Album
A Beginner's Mind
Sufjan Stevens & Angelo De Augustine
2021 · Rock, Pop
17 collectors on Gatefold own this
A Beginner's Mind is a Folk album by Sufjan Stevens & Angelo De Augustine, originally released in 2021. On Gatefold: 17 pressings tracked, owned by 17 collectors.
About
A few years removed from his Oscar-nominated work on 2017’s <i>Call Me by Your Name</i>, Sufjan Stevens turns to film for inspiration on this collaborative concept LP with LA singer-songwriter Angelo De Augustine. Working together in upstate New York, the two would watch a movie in the evening, then write a song in response the next morning, employing the sort of quiet arrangements and pristine melodies that mark their work as solo artists. It’s an ode to maintaining an open mind (or <i>shoshin</i>, the Zen Buddhist term whose English translation is the album’s title), Stevens and De Augustine as eager to engage with horror films and commercial blockbusters as they would artier fare—from <i>All About Eve</i> to <i>Hellraiser III</i>, <i>Bring It On Again</i> to <i>Point Break</i> and <i>Wings of Desire</i>. But whether they’re giving voice to <i>The Silence of the Lambs</i>’ Buffalo Bill (“Cimmerian Shade,” sung from the perspective of said serial killer) or exploring the power dynamics of Spike Lee’s <i>She’s Gotta Have It</i> (“It’s Your Own Body and Mind”), every song here sparkles and stands on its own. You don’t need to have seen any of the source material to fully appreciate it.
via Apple Music
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Tracklist
Side A
- A1Reach Out
- A2Lady Macbeth In Chains
- A3Back To Oz
- A4The Pillar Of Souls
- A5You Give Death A Bad Name
- A6Beginner's Mind
- A7Olympus
Side B
- B8Murder And Crime
- B9(This Is) The Thing
- B10It's Your Own Body And Mind
- B11Lost In The World
- B12Fictional California
- B13Cimmerian Shade
- B14Lacrimae
Sound DNA
- Folk
- Singer-Songwriter
- tender
- poetic
- lush
Each track is (loosely) inspired by a film:
Reach Out - Wings Of Desire (1987)
Lady Macbeth In Chains - All About Eve (1950)
Back To Oz - Return To Oz (1985)
The Pillar Of Souls - Hellraiser III (1992)
You Give Death A Bad Name - Night Of The Living Dead (1968)
Beginner's Mind - Point Break (1991)
Olympus - Clash Of The Titans (1981)
Murder And Crime - Mad Max (1979)
(This Is) The Thing - The Thing (1982)
It's Your Own Body And Mind - She's Gotta Have It (1986)
Lost In The World - Last Wave (1977)
Fictional California - Bring It On Again (2004)
Cimmerian Shade - Silence Of The Lambs (1991)
Lacrimae - Lacrimae Rerum (1962)
In Ghana during the late ’80s, a novel “mobile cinema” culture emerged when enterprising film fans screened Hollywood blockbusters in the backs of pick-up trucks using portable generators. To advertise the movies, Ghanaian artists painted alternate posters, inspired only by the scant information they had about each film. A pioneer of this form—Daniel Anum Jasper—was commissioned by Stevens and De Augustine to paint a series of new works for A Beginner’s Mind (including covers for three 7-inch singles). Information about the project was deliberately kept vague so that Mr. Jasper could work without restraint. Mythical deities and monsters, zombies, skydivers and a celebrated American director (Jonathan Demme, to whom the album is dedicated) were submitted as visual cues.
Credits
The people behind it.
Performers
- Casey FoubertDRUMS, BASS
- Melissa Mary AhernBACKING VOCALS
17 collectors on Gatefold own this · 17 pressings tracked on Gatefold
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