Ghost Light bandmates Tom Hamilton and Holly Bowling have released Lacuna, the debut, self-titled album for their new project announced back on September 15th. Lacuna arrived on November 19th via Royal Potato Family.
The duo conceived the eight-track offering in one stream of consciousness at Hamilton’s The Ballroom studio in Philadelphia, PA during the summer of 2020. Recorded in one take with no overdubs, these ambient, deep space improvisations explored the outer limits of creating music in the moment. Over 46 minutes, Hamilton and Bowling showcased their powerful musical connection in an outpouring of emotion following months of isolation.
The months preceding the recording of Lacuna saw Hamilton hunkered down in his studio while Bowling drove across the country from California to Maine. Throughout this cross-continental journey, Bowling created an immersive livestream series dubbed The Wilderness Sessions, which saw the solo pianist reimagine songs of Grateful Dead and Phish from breathtaking locations. When she eventually made it to the East Coast and linked up with Hamilton, the prospect of playing music with another person seemed more enticing than ever.
Related: Holly Bowling Finds A Change Of Scenery With The ‘Wilderness Sessions’ [Interview]
“We were just playing to play,” Bowling said in a press release. “I was so intensely missing that spark and connection of playing music with someone else and having that back and forth. It was the happiest I had been in ages, even though the music sounds pretty dark in places, and it was definitely a very dark time. Tapping into that and then getting it out was cathartic.”
That jam session would sit on Hamilton’s hard drive, unheard, for months. Finally, in February, he listened back and realized he had something special.
“It was all very organic,” Hamilton added. “We hit save, she left, and we didn’t talk about it.”
The pair then reverse-engineered the album, splitting the nearly one hour of improvisation into eight tracks, and named it Lacuna. This name came from a book Bowling had read during quarantine. She didn’t know what the word meant and, upon looking it up, found the definition: “a gap, an unfilled space, or an intentional, extended passage in a musical work during which no notes are played.”
Listen to Lacuna in full, below, and head here for additional streaming and physical purchase options.
Bowling and Hamilton have six concerts scheduled in November and December, with a one-off performance coming on March 5th, 2022 at San Francisco, CA’s The Chapel. Check out a full list of tour dates below and click here for tickets.
Lacuna – Lacuna