Andrew Farmer, aka FRMR, has shared his second single, Echinacea, from his forthcoming second album, Ochre, which is being released on August 28th via Bluestack Records.
FRMR is concerned with music and words from the soul. Landscapes, trees, rivers and faces bleed into the fabric of the melodies and sounds on this record. I love it!
Duke Special
The album follows his 2021 debut, Amelanchier. When KLOF Mag featured the songwriter and poet, who hails from Desertmartin, Northern Ireland, he shared:
“Growing up on a farm and working the dirt, was the most generous education I ever could have asked for. And so as a writer, I can rarely complain of metaphorical poverty, for my subconscious addiction to the nuance of nature fills almost my every breath.”
His new album continues his ecological storytelling, providing plenty of food for thought along the way: “It’s about rediscovering the simple, joyous sparks of childhood, and letting them light up our everyday lives.”
In that earlier feature, Farmer discussed his obsession with moving water, old Irish triads and the river Inver near his home. “A river’s never just a river,” he told us, “sometimes it’s an artery or a frenetic dance on the margins of the forest.” That same fascination is scattered throughout here:
“It’s about rediscovering the simple, joyous sparks of childhood,” Farmer says, “and letting them light up our everyday lives.”
In the accompanying album press, Farmer describes Ochre as “the next chapter in a lifelong dialogue about ecology, spirituality, and our tangled bond with the natural world.” As well as pushing the sonic palette of this new album into lush folktronica, blending organic textures with electronic soundscapes, he has also expanded the list of collaborators. They include Michael Mormecha (who also recorded, mixed and mastered the album at his Tree Song Studios in Lisburn, Co. Antrim), Linley Hamilton, Duke Special, Luke Sital-Singh, Eleanor Kyle, Rachael Boyd, Sam Magilton, Jude Moses, Adam Booth & Rue Farmer.
Pre-Order via Bluestack Records | Bandcamp
Album Launch: September 13th at Black Box, Belfast (Tickets)