★Lobby Art Editions
Country Tropics
Released in 2021, Country Tropics was the first offering from Old Saw. At the time, no one was really certain who was behind the lush and textured arrangements of a soon to be beloved ensemble of New England based musicians. 5 years and 4 albums later, the group announced that their fall 2025 double album, The Wringing Cloth, would be their last. An outpouring of affection and adoration for what the group had accomplished followed, with many noting just how unique a space Old Saw occupied with…
As I Slip into the Sky
As I Slip Into the Sky reflects a particularly small sliver of time compared to Where the Smoke Goes, with recordings taking place in early 2025, while Johnny Coley was bed-bound in an assisted living facility with multiple sclerosis. Alabama born, Portland based artist Joel Nelson helms the nearly entirely electronic backdrop, posing a new canvas for Johnny, with Buchla music easel bubbling up between Johnny’s lines. This album captures Johnny in a remarkably tender and emotive form. Love and a…
Where the Smoke Goes
We are honored to present the final two LPs from the late Birmingham, AL-based queer poet and artist Johnny Coley, who passed away in 2025 at the age of 76. Tender, lucid, and slippery poems unspool in Johnny’s signature drawl, charting oblique journeys through the sidereal and mundane. He composes painterly landscapes of his beloved Alabama and imagines waking up in the crowded streets of London. This is Southern Surreal story-telling where each new word opens a door to the familiar unexpected.…
Language at an Angle
Language At An Angle by Sam Wenc is a reflective exploration into the interface of sound, text, and performance, redefining the emotional and spatial possibilities of instrumentation. Renowned for upending genre expectations, Wenc crafts ambient textures and avant-folk motifs that subtly coalesce, inviting listeners into a contemplative sonic environment. The album distinguishes itself by merging Americana atmospheres with experimental nuance, embodying a distinctive voice within contemporary mi…
The Wringing Cloth
The final album of Henry Birdsey’s (Tongue Depressor) textured and immersive country laments project, Old Saw. This final document highlights the range of the project’s vision, evading easy categorization.. Some of the most direct and emotive music yet from Birdsey.
Answers
Tip! Benjamin Bennett has worked as an improvising percussionist for 10 years, touring North America and Europe as a soloist, in various ensembles, and ad-hoc collaborations. He developed a unique approach to percussion which took the lineage of free-jazz, free-improvisation, Berlin reductionism, and extended technique playing as its foundation. In searching for an expanded sonic palette, and more fluid movement between various techniques, he distilled the drumset into a small collection of drum…
For Those Who Wish to Sing Will Always Find a Song
One night, not too long ago at Union Pool in Williamsburg, Brooklyn, Ryan Sawyer introduced his piece, “For Those Who Wish to Sing, Will Always Find a Song.” He invited the audience to sing along at any point they felt moved to, “just abstract ‘oohs’ and ‘aahs,’ or ‘oms,’ or whatever.” The small stage was crowded with musicians – The Shaker Ensemble – which that night included Jessica Pavone on viola, Nate Wooley on trumpet, Laura Cocks on flute, Stuart Bogie on clarinet, cellist Lester St. Loui…
Omni
First time meeting of Sam Wenc (US/pedal steel + objects) and Stefano Grasso (Milan/percussion + recorder). The record is one take, broken into 10 tracks, exploring the boundaries of the rhythmic grid, never quite landing inside it, but hovering on its perimeter, through extended technique, melody, and disharmony.
Recall The Dream Breath
*2024 stock. 250 copies limited edition* I recorded the album after a conversation with Caleb about doing an album for the label and talking through ideas of what it could look like - compared to my previous release, Heart Music (2022, Where to Now? Records), which was written and recorded over 1-1.5 yrs, Recall the Dream Breath was written and recorded within the span of 2 weeks in March 2021. Heart Music was written in quarantine more or less, so that album became very dense as I wasn't too co…
El rostro (des)cubierto
*75 copies limited edition* The unearthing of a song as a communal ritual, speaks of an intention that no longer sees itself but simply sees. “el rostro descubierto” embraces this way of seeing. Through streams of autonomy, impulse, and idiosyncratic sensibilities, the quartet coalesces around a commitment to the rigor of exploration and inquiry. The result is a collection of songs that reflect vulnerability, patience and care while exuding a binding trust in the process of collective creation. …