Eamon Fogarty is a composer, songwriter, singer, multi-instrumentalist and audio archivist who was born in the state of New Hampshire. He has written for, recorded, and performed in a broad range of capacities and contexts, including numerous folk and rock bands, (Alex Dupree, Psychic Temple, Matt Kivel) choral groups, free improvisatory ensembles, puppet theater productions, and even a surf video or two. His first solo record, Progressive Bedroom, was out on Joyful Noise in 2017, while Blue Values, out in 2019, was released on Jealous Butcher Records. His new LP titled I’m An Animal Now came out in June. It’s a gem of a collection of songs features percussion by Ryan Jewell and bass clarinet by Jeff Tobias of Sunwatchers and Modern Nature. It was mixed by Chris Schlarb of Psychic Temple. It also features vocal haromies by Will Stratton and Hannah Frances and additonal bass contributions by Nora Predey. “For the last decade or so, Eamon Fogarty has been quietly rearranging the singer-songwriter idiom to suit his singular vision” (Andy Cush). The instrumentation on the record has nearly as much to do with chamber music as folk or rock and Fogarty’s voice is full and resonant.

What He Says: “Most of the songs on this record were written fairly quickly, many of them being part of a “song a day for a month” challenge I got roped into by my friend Steven Van Betten. Not so with Wild Imagination: there’s a video on my phone of me strumming (not fingerpicking) the chorus and humming the melody, which is more or less intact, dating from September 2018. In spite of all the time I had, I was still at a loss as to what to do for the bass part when I got to the studio and stalled out. It wasn’t until I started playing the song at shows with my band in Austin (Sarah Schultz of Sun June and Nora Predey of Large Brush Collection) that the song started to make sense again. Nora’s bass part was the crucial final piece. I think it’s telling that the first time I had band practice with Nora she was wearing a Yes t-shirt, and the second time I went to hear Hannah Frances (who sang the harmony parts) we talked about 80’s King Crimson afterwards. People talk about how we need more women in STEM. I say more women in PROG.“

“This song features harmony vocals from another friend and collaborator, the great Will Stratton, whose forthcoming record contains some of my favorite songs of recent years. Ceremonial Burial grew out of my attempt to write something incorporating a chord sequence inspired by Eberhard Weber who made some excellent records for ECM. (I almost included “Quiet Departures” from Fluid Rustle on my mix but it’s 17+ minutes long…)“

His Mixtape: ALL THE YEARS COMBINE

Josephine Foster – Who Will Feel Bitter at the Day’s End?

I discovered this record from 2004 loooooong after freak folk had officially fizzled, Arthur Magazine (the first incarnation) had folded, and Devendra Banhart had put his shirt back on. For a long time it wasn’t streamable, so I had to track it down on CD, probably after reading about it in the Wire magazine. I loved Josephine Foster’s folkier records but the prospect of a sloppy sixties garage treatment of her songs was too good to go unheard. In a lot of ways it’s a Josephine Foster record for people who don’t like Josephine Foster. For me, it’s heaven.

Charly Garcia – Total Interferencia (Live)

I feel ridiculous every time I say this but 90% of what I’ve listened to in the past year has been Argentinian progressive rock, specifically the ouvres of two artists: Charly Garcia and Luis Alberto Spinetta. While many of their contemporaries in Latin America were trying to be the Spanish-language Beatles or Stones, these two were using chord extensions you’d never hear in a Lennon/McCartney number. Charly also has such a uniquely perfect rock and roll voice to my ear–almost Paul Westerburg-esque in its reedy roughness on some of his more punk leaning tracks–and I love hearing it used in service of such elegantly constructed songs. I think growing up with tango, a tradition of sophisticated, musically progressive popular music, meant using complex and unusual harmonies in the service of BIG themes and hooks was second nature. It’s difficult to overstate how famous he is in Argentina, which is hard for me, an American, to believe because of how unusual his music is. Different audiences value different things. It gives me hope to know that “difficult” music doesn’t always have to be cult music.

Bernice – Always a Lover

I love this song, which I hear as a plainspoken celebration of a certain kind of bon vivant. I’m not exactly a “life of the party” kinda guy, and I identify with the protagonist/singer who is propelled forward by the song’s “you,” as embodied in the music, with its twists and turns and starts and stops. It feels like the musical equivalent of being swept along for the ride by someone who is much better at having adventures than you are. A good kind of friend to have.

Robert Wyatt – Gharbzadegi

There is a special hermetic magic to Robert’s production on his 80’s records. I could be wrong, but to my ear, it sounds like each element of the drum kit on this song was recorded in a separate take. I’m not sure how many passes are layered in there, but it feels like there’s more than one Robert swinging, and I love the iterative effect it has for the feel of the tune. Groove-wise it’s almost more percussion section you’d find in a cuban conjunto than a single kit drummer. I also love the seven measure chorus that keeps spilling over into the next repeat as it builds and builds… A masterclass from a class-conscious master.

Alexis Zoumbas – Epirotica Mirologi

Recording technology completely changed the way people make, learn, and listen to music, and I spend a lot of time listening to music from the era when that paradigm shift was still taking place as part of my day job. Hearing old recordings of decidedly non-commercial music performed by people who were alive so close to the technology’s inception that it’s possible they never even heard the final product can give the listener a glimpse into the alienness of the past. A “mirologi” is a kind of funeral lament, originally sung, heard here performed on violin. This track was recorded in New York City in 1926 but its roots are in the oral and instrumental traditions of the nomadic shepherds dwelling in the mountains of Epirus in northwestern Greece. Suffice to say, Alexis didn’t learn his craft from listening to his dad’s record collection like me.

Carole King – Road to Nowhere

At this stage in her career, Carole King was primarily writing pop songs for “girl groups.” I believe this recording was originally intended as a demo but ended up getting released as a single under her name. When my friend Shane told me about this song, he said that it “sounds like the Velvet Underground” which I fully agree with. And not just because of the trashy lo-fi cavernous reverb drenched drums. It’s more of a spiritual kinship. After all, Lou Reed also worked for a while as an off brand Brill Building-style songwriter trying to churn out the latest teeny bopper dance craze. The thing that stands out to me is how aggressively and brassily she’s singing. I wonder to what extent the knowledge that this was “just a demo” for internal use at the record company changed the way she sang. Is she doing an impression of the singer she’s imagining she’s writing for? Is she playing a character? Or is there actually less artifice at work here than we might think?

I Am An Animal Now is out now on Orpehan Kiosk Records (for UK /EU orders: Five Rise Records). Look HERE for more information on Eamon Fogarty.