A field recording of a sleeping dog helped finish one of the most quietly moving tracks on Jason Calhoun’s new record. The Philadelphia-based artist and composer announced ‘Revelations of Divine Love’ today, out August 7 on Dear Life Records. It’s his fifth release for the label, and the 14 tracks whirr, hum, and glow in shorter form than his recent work, trading extended hypnotic compositions for concise pieces that catch a fleeting moment and hold it close. Listen here.
Two singles introduce the project. “Tolstoy Tatsoi” works with abstracted, gestural melody unmoored from traditional rhythm, a tapping pulse Calhoun describes as disjointed yet in place, like tapping your foot to a song in your head while the radio plays something else. He calls it a leaky faucet syncopation that mirrors real-time thought.
The second single, “At Home,” came together when Calhoun’s dog and partner wandered into his studio and fell asleep on the floor. He recorded them snoring. Having recently moved, he was sitting with the joy of a new space, and their presence in the room helped complete the piece.
The album title nods to the British anchoress Julian of Norwich, whose collected writing of the same name is the earliest known work in English written by a woman. Calhoun returns to her famous line that all shall be well, then sits honestly with his own doubt about it, looking for small revelations in a partner asleep on the floor, surviving a conversation with a stranger, being bad at chess.
Away from the studio, Calhoun works at an oncology center, doing routine but necessary work to help provide treatment for those who need it. That sense of care runs through his music too, and ‘Revelations of Divine Love’ offers company as much as sound. It’s a deeply human record built from texture, tentative melody, and an open heart.
Track Listing:
01 “Too Shy”
02 “Last One”
03 “Tolstoy Tatsoi”
04 “Rare Goodness”
05 “Sextet”
06 “Enjoy Losing”
07 “Intermission”
08 “What We Deserve”
09 “Eye Dilation”
10 “At Home”
11 “Suicide Hotline”
12 “Hard To Tell”
13 “Quartet”
14 “Wake Up Ava”