39 min
014: Field Guides (7.1.2022) LOCAL BOPS
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- Music
There’s a great big world outside of the studio, and few deftly weave a through line between outside and inside spaces quite like Field Guides, the project of the Brooklyn-based multi-instrumentalist, songwriter, and graphic designer Benedict Kupstas. Incorporating field recordings of nature into his work, the sounds of environment scaffold Benedict’s work in a way that creates a space evocative of situations in which they were written, inviting listeners into his world while creating a sense of emotional distance and allowing us to experience what he describes as “the feeling of being unmoored from the familiar.” Even on tracks when the outside world isn’t sonically there, nature is a frequent touchstone in the Field Guides catalog, making for an evergreen energy that feels positively verdant.
On this episode, I spoke with Benedict about the process and experiences that informed his new record Ginkgo, which included finding parallels between his own experiences and mythology, and a desire to make intangible, subjective experiences tangible. Our conversation devolved in a thoroughly enjoyable fashion into a wider discussion about the intersections of art and nature, transcendentalism, and the long road that lead to this album’s creation. And, as you’d expect on this podcast, Benedict was kind enough to perform some acoustic versions of the tracks on the record—take a listen.
SONGS USED:
Margaret
Cicadas in the Lemon Tree
Condensate
Follow Field Guides:
http://fieldguides.bandcamp.com
www.instagram.com/fieldguides
Produced, mixed, and edited by Billy Coughlin (aka Bilco):
instagram.com/bilco_bops
Hosted by Connor Beckett:
twitter.com/b_ck_tt
instagram.com/b_ck_tt
Follow LOCAL BOPS:
localbops.com
instagram.com/localbopsnyc
www.patreon.com/localbopsnyc
There’s a great big world outside of the studio, and few deftly weave a through line between outside and inside spaces quite like Field Guides, the project of the Brooklyn-based multi-instrumentalist, songwriter, and graphic designer Benedict Kupstas. Incorporating field recordings of nature into his work, the sounds of environment scaffold Benedict’s work in a way that creates a space evocative of situations in which they were written, inviting listeners into his world while creating a sense of emotional distance and allowing us to experience what he describes as “the feeling of being unmoored from the familiar.” Even on tracks when the outside world isn’t sonically there, nature is a frequent touchstone in the Field Guides catalog, making for an evergreen energy that feels positively verdant.
On this episode, I spoke with Benedict about the process and experiences that informed his new record Ginkgo, which included finding parallels between his own experiences and mythology, and a desire to make intangible, subjective experiences tangible. Our conversation devolved in a thoroughly enjoyable fashion into a wider discussion about the intersections of art and nature, transcendentalism, and the long road that lead to this album’s creation. And, as you’d expect on this podcast, Benedict was kind enough to perform some acoustic versions of the tracks on the record—take a listen.
SONGS USED:
Margaret
Cicadas in the Lemon Tree
Condensate
Follow Field Guides:
http://fieldguides.bandcamp.com
www.instagram.com/fieldguides
Produced, mixed, and edited by Billy Coughlin (aka Bilco):
instagram.com/bilco_bops
Hosted by Connor Beckett:
twitter.com/b_ck_tt
instagram.com/b_ck_tt
Follow LOCAL BOPS:
localbops.com
instagram.com/localbopsnyc
www.patreon.com/localbopsnyc
39 min