Port St. Willow is the solo vehicle of ambient pop and drone artist Nicholas Principe, joined live by Thomas Alton Crane and Andrew Dunn.
The project started in 2009 when Principe was living in Portland, Oregon, and melded textural atmospheric sounds with soft, slow core song structures and falsetto vocals. A self-released first album, Even//Wasteland, appeared in late 2010, making the rounds in the form of a hand-stamped CD-R. Principe migrated to Brooklyn in 2012 where he finished and self-released a second album Holiday. Holiday made more of an impression, drawing outspoken praise from several media outlets as well as a public nod of recommendation from noise pop godfather Brian Eno.
Port St. Willow’s sophomore effort, Syncope, uses the same focus on rhythm, texture, and voice to revisit a world that Holiday built. Principe returns to this world with an expanded palette of colors and language to explore the things that unwind us and bring us back to ourselves.
Written and recorded with a focus on improvisation, Principe sought to capture the moments just after an idea is found. Working closely with engineer Victor Nash, the energy of these performances makes Syncope feel alive and breathing. Arranged after the fact as a continuous piece, the listener is placed in a bed of noise and rhythm that intersect to create new moments across each listen. Guided by Principe’s clear falsetto, each piece becomes an image described, coming into focus against a backdrop of sirens and metal, waves and light.
In the spirit of the original effort, contributors Will Epstein (Nicolas Jaar, High Water), Peter Silberman (The Antlers), and David Moore (Bing & Ruth) all deliver performances captured and unedited.
This is visual music with an emotive core. An expression of love in response to sudden change, and the patient steps forward of a rebirth.
Port St. Willow is currently located in New York.
Port St. Willow plays Syncope
Port St. Willow plays Syncope