Description Vinyl LP pressing. 2018 release. Forest Bathing, or Shinrin-yoku, is a term that means "taking in the forest atmosphere." It was developed in Japan during the 1980s and has become a cornerstone of preventive health care and healing in Japanese medicine. "Taking in the forest atmosphere" became the inspiration for A Hawk and a Hacksaw's album. Their forest bath of choice is the Valle de Oro National Wildlife Refuge in New Mexico. This album features ten original compositions by Heather Trost and Jeremy Barnes. The opening track "Alexandria" features Barnes on the Persian Santur, an ancient hammer struck dulcimer, and Trost's string and woodwind melodies. The composition evokes the long trader's route between what is now Bulgaria and the wealthy cities of Istanbul and Alexandria. The band has always had a bird's eye view of this part the world-looking for the connections between places and even eras: a belief in the power of music to reach across borders and unite. The band is based on the idea of collecting music and inspiration through travel. They are not of a place, but their music evokes places along a route. This is not urban music. It's rural: songs of the woods and roads where there are no sidewalks or street lamps to light your way. While the bulk of the music heard on this record is played by Barnes and Trost, they do have some incredible guest performances, namely the clarinet virtouso Cüneyt Sepetçi, from Istanbul, Hungarian cimbalom master Unger Balász, and closer to home, Chicago trumpeter Sam Johnson, Deerhoof's John Dieterich and Noah Martinez, of the band Lone Piñon. TracklistA1 Alexandria 4:56A2 A Broken Road Lined With Poplar Trees 3:16A3 A Song For Old People, A Song For Young People 3:05A4 The Shepherd Dogs Are Calling 3:41A5 Night Sneaker 1:38B1 The Magic Spring 3:07B2 The Sky Is Blue, The Desert Is Yellow 4:22B3 Babayaga 1:48B4 The Washing Bear 2:19B5 Bayati Maqam 5:26
