UK-based musician and producer, I AM HANDS, aka Owen Gillham, returns with his self-titled 11-track LP, in aid of CALM (Campaign Against Living Miserably). The neo-folk self-titled record was written with Owen’s best friend, musician James McCully, and Owen’s father in mind, and represents closure after feelings of pointlessness and feeling struck by grief during this turbulent period.
Owen shares, “Grief grabs you and pulls you down like you’re being pulled underwater. Part of the process of recovering from loss for me, at least, required a certain amount of looking backwards – I determined that I needed to fight the undertow” explains Owen.
“it was an opportunity for something beautiful to grow from the misery of the past year and a half and a way to make our music mean something, not just exist as a relic of a creative process that had been stolen away”.
Loosely penned a decade ago, originally made of loops and short melodies, its completion provided a vehicle for rehabilitation. Stand-out tracks include the haunting Radiohead-style fourth track, Headlong, as well as Gliders, and the final track, Light Switch. Whether embracing soothing sax, lush string lines, or percussive acoustic guitar lines, the LP’s formation began with James, and all album income will be donated to the mental health charity.
Find out more about the charity, CALM. You can stream, and buy the album via Bandcamp, below:
