Gillian Stone is a multi-instrumentalist, ethnomusicologist, and interdisciplinary artist based in Toronto. Her vocally-driven work, which draws from post-rock, folk, ambience, and minimalism, has been described as "beyond characterization" and "surreal in its composition" (The Revue).
Born and raised on the traditional territory of the Quw’utsun on Vancouver Island, with a profound connection to her Icelandic heritage, Stone channels the influence of outer landscapes in her inner lyrical worlds and soundscapes. Her music processes riding the waves of mental health, particularly as it relates to dysregulation, addiction, shame, relational trauma, and dissociation. Because of this, she speaks candidly about her lived experience through her music and expressions of artistic identity as an act of destigmatization.
Here's Gillian's thoughts on the production of the track, giving an insight into her creative processes...
I co-produced “Raven’s Song” with experimental e-cellist and multi-instrumentalist Michael Peter Olsen (Zoon, The Hidden Cameras, Arcade Fire). The piece was originally written as a lilting folk song. In a fit of insomnia, right before beginning my recording sessions with Olsen, I turned out a guitarless, synth-driven, droning demo from my home studio. While we decided to go in that direction, what Olsen and I recorded was also very different. Our recording process was experimental; we worked through synth sounds to create a sparse soundscape. Spencer Cole’s (Weaves, The Weather Station) work on the piece really brought it to life. Between recording drums at Union Sound Company, and recording electronic percussion and synth glitches in his home studio, he gave the song the forward momentum that congealed the sonic landscape.
The video for “Raven’s Song” was co-directed by Toronto filmmakers Emma Buchanan, Amir Heidarian, and I at Warden Woods in East York. The song is the second single from my forthcoming EP, Spirit Photographs, to be released November 18th. The EP explores Elisabeth Kübler-Ross’ model of the five stages of grief, with each song representing one of the stages, through processing personal turmoil in an era of collective trauma. “Raven’s Song” is a companion piece to the first single from the EP, “Amends” (representing Anger), released June 24th, as the songs are tethered together by an ARP 2600 A drone.
Here's the video for Amends, followed by the video for Raven's Song...
Gillian Stone Links
SoundCloud
Facebook
Spotify
YouTube
Bandcamp
Instagram
Posted from my electronic music blog with Exxp : https://electronica.org.uk/blog/gillian-stone-ravens-song/