Visit Sandøya with Jacob Holm-Lupo

I live on water, while Jacob Holm-Lupo lives near it. There’s probably something in the fact that both of us decided to drop out of mainstream society in order to better focus on our artistic pursuits. There’s definitely something in the notion of water being inspiration.

For his first-ever totally solo album, released under his own name, Jacob has created a soundscape of his home, the island of Sandøya in Norway. It’s entitled Entire of Itself and it’s out now – you can have a listen below to the trailer and the full version, and you can buy it here.

I find everything Jacob does to be inspiring; I find something about movement, a direction and a journey, in everything he does. I’m still developing my own thoughts on the new music, but in the meantime here are some of his own thoughts…

“I have no idea what kind of appeal it will have to listeners, if any. It's totally uncharted territory for me, but that's what makes it worth it. This is a sonic document of the island where I live. Field recordings, found sounds, DIY instruments made of things I’ve found here, some of these sounds severely processed, some not, and a sprinkling of guitar as well. A harp made of fish line strung across a buck's antlers. Flutes made from leftover pipes from construction. Percussion made from rocks, wood and corrugated steel. Wind, waves, birds, boats. Everything that makes sound on an island.

“It’s a continous piece of music/sound, but I have tried to make it somewhat episodal. Different sections deal with different events and places on the island. Oriental-sounding plucking denotes the corner of the island where I live – relatively remote from the rest of the island, so the locals call it ‘China.’ A recording of daily kitchen activities is overlaid with Ashra-inspired kraut guitar, because I like to listen to krautrock while working in the kitchen. A storm accompanies fragments of a dramatic story from the war. Stuff like that.”

The rest is up to you – get it into your mind!