Looking in between the big moments of life, Sydney’s Circle spotlights the beauty of the mundane and highlights the special, life-affirming moments that they are.
His latest EP ‘Coco & Charlie’ is a tender collection of sonic portraits dedicated to loved ones that sways between gentle folk and analogue-washed indie.
“Coco and Charlie started as a collection of love songs about the people in my life who’ve made an indelible mark in one way or another. As the material progressed over the course of demos and a natural whittling down process, the songs started to be more like archetypes. With that development came a deeper freedom to expand on the lyrical content and not be too constrained to a corporeal truth about an individual.”Circle
Featuring previously released singles ‘Helen’ and ‘Mac’ the EP continues the mapping of important figures in Circle’s personal life.
The resulting EP is a creative floodgate that simultaneously bottles the overwhelming expansiveness of life as well as the comforting minutiae of existence.
Defined by a core of thrumming acoustic guitars, gentle percussion and analogues-washed vocals, Circle’s sound is reminiscent of front runners Stella Donnelly, Angus and Julia Stone and Sufjan Stevens.
The EP journeys through the various personalities. Opening the body of work is ‘Al’, an uplifting thrumming tune underscored by joy, which bleeds into introspective single ‘Helen’.
Smattering through the EP are trumpet features, chirping synths and fluttering percussion that ebb and flow like the tides of life.
Recorded solely to an old Tascam Tape Machine at Enmore Audio, the result is a unifying warmness threaded gently throughout.
The result of the analogue washed sound is an expansive and shimmery authenticity that is disarming in its honesty. ‘Coco & Charlie’ was self-produced, mixed and mastered with the collaborative input of Owen Penglis.
“We decided that we’d push classic four track demos to the absolute limit and record everything to our old Tascam tape machine. The process of a great condenser mic going through a world class preamp only to all end up on a $200 tape machine (with a ridiculously worn out tape inside) had a huge allure.” Circle
Previous single ‘Helen’, found a receptive audience who resonated with the gentility of Circle’s sound. Garnering praise from industry tastemakers Amnplify, Happy Mag, Lilithia Review, AAA Backstage Hear2zen and support radio stations FBi, 2SER, 4ZZZ Bay FM, Coast FM, Inner Fm, SYN Media and more.