Swedish minimalists Wildbirds & Peacedrums released two vinyl EPs earlier this year, each with its own, related, themes and ideas. The first, Retina, was recorded inside an Icelandic church with the Schola Cantorum Reykjavík Chamber Choir. While the first has a water theme, the second, Iris picks up on water via the primary instrumental choice, the steel pan. It’s not just because the steel pan brings to mind the Caribbean and beachy vacations, the instrument itself has a watery, rippling quality to it. You can hear it on “The Drop,” a track from the Iris session. It’s W & P reduced to only steel pan and drums, vocalist Mariam Wallentin’s voice matching the warmth of the pans. Listen:

Wildbirds & Peacedrums – “The Drop”

Rivers is out digitally 8/24 via The Control Group. The tracklist:

Retina:
01 “Bleed Like There Was No Other Flood”
02 “Tiny Holes In This World”
03 “Under Land And Over Sea”
04 “Fight For Me”
05 “Peeling Off The Layers”

Iris:
06 “The Wave”
07 “The Drop”
08 “The Course”
09 “The Lake”
10 “The Well”

[Photo by Andreas Werliin]