Portland pianist Mary Sutton, better known as Saloli, will release her second album on Kranky.
Canyon, which delves deeper into her roots as a Cherokee Nation citizen, is intended to evoke “a day in the life of a bear in a canyon in the Smoky Mountains,” with each track “channeling a different emotion or experience in its daily explorations.”
In Cherokee teachings, humans and animals are considered to have no essential difference: originally, all the creatures of the earth lived together in harmony. Canyon captures shades of this notion across eight elegant pieces.
As with her 2018 debut, The Deep End, the entirety of Canyon was composed and performed live on a Sequential Circuits MultiTrak synthesizer, but this time routed through a delay pedal. This refraction adds a “lyrical spatial quality,” we’re told, “as though echoing off canyon walls.”
Sutton’s father, the Cherokee painter and flute-maker Jerry Sutton, created the artwork.
Tracklisting
01. Waterfall
02. Lily Pad
03. Snake
04. Yona
05. Silhouette
06. Full Moon
07. Nighthawk
08. Sunrise
Canyon LP is scheduled for July 7 release. Meanwhile, you can stream “Waterfall,” “Lily Pad,” Yona,” and “Silhouette” in full via the player below and pre-order here.
