dreams by degrees :: you lie your head to the deepest blue and dream songs


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BLUE
DEG005 | December 2003 | limited edition compact disc

Blue: the color that surrounds and sustains us. In nature, blue is associated with lightness and weight, personified by the sky and sea. It is also the color of dreams and memory, possessing contemplative and irenic properties. In romance, blue describes an intense yearning or intimacy. And it is also the color of life and of the spiritual, of purity and the dark recesses of the soul.

If blue could be interpreted through music, what would it sound like?

In the winter of 2002, Dreams by Degrees posed this question to their favorite musicians and the result is BLUE, the first release in a series inspired by colors. Curated by Jefre Cantu-Ledesma and Jonathan Lee, blue weaves together a collection of music that captures the various shades, textures and moods characterizing the most enigmatic of colors.

BLUE features eighteen new songs by thirteen musicians, with genres ranging from neo-folk to ambient and post-rock. As Colophon, Jefre Cantu-Ledesma composes additional music and places them between selected songs, uniting the project as a whole. An original illustration by Autumn Whitehurst and verse by William Trevor Montgomery (who also contributes a song as Lazarus) is featured on the sleeve design, developed by Jennifer Ormerod.

TRACKLISTING | Play All
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 *Colbalt
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, Unglückt 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 Spindlespore.

In February 2004, blue reached #7 on the KALX (UC Berkeley) Top 30 Chart.

"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

"... celebrating this beautiful compilation will continue even when your eyes are closed."
Autres Directiones (in French)

"Listening to BLUE is like taking a warm languid bath, in which folky numbers slide together with glitchy, twitchy electronic pop."
SF Weekly

"... an album [that] sounds in many ways like a modern-day This Mortal Coil."
Aquarius Records