For your GRAMMY® Consideration

GRAMMY®-nominated jazz trumpeter John Raymond and Bon Iver sideman S. Carey’s new collaborative album, Shadowlands blurs the lines between forward-thinking jazz, indie folk, lush pop, and atmospheric electronic music.

FEATURING:
John Raymond (trumpet, flugelhorn), S. Carey (voice, drums), Aaron Parks (piano, synthesizers), Chris Morrissey (bass), Dave Devine (guitar), Gordi (voice), and more.

Produced by Sun Chung
Released via Libellule Editions

Watch “The Making of Shadowlands”

For John Raymond and S. Carey, the opportunity to collaborate has been a long time in the making. After meeting as music students at the University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire where they studied both classical and jazz music, Carey and Raymond’s careers went in very different directions. Carey would become the right-hand man for Justin Vernon (aka Bon Iver), collaborate with the likes of Sufjan Stevens and Bruce Hornsby among others, and release four albums to critical acclaim from Pitchfork, NPR, and more. Simultaneously, Raymond was carving out a career as an internationally-recognized jazz trumpeter, “steering jazz in the right direction” (Downbeat Magazine) by releasing eight albums of his own and collaborating on many more, including four nominated for a GRAMMY®. 

The two reunited in 2018 when Raymond sat in with Carey on tour, and they started to float the idea of working on a collaborative project. Raymond brought in the majority of musical ideas, while Carey contributed lyrics and helped shape the ideas into songs. Producer Sun Chung (formerly with ECM Records) came on board shortly after, and together they enlisted a cast of A-list musicians to help flesh out the music including pianist Aaron Parks (Terri Lyne Carrington, Terence Blanchard), bassist Chris Morrissey (Norah Jones, Mark Guiliana), and guitarist Dave Devine (Brian Blade and the Fellowship Band).

The result is Raymond and Carey’s new album, Shadowlands, a stunning, gorgeous collection of songs uprooted from simple genre descriptors. Recorded in the woods of Wisconsin, the music combines the warmth and beauty of Carey’s aesthetic with the improvisational, spontaneous nature of Raymond’s, blurring the lines between indie folk, forward-thinking jazz, lush pop, and atmospheric electronic music. Soaring and anthemic moments are balanced with the intimate and meditative, giving way to a wide range of expression. Surrounding Carey’s breathy vocals and Raymond’s lyrical horn is an earthy sonic landscape that blends acoustic and electronic textures effortlessly, and the subtle, electric moments of musical interplay throughout the album repeatedly invite you deeper into their new musical world. 

Praise for “Shadowlands”

“A breathtaking eruption of jazz-tinged indie folk warmth and wonder…a visceral and vulnerable enchantment full of soaring highs, stunning lows, and a world of sound in-between.” - Atwood Magazine

“In ‘Calling,’ Carey’s whispery voice hovers above a jazzy, subdued, seven-beat pulse, whisper-singing about nature as revelation…His voice is answered and then gives way to Raymond’s trumpet, dissolving into wordless wonderment.” - The New York Times

“[‘Calling’ is] a layered, unfolding ballad with soothing, almost ambient vocals and synths and stirring flutters of trumpet and flugelhorn.” - BrooklynVegan

“‘Transient’ is the most spacious and ambient of the three tracks shown thus far from the album… Together, the pair finds poignant beauty within the track’s negative space, steeping the track in an understated, unvoiced yearning.” - Under The Radar

“[‘Steadfast’ provides an] anthemic feel to the record while maintaining the sense of wonder inspired by the natural world which the core collaborators seem to bring out in each other.” - Flood Magazine

John Raymond: trumpet, flugelhorn, brass choirs (3, 7), piano (2), fender rhodes (9), synthesizers (2, 3, 4, 8, 9), talk box (4)
S. Carey: vocals, lyrics/engineering (2, 3, 5, 7, 10), drums, percussion, synthesizers (2, 3, 9), piano (2, 9), talk box (4)
Gordi: vocals/lyrics/engineering (3, 9)
Aaron Parks: piano (throughout), rhodes (7), mellotron (3, 7)
Dave Devine: electric guitar (throughout), acoustic guitar (3, 5)
Ben Lester: pedal steel (1, 3, 10), synthesizer (1)
Jeremy Ylvisaker: electric guitar (2, 9, 10)
Chris Morrissey: acoustic bass (6, 9, 10), electric bass (5, 7)
Jeremy Boettcher: acoustic bass (1, 4, 10)
Chris Thomson: clarinet (2, 10), saxophone (2)

Produced by Sun Chung
Engineered by Brian Joseph
Mixed by S. Carey
Mastered by Taylor Deupree
Recorded at The Hive (Eau Claire, WI)
Cover Photo by Eric Ryan Anderson
Press Photos by Kyle Lehman