My dad, John Rappole (a retired ornithologist), and I collaborated on the images and combined them with the tracks off the new Gull full length, Relative Stranger, to create a full album stream of environments.
Track 1. Lifted By Dance
Jekyll Island, GA. In February of 2017 my father managed to catch a clip of 2 gulls in the throws of courtship. It was not until I heard this song paired with the footage that I realized it's about both the shorebird and persona.
Track 2. Find Out
Dobbins Woods, NY. I crossed paths with a wooden cave and heard this song immediately. The shot reminds me of Gmork in The Never Ending Story... Hunting eyes shrouded in darkness.
Track 3. Mouth To Match
Zoar Valley, NY. There were no effects put on any of these clips, but this shot in particular seems like it was treated in post. The western sun peered over the waterfall and just out of frame, and through the tree canopy and eye of the camera it appeared to flash like a strobing heartbeat. \"Yes. That's where the blood flows, from one heart.\"
Track 4. Burning Shoals
Lake Erie, NY. I love this spot. It's a lake like the sea, and depending on the season you can look out and feel like you're in another part of the world. Winter is Antarctica. Summer is Nantucket. The shattered piece of flotsam floating in and out of the sun's path made my mother think of Queequeg's coffin in Melville's classic, Moby Dick. The song is about changing climates and the collective human waste we leave in our wake... Ancient tongues and the fears of centuries.
Track 5. Harangue Gang
Dobbins Woods, NY. This features a close up of a young toad in a dirt-chunk nook at the base of a tree. Its breathing follows the beat of the song and in general its movements sync seamlessly. It has a look on its face that says \"Stop messing with me man.\" I knew from the start this was a keeper.
Track 6. Camry
Ellery Center, NY. My dad shot this on a piece of family land a number of years ago. The small section chosen was taken from over 40 minutes of footage that was initially intended to be played in a loop on a TV for ambience. The song is about a car wreck in the Alleghenies and I think the clip is a perfect fit.
Track 7. Losing Light
Chautauqua Gorge, NY. Tunnels can offer a path to another realm. This defunct bridge is being reclaimed by nature, and underneath a tunnel is revealed. It almost seems to echo a song about the death of a very good friend.
Track 8. Priest
Dobbins Woods, NY. Burnt hands of fungus springing out of moss. Take notice of the insects. The priest gives way to love and tells you it will be alright.
Track 9. The Time We Have
Zoar Valley, NY. My dad and I traveled down a 10 mile stretch of water twice to get this shot. A waterfall flowing like the sands of time. Vultures fly overhead and show their shadows on the face of the primordial cliff. Forget all expectations. This is the time we have.
Track 10. Relative Stranger
Cattaraugus Creek, NY. This clip shows my father and I walking and wading through a body of water. Each of us reflecting the inescapable blood of our ancestors. They are the past in the present. We are relative strangers. Follow.
