FROM LONG BRANCH, WITH LOVE

by Long Branch

Long Branch is a four-piece, Sally Lee on bass, Lisa Myers on guitar, Laura Pitkanen on guitar and lead vocals, and Don Pyle on drums, and we’ve been building sound together for eleven years. You can hear it in the way our songs unfold: Slow-burning, intentional and rooted in our trust in each other. Supportive, queer informed, do-it-together ways of creating are core to Long Branch kindling new songs, sound performances and albums. Individually we’re artists, researchers, cultural workers, and writers and so much more. Our songs carry the shape of who we are, and how we show up for each other. Together, we created this playlist of songs by musicians we admire, artists whose sound waves move through us, affect us, inspire us. We want to share that experience with you and in this small way, also show up for them.

Emphasizing mutual support in a music scene is also part of our ethos and our creative process. From putting together a show, to writing a song, to making an album – we collaborate. Laura brings in whole songs most often, with Lisa and Don contributing songs for collaboration and experimentation then Sally offers her attuned ear for nuance in our arrangements. Everyone writes their own parts as we build the final layers and structure of our songs. Through active listening and honest feedback every idea is tried, some work, some don’t, but the process helps us discover what best serves to shape each piece into what we feel is a Long Branch song. Ultimately, our music creation process is driven by commitment to community and working as a collective.

We’re sharing this playlist in the weeks leading up to the release of our new album, Arc of the Sun, on July 11. In this charged political moment, we recognize that our commitment to community is more vital than ever. As we witness extreme violence in occupied lands, daily political protests around the world, the erosion of legal rights for IBPOC and 2SLGBTQ communities, and the ongoing efforts of social justice movements to amplify collective voices, we come together in reflection.

Arc of the Sun was born during the lockdown era, which was a time when isolation gradually gave way to reconnection with loved ones and with each other. In making this album, we took time to return to the intimacy of creating music together. Co-producer and engineer Jon Drew at Taurus Recording committed to our sound and to the project. He tuned into what each of us brought into the studio and he listened to our playing styles, the textures of our amps and effects, our unique musical approaches to help us produce this album.

Whether we’re working through songs, videos, album designs, live shows or sound performances we have honest conversations about what best serves the work. Creating music together means authentic emotional outputs and in part this comes through knowing each other well. From this process of making and creating, Long Branch has ripped into a new level of sonic creation, at times raw, emotional, and unapologetically intense. Out of that connection, we’ve crafted something new: Arc of the Sun. We’re proud to share it, and hope you fully immerse yourself in its resonances. – Long Branch