Joel Porter is a promising electronic-acoustic folk artist from North Dakota, who’s presently residing in Nashville. His new track “Amaranthine” – releasing on July 6th – is a highlight from his upcoming Hiraeth EP, out on August 3rd. Combining field recordings, minimalist electronics, acoustic guitar and brass, Amaranthine carries a genuine warmth and honesty, a response to nostalgia and the anticipation of what the future holds.
“When I wrote Amaranthine, and soon after recorded it with Eric Hillman (Foreign Fields), I had just proposed to my wife, and was elated with the joyous anticipation of what the future held for us… much like a child… curious and excited for all the things we would soon have the privilege of discovering in our lives together. What I didn’t expect to happen in the months following our engagement, was the necessity to break the thought patterns, however familiar or established they were, that took shape in the form of my memories and a familiar attachment to “who I was before” or “how things were”. This song speaks of my discovery of the flickering, feigning embers of my past, how I was keeping them alive through thought and word, and follows my first steps in dethatching from the old revenants in order to focus my love and efforts on building something beautiful in the present day… All with a certain hope that later on, within the infinite and immortal, I’ll be able to reunite with and live in peace with my life as a whole.”
About Hiraeth
Hiraeth – (n.) a homesickness for a home to which you cannot return, a home which maybe never was; the nostalgia, the yearning, the grief for the lost places of your past.
Through the exploration of the word “Hiraeth”, Joel Porter’s sophomore album became a project born from a sudden and acute awareness of life’s cyclical patterns… and the realization that the subjects featured in these patterns are, regardless of their immeasurable worth, destined to be claimed as dust. Written shortly after his engagement to his wife, and recorded (with producer Eric Hillman – Foreign Fields) immediately following the death of his grandfather, the “Hiraeth EP” features the excitement, beauty, and newness that life brings but also carries the weight, longing, nostalgia, and earnest desire we have to connect with the beauty of our pasts.
The “Hiraeth EP” documents Porter’s navigation through times of growth and the letting go of the good things that have come and gone, his graceful acceptance of change, and finally a peace in awaiting what is yet to come and the wading into the unknown. It is littered with nods to both the environment of his home and the moments and people he shared that home with. It is an ode to places remembered so vividly, but untouchable… To his family, friends, heritage, and home in North Dakota. It is an acknowledgement of the beauty of the temporary, and an untethering of the faint glimpses and idols of the past that only continue to exist in the mind.
To accompany the release of the album, Joel partnered with Bryan Hempstead (Bryan Hempstead Media) to create an album-length film that explores the lessons and themes expressed within the music. Because this album is so heavily inspired by Joel’s childhood upbringing, Joel also sought out the help of, and partnered with the North Dakota based creative company ‘Makewell’ to create the pop-up art gallery and release show “A Prairie Hiraeth”. On August 3rd & 4th of 2018, in collaboration with Midwest creative companies and individuals, the event, held CoStudio in Bismarck, ND, will feature the release of Porter’s 2nd album and film, the “Hireath EP”, and will be preceded, surrounded, and supported by beautiful creative mediums, products, and consumable goods made by fellow Midwesterners who have been inspired by our local heritage and culture. It is sure to be a night focused on the celebration of the state of North Dakota, the region, culture, and the amazing creative works and people that call North Dakota and the surrounding states “Home”.
3 August – A Prairie Hiraeth: Gallery Pop-up and Album Release at Co-Studio, 200 W Main Ave, Bismarck, North Dakota 58501
Facebook Event Link
http://www.wearemakewell.com/prairie-hiraeth/
Find out more here http://www.joelportermusic.com/events