Producer and mixer D. James Goodwin (aka Snowflake) has been manning the boards for a host of artists including Norah Jones, Naki King, and Devo for well over a decade, and now it’s time for him to take center stage. Goodwin began working on his own project in 2012 and finished sometime ine arly 2013. Secluded at his personal studio, The Isokon, in The Catskills, he wrote and recorded his debut, We All Grow Toward The Sea, all by himself — with no one else in sight or within earshot. Chronicling the hesitant decisions and pressures of everyday life, the album develops a determined pop aesthetic that allows it to grow and unfold at its own pace, where the cinematic angles of the music meet and bounce off each other in unexpected ways and often in opposing directions.
Taking a multifaceted look at art-rock, the album swings between moments of fractured rock abandon and quieter introspective asides. Taking its cue from bands like post-rockers Mogwai and psych icons Pink Floyd, Goodwin imbues the record with a sense of boundless creativity — where one harmony or melodic progression may suddenly disintegrate and become something entirely different. And its in this sense of unanticipated composition that We All Grow Toward The Sea finds its own niche. The album never feels staid or still but always seems to be moving forward toward some undefined destination. And like the the best musicians, Goodwin’s twisting and imaginative journey to that obscure musical end is the real reason to stick by his side.
Beats Per Minute is pleased to premiere the album stream of Snowflake’s debut LP, We All Grow Toward The Sea.
