Jay Hammond’s musical collective Trippers & Askers are readying their upcoming LP Acorn for release via Sleepy Cat Records on July 16th. In anticipation of the forthcoming effort, today the project posted a new video for the album’s opening track, “Pulsing Place.” The record itself is inspired by Octavia Butler’s Afrofuturist novel Parable of the Sower. Written in the 1990s but taking place in the 2020s, Butler’s novel depicts an America beset by climate catastrophe and societal collapse. On Acorn, Hammond uses Parable of the Sower as a way to view and frame his own experience in this already tumultuous decade.
Hammond’s Trippers & Askers draws together a collective of veteran players from the Durham, North Carolina area, including Andy Stack (Wye Oak, Joyero), Joseph O’Connell (Elephant Micah), Joe Westerlund (Califone, Megafaun), and former Sun Ra member Ken Moshesh. The track “Pulsing Place” also features Andrew Carlson on bass, Chessa Rich on Rhodes, Wurlitzer, piano, and Mike Grigoni on pedal steel. With Hammond’s baritone vocals and plainspoken delivery to lead the way, the result is a song of quiet wisdom and rich, sonic beauty.
The video for the track was shot and directed by Bowerbirds’ Phil Moore. Using beautifully composed nature footage that often employs sumptuously detailed close-ups, the visuals reflect the song’s organic feel. But, it is the unlikely cameo appearance of gold ribboned streamers, echoing the airy qualities of nature and the glinting interplay of light, that really steal the show!
