Photo by Jonathan Lorange
Everything Is Noise is currently streaming Old Growth, the new album from Musk Ox/The Night Watch guitarist and Agalloch collaborator NATHANAEL LAROCHETTE. The premiere comes in advance of the record’s official unveiling this Friday, July 21st.
Old Growth is a moving collection of solo acoustic compositions recorded live (often by candlelight) in a woodland cabin on the shores of White Lake, Ontario. Coming off the demanding productions of both The Night Watch and Musk Ox’s critically acclaimed third records, the idea for Old Growth was simple enough: record each of the album’s pieces live in a single take, capturing the atmosphere of the moment in all its delicate glory. After three grueling days of recording, what emerged is the starkest and most immediate record of NATHANAEL LAROCHETTE’s rich catalog. Deeply inspired by the acoustic realms of legendary records like Agalloch’s The Mantle, Opeth’s Morningrise, and Ulver’s Kveldssanger, Old Growth is a woodland meditation capable of entrancing minimalist folk enthusiasts and metal aficionados alike.
Comments LAROCHETTE, “On the surface, it would seem that an album of short, solo acoustic pieces would be a simple undertaking, but I can say with honesty that completing Old Growth was a much more challenging journey than its unassuming nature would suggest. With some pieces dating back to 2012, Old Growth is a collection of personal and emotional snapshots from the past decade of my life, and I’m so happy and relieved to finally release it to the world. As artists, we devote our energy to the patient laying of bricks, but it isn’t until the structure is complete that we’re truly able to step back and marvel at what we often didn’t realize we were building all along. This album isn’t designed to grab your attention or feed fresh coal to the algorithm’s engine; it’s a collection of introspective acoustic instrumentals that I hope you deem a welcome companion for your early mornings, late nights, or whatever solitary and quiet shared experiences that greet you throughout your lives. It is my wish that in such moments, this music will offer you a sense of peace and clarity in our increasingly noisy world, however brief and fleeting.”
Writes Everything Is Noise in part, “Old Growth continues LAROCHETTE’s intention to go deeper into the realm of instrumental music, showcasing his organic prowess of the acoustic guitar, as well as his uncanny ability to evoke emotions through intricate melodies and atmospheric arrangements. While, indeed, there’s nothing palpably groundbreaking about Old Growth, at least in a traditional sense, an enigmatic allure lies within alongside an invigorating novelty about it.”
Stream NATHANAEL LAROCHETTE’s Old Growth, exclusively at Everything Is Noise, HERE.
Created with generous support from the City of Ottawa, Old Growth was engineered by Gareth Auden-Hole in a cabin on White Lake, Ontario, mixed by Gareth Auden-Hole at Là Là Studio, and mastered by Philip Shaw Bova, with layout by Isaac Valentin.
To take the project even further, NATHANAEL LAROCHETTE teamed up with Norwegian composer Martin Romberg of Raven Music Editions (Emperor, Myrkur, Ulver) to publish a complete guitar tablature book in hopes of inspiring acoustically minded metalheads to explore the art of fingerpicking. In a world where noise has become synonymous with life, the fragile instrumentals of Old Growth offer a private soundtrack to the quiet truths within, reminding us of our place in this vast forest of existence.
Old Growth will be released independently on July 21st. Find LP, tab book, and digital orders at the official NATHANAEL LAROCHETTE Bandcamp page at THIS LOCATION.
A lifelong musician who began with the violin at four years old, Canadian guitarist/composer/producer NATHANAEL LAROCHETTE’s musical journey didn’t truly take flight until he set aside the violin and picked up the electric guitar as a metal obsessed teenager. During this time, a fascination with metal’s acoustic side found him immersed in private classical guitar studies, further nurturing his love of the instrument while sparking his desire to compose. NATHANAEL LAROCHETTE’s guitar explorations eventually gave birth to the celebrated chamber folk ensemble Musk Ox (now a long-time collaboration with renowned cellist Raphael Weinroth-Browne of Leprous, The Visit, and Kamacello) and the instrumental post-folk metal project The Night Watch.
When Agalloch invited LAROCHETTE to compose and perform original interludes for their fifth record The Serpent & The Sphere (2014), his passion for metal inspired acoustics had come full circle. Following this collaboration, NATHANAEL LAROCHETTE’s debut full-length appeared as the sprawling double-album Earth And Sky (2016), part Opeth inspired solo acoustic explorations, part This Will Destroy You and Mogwai-worshipping ambient post-rock soundscapes. Though much of his creative attention focused on Musk Ox and The Night Watch over the convening years, LAROCHETTE has returned with Old Growth, an emotive set of unaccompanied acoustic miniatures representing his starkest and most intimate release to date; a love letter to the teenage metal nerd consumed by the beauty of the calm before the storm.
https://www.nathanaellarochette.com
https://www.nathanaellarochette.bandcamp.com
https://www.youtube.com/@n_larochette
https://www.facebook.com/nlarochette
https://www.instagram.com/n_larochette
https://www.twitter.com/n_larochette