Subscribe
now to receive all the new
music
New Amsterdam Records releases,
including
37 back-catalog items,
delivered instantly to you via the Bandcamp app for iOS and Android.
You’ll also get access to
subscriber-only
exclusives.
Learn more.
Anawan (formerly known as TWVE) is a five-piece band based in the waterfront neighborhood of Red Hook, Brooklyn. The project of composer and multi-instrumentalist Trevor Wilson, Anawan is a hybrid animal: part avant-garde vocal ensemble and part wildly-experimental pop group. Wilson, the de facto leader of the group whose mentor Meredith Monk is but one discernible influence, is a restless and prolific musician who has written and released hundreds of songs. In Anawan, Wilson's innovative vocal stylizations are mirrored by the rest of the group, evoking the image of a five-headed beast harmonizing with itself. Their third album together, Anawan is the first to be released under the group's new name and has the feel of a debut. With the band sounding tighter than ever, Anawan aims for the heart and at the same time impresses the mind with its intricate and inventive arrangements.
Since first forming in 2011 as Trevor Wilson and Vocal Ensemble, the band has carved out an idiosyncratic niche for itself. Their sound includes a mixture of five-part layered vocal harmonies, nylon string guitar, electronics, synths, and keyboards. Yet the songs never feel tedious or over-wrought: on the contrary, the arrangements sound deceptively simple. For example, many songs begin with a single instrument: a strummed acoustic guitar, a keyboard melody, or in the case of "Breaded Me," a drum machine. But it's how the songs spiderweb out from their relatively humble beginnings that is most impressive about Anawan. It's this constant push and pull between restraint and catharsis (exemplified perhaps most dramatically on "Where Are You Now") that gives the album its subtle grace.
Going one step farther, the members of Anawan actually embody this simplicity in their everyday lives. Wilson, who grew up in Rehoboth, Massachusetts, uses no social media and for a time lived and worked out of an RV with other members of the band (during heavy rain, a tarp would be thrown over the RV to prevent leaking). Wilson has only a basic computer for correspondence, and espouses a DIY-ethic for everything from concert promotion to album art (their previous LP All Material came packaged in beautifully hand-stenciled sleeves). Anawan takes advantage of this itinerant POV by exploring big, philosophical questions from an outsider's perspective.
The members of Anawan all met while studying at Bennington College. Since their debut album release Soft Wings, Anawan has toured across the northeast and performed in New York at Glasslands, Pioneer Works, and at Baby's All Right with fellow artists Nat Baldwin, Celestial Shore and Son Lux. Their sophomore album All Material, released on New Amsterdam Records revealed a tight knit group of friends growing together to create beautifully human music which evokes a curious nature and reflection. Anawan is yet another evolution, sure to inspire.
I discovered this incredible album just browsing late at night and was instantly transfixed by it's dark and beautiful complex compositions. I'm totally blown away by everything about this. wow! The gaye device
So many amazing tracks on this album, each rich and deep in their own way, revealing more on every listen. At this moment, I can't make it through Brad Wells's Render without hearing something new that brings me to tears. Thank you to the composers, performers, and engineers for all the care that went into this amazing album. markschifferli
The Alabama duo's fifth album exults in dusty Americana, showcasing rich vocal harmonies alongside blissful folk instrumentation. Bandcamp New & Notable Mar 31, 2024
More contemplative folk from the Minnesota singer-songwriter, sustained by raw full-band arrangements and philosophical lyrics. Bandcamp New & Notable Mar 28, 2024
Irish singer-songwriter Oisin Leech's acoustic folk music is characterized by its muted beauty and intimate, solitary quality. Bandcamp New & Notable Mar 16, 2024
No one can accuse Stratton of terseness; his vivid lyricism (WYLYHD, ATTOTS) evokes reminiscence and substance (RF), even at times unto the "afterlight." Frenetic arpeggios (esp. on the baroque 'IFWLE') are moderated by subdued pieces like TRF. There are standout moments on P-E which benefit from collaborators, but the high-point is the 7+ minutes of the orchestral 'YD' that ascends with the aid of slow building viola, cello, violin and erupts to a Jimmy Page inspired, bliss of overdrive. hailhumanists