Video- "Black Gold"-
Bio
Humans are paradoxical creatures. We often contradict ourselves, struggling to find a happy medium between self-serving wants and desires, and moral integrity. From the bigger picture, of how we treat the earth and our relationship (or lack of) with a higher power, to how we navigate our personal relationships with those we love, there is often a struggle of finding the balance of doing what's right for yourself, and doing what's right. Southeast Engine's 4th full length album, From the Forest to the Sea is a narrative that questions the above and a rock record that couldn't help but be shaped by the extraordinary place, circumstance and musicians that created it.
Southeast Engine's From the Forest to the Sea was recorded in a forsaken, 1800s middle school auditorium in the hills of Stewart, Ohio -- June 9-13 with core members Adam Remnant (lead vocals, guitar) and Leo DeLuca (drums and percussion) joined by Adam's brother Jesse (bass guitar, backup vocals) and Michael Lachman (Hammond organ, concertina, piano). The sweltering Ohio summer, the 1930s class photos on the walls. The building was full of bats and strange noises (ghosts?). Totally off the grid with no cell reception and no modern interruptions. Most of the album was recorded live to analog tape (as opposed to a multi-tracked / digital recording) in 5 days. You can hear the building, its history and its geographic locale all over this record.
In From the Forest to the Sea Adam Remnant has written some of the most pervasively soul searching songs in an old offset house that he shares with his wife, friend and two dogs in a small college town of Athens, Ohio. That such a compelling character narrative should spring from so humble a Mid-western locale is mirrored by the profundity and complexity of his ideas delivered from the most unaffected and unpretentious of voices. The album’s main character earnestly negotiates his place and responsibilities on Earth with the gratification of serving his more human and selfish wants. In "The Forest II", we hear "Words spoken like broken vows, as the water seeps up from the ground, hmmmm, the water floods up to my knees, the warm air is becoming more difficult to breathe". From the tone of Remnant’s songs, we can gleam the writer wrestling with these ideas as he channels the story, seemingly unaware of his artfulness. All of his work carries a gentle enlightenment of self-discovery with it rather than the heavy-handed demagoguery of an agenda. Our journey through the record is both the character’s and the writer’s journey as well.
The exploitation of the earth is analogous for the main character’s personal life. He has achieved the American dream; money, family, success. Happiness? No, the American dream is hollow. He cheats, he is selfish. He satisfies himself. In "The Forest III" we hear, "so I lose my sense of direction, I follow every scent I'm acting on my instincts, despite there consequence" Is it possible that the pitfalls of the American dream and of religion are that what you're supposed to want is not always what you need? In "Sea of Galilee" we are still searching. The main character tries to walk on water and sinks to the bottom, a man not immune to gravity or imperfection. But sometimes you need to hit bottom to rise up. Remnant sings, "When my body lands on the floor, somewhere no one has ever been before, somewhere too dark to explore, that’s where I’ll be restored, down at the bottom of the sea I find the heavens opening". There is redemption at the bottom.
Southeast Engine has never been a band that is afraid to question God, love or purpose. They are distinct among musicians who deal with faith in that they explore the fragility, beauty and uniqueness of each individual’s covenant with God in their songs as opposed to simply proselytizing. Rebirth may be a miracle, but there is something to be said for its less sensational but natural progression: growth. From the Forest to the Sea shows that the ability to grow and change is the true touch of the Divinity, be it in nature, consciousness or in the ears and hearts of you, the listeners.
Discography
$12.00 -- "From the Forest to the Sea" CD (Preorder) (2009)
* shipping first week of February
$15.00 -- "From the Forest to the Sea" 180gram LP (Preorder) (2009, Moon Jaw)
* shipping now!!
$27.00 -- Southeast Engine Special:
"From the Forest to the Sea" CD
"A Wheel Within a Wheel" CD
"Coming to Terms with Gravity" CD
$9.00 -- "One Caught Fire" CD(2007)
$12.00 -- "A Wheel Within a Wheel" CD (2007)
$12.00 -- "Coming to Terms Wity Gravity" CD (2005)