Over lunch one day in 2002, Jennifer and I brainstormed ideas for a follow-up to the seasons series. Colors came up as a potential theme and I immediately chose blue as the first release. Of the colors, blue is the most enigmatic and moody, two adjectives that perfectly describe my favorite music. (Jennifer was fine with blue, as long as a more cheerful, pop-inspired orange was our next project.) A week later, I met with Jefre to see if he would be interested in co-curating the project and writing music to weave the tracks together. He accepted the invitation and we spent the next year compiling the release. I'll never forget hearing the mastered album for the first time at the recording studio through Genelec speakers the size of mini-refrigerators. My proudest moment is when Aquarius Records compared blue to "a modern-day This Mortal Coil" which was absolutely my intention. In February 2004, blue reached #7 on the KALX (UC Berkeley) Top 30 Chart.
TRACKLISTING
01 Corbi Wright, What Can I Give To My Love
02 Film School, Sick of the Shame
03 Your Friend, Love Ate the Wheelbarrow
04 * Cobalt
05 Park Avenue Music, sun = so bright
06 Vela, Lesser Panda
07 * Powder
08 L'Altra, Unperfect Storm
09 * Cerulean
10 Sir, It's Not True
11 Lazarus, 106 Words On Wishes
12 Vetiver, You May Be Blue
13 * Cornflower
14 Rivulets, Blue Moon
15 * Midnight
16 John Davis, Ugluckt Gebracht
17 Stratford 4, Blue Light
18 * Winter Spring 03
Curated by Jefre Cantu-Ledesma and Jonathan Lee. Post-sequencing and additional music (*) by Colophon. Illustration by Autumn Whitehurst. Words by William Trevor Montgomery. Sleeve design by Jennifer Ormerod.
PRESS
"BLUE isn't another one of those tedious 'here are two songs apiece from our current crop of bands' compilations... it's a novel idea, at once straightforward and mind-twistingly complex." (Splendid E-Zine)
"... lulling mood-invoking soundscapes ranging from gentle, pastoral lo-fi, head-turning minimalist electronics and dream pop drone sweeps evoking all from frozen enchantment to blissful grandeur." (Losing Today)
"... each element compliments the others, giving the project a sense of being more of a concept album and less a sense of being solely a compilation... a fascinating aural and visual experience." (Somewherecold)
"Listening to BLUE is like taking a warm languid bath, in which folky numbers slide together with glitchy, twitchy electronic pop." (SF Weekly)
dreams by degrees
dreams by degrees are the collected ramblings, projects and work of Jonathan Lee.
various :: blue
blue
DEG005 | released December 2003
Limited edition compact disc
Purchase blue on iTunes >
Over lunch one day in 2002, Jennifer and I brainstormed ideas for a follow-up to the seasons series. Colors came up as a potential theme and I immediately chose blue as the first release. Of the colors, blue is the most enigmatic and moody, two adjectives that perfectly describe my favorite music. (Jennifer was fine with blue, as long as a more cheerful, pop-inspired orange was our next project.) A week later, I met with Jefre to see if he would be interested in co-curating the project and writing music to weave the tracks together. He accepted the invitation and we spent the next year compiling the release. I'll never forget hearing the mastered album for the first time at the recording studio through Genelec speakers the size of mini-refrigerators. My proudest moment is when Aquarius Records compared blue to "a modern-day This Mortal Coil" which was absolutely my intention. In February 2004, blue reached #7 on the KALX (UC Berkeley) Top 30 Chart.
TRACKLISTING
01 Corbi Wright, What Can I Give To My Love
02 Film School, Sick of the Shame
03 Your Friend, Love Ate the Wheelbarrow
04 * Cobalt
05 Park Avenue Music, sun = so bright
06 Vela, Lesser Panda
07 * Powder
08 L'Altra, Unperfect Storm
09 * Cerulean
10 Sir, It's Not True
11 Lazarus, 106 Words On Wishes
12 Vetiver, You May Be Blue
13 * Cornflower
14 Rivulets, Blue Moon
15 * Midnight
16 John Davis, Ugluckt Gebracht
17 Stratford 4, Blue Light
18 * Winter Spring 03
Curated by Jefre Cantu-Ledesma and Jonathan Lee. Post-sequencing and additional music (*) by Colophon. Illustration by Autumn Whitehurst. Words by William Trevor Montgomery. Sleeve design by Jennifer Ormerod.
PRESS
"BLUE isn't another one of those tedious 'here are two songs apiece from our current crop of bands' compilations... it's a novel idea, at once straightforward and mind-twistingly complex." (Splendid E-Zine)
"... lulling mood-invoking soundscapes ranging from gentle, pastoral lo-fi, head-turning minimalist electronics and dream pop drone sweeps evoking all from frozen enchantment to blissful grandeur." (Losing Today)
"... each element compliments the others, giving the project a sense of being more of a concept album and less a sense of being solely a compilation... a fascinating aural and visual experience." (Somewherecold)
"Listening to BLUE is like taking a warm languid bath, in which folky numbers slide together with glitchy, twitchy electronic pop." (SF Weekly)