Drowned in Sound contributor Jasper Willems and Jessica Pratt explore timelessness, ‘Quiet Signs’, and all that exists beyond the boundaries of the tangible and sensory.
“Unsurprisingly, conversing with California-based folk musician Jessica Pratt is almost as psychedelic an experience as listening to her records. With a measured, casual calm, she mentions to Drowned In Sound over Skype how she got mugged on the street a few weeks ago, which forced her to reschedule this interview. If this was her first mugging – which it was – you simply couldn’t tell. Getting robbed in broad daylight is usually the type of experience people often retell by channeling the same emotional rush and adrenaline as when it happened.
“Pratt, however, simply laughs it off with the poise of someone who recollects this incident as a very old memory. ‘My purse had my passport in it, my credit cards, and I was leaving for Europe pretty soon. I just had to do all this work to get everything in order. It was pretty hairy actually. But everything’s all fine now. It feels like it’s a long time ago now. I’m glad I got everything figured out.’
“Regarding finding solace in retrospect, Jessica Pratt’s new album Quiet Signs inspires the listener to re-examine the term ‘timelessness’ further without trying super hard. Nowadays, musicians have more tools at their disposal than ever to articulate the overwhelming happening that is our existence. The quest for immortality has always been this habitual raison d’etre for pop music; to capture that essence of the times within sound, instrumentation, and words.
“Within the diffused, murky space of her songs, Pratt opts for surrender to our inevitable decay and mortality. Tunes like ‘Crossing’ and ‘Silent Song’ have the Homeric quality of medieval church hymns, relics that recall something beyond our immediate understanding. The former doesn’t even bother applying fully-formed lyrics: Pratt’s feathery voice seems to drift completely on the wavelengths of her subconsciousness.
“It’s pretty incredible how music can be just as mysterious to its maker as to the listener, and naturally, our conversation touches base with themes and notions beyond the tangible and sensory.”
Listen to Jessica Pratt’s ‘Quiet Signs’ below and catch her live in concert at Rewire 2019 on Saturday, 30 March. Learn more at Jessica Pratt.
Rewire 2019 Festival Passes and Day Passes are now available atTickets.