with spirituality and instinct, and where prescient truth exists on a knife's edge.

Features & Reviews

‘Ancestral Love’ Video Premiere on Nialler9

Sean Carpio is a Dublin-based multi-instrumentalist who doesn’t stick to any singular genre. With drums as his many instrument you might have seen him performing with the likes of Aoife Nessa Frances, Louis Stewart, Eomac, Nina Hynes, Robert Stillman, Cian Nugent, Ellie O’Neil and Kit Downes among others, or indeed as a collaborator with visual artist Mark Garry, and as a solo drummer in Enda Walsh’s recent stage production Medicine… Read More

"Sean Carpio is learning to relax into his role as a musician. It's a title that allows him to move within the community and in the world, aligning art with performance, teaching, and collaboration; giving him the freedom to choose his projects, his methods, even his medium.

Although perhaps best known as a jazz drummer, Sean's output evades codification. He can be found working on a myriad of projects, from experimenting with microphoning techniques to contributing to a zine dedicated to the Japanese deathmetal scene, or from creating lyricless loops of melody and chords to mingling acoustic and electronic sounds to explore the musical interplay between composition and improvisation. All of these works feed into each other.

Of late, Sean has become a devotee of the now, the present--and pairs this with a tenacious work ethic. These days, his music starts to form like stalagmites, with a few drops falling from above, and then a few drops more, building without a plan. Once half-formed, the music is put through a rigorous shaping process and then sometimes fitted with a fretwork of lyrics. The songs are a fine balance between impulse and dogged work.

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