This Sunday, we welcome The Growth Eternal to MailTape for an eclectic collection to jumpstart your morning :) Based in Los Angeles, The Growth Eternal is headed by multi-instrumentalist Byron Crenshaw.
The Growth Eternal pushes into new worlds of experimental music, melting the film of traditional song structures. In carefully complex harmonies, The Growth Eternal creates unexpected spaces to step through. Each album is crafted with intention, now pushing into more spiritual expanses.
The Growth Eternal’s selection
Jon Bap - Born Into This
The Growth Eternal: ” I love this song because it resonates with me on a lot of levels: The lyrics are deeply spiritual, the groove is deeply Dallas, and the overall feeling sums up the off-kilter era of my life when I found it in college. “
Led Zeppelin - When the Levee Breaks
The Growth Eternal: ” I used to play in a blues band in my hometown of Tulsa, OK, and without knowing it, it was part of the start of my journey to connect with my roots. Of course, nothing makes me feel more prideful of my African-American semi-Southern heritage than British white dudes playing the blues. “
Erykah Badu - Other Side of the Game
The Growth Eternal: ” My mom used to play Baduizm -every-single-time- that we would clean. I hated the work, but loved the music. I picked this track specifically because of the deeply human narrative. love you mama <3 “
MailTape’s selection
The Growth Eternal – VII. Ghalani
Sarah: ” Looking over his albums, Byron feels special closeness to this track from Bass Tone Paintings. As he explains, the name Byron translates to barnyard in old English, which is Ghalani in Swahili. The song speaks to the power of language in our reality and its deep entanglement with history. The chant in the second part of the song follows a Buddhist mantra structure, repeating over and over again “I’ve only known my name in the colonial tongue, but they gave me a name in the colonial tongue, now I know myself through the colonial tongue.” “
Nailah Hunter – Talk Show Host
Sarah: ” So enchanted by Nailah Hunter’s latest EP, Quietude. As always, her vocals are silky and set perfectly against the harp’s melodies. Stunning vocal harmonies build toward the end, an entire space is created :)” “
Wau Wau Collectif – Mouhamodou Lo and His Children
Sarah: ” So much levity in this Senegalese track, despite the steady jazz rhythm and deep grounding lead vocals. I love the childrens’ voices, and the carries of light synth that lace throughout the track. Somehow, there’s also a hint of classic folk music in the light melodies :) The entire album is a wonderful listen from front to back, cannot recommend enough. “
Sam Gendel – Goodbye Pork Pie Hat
Sarah: ” When describing his grounding in jazz, Byron describes how, upon hearing a magical arrangement of Ellington’s In A Sentimental Mood, he fell deeply in love with music, and has not looked back since then. I was reminded of Sam Gendel’s Satin Doll album (2020), where Gendel evolves many jazz standards with an experimental sweep. Hearing Mingus’ classic revised in this nearly psychedelic manner is such a fantastic reminder of the versatility of music and the many exciting fusion projects to come. “
That’s all for this morning! As always, thank you so much for listening with us. So much love to The Eternal Growth for the delightful Sunday selections and to Noémie Dijon for this episode’s brilliant illustration :)
