Decay

Decay is a natural process. It breaks down structures so that new ones can form. Decay is also the attenuation of a sound over time. Bearing this in mind, it is also the name of a new work I’m pleased to share with you, from my strictly instrumental project, Sleeping Animal. Here I step away from his my field recording gear in an effort to evoke nature with instruments alone. Electric piano holds the center, while a blurred mix of synthesizers, vocals and ambient strings fill out the mix. The composition unfurls, loosening and coalescing many times over its short runtime of 14 minutes. Is it an album or an EP? What is a song, really? I sometimes ask myself. Maybe I’m just at a point in my life where the song as a structure is both less appealing and penetrating as it once was, on both the listening and composing side. Decay is tenuous and exploratory; a string of impressions, a meandering of attention akin to what one feels when walking along a trail. No verse, chorus, bridge here. It’s more about flow and sequence. I’m interested in mirroring structures in nature, inscrutable at the glance, but held in exquisite tension. Decay by Sleeping Animal is available on all music streaming platforms today, Friday, April 25th. Thank you for you for listening and reading. If something brings you enjoyment, please share my work with one other person. Word-of-mouth is fundamental to my ability to persevere. The monochrome cover art photo was taken while hiking the Wildwood Trail recently, which played an important role in refining aesthetic decisions for Sleeping Animal releases, both musically and visually. This post goes into that. This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit chadcrouch.substack.com/subscribe