The latest release from Philville Records, Reflectere, is under production, and will be released concurrent with Matthew R. Sayles's west coast tour beginning on April 3rd , 2020. The album was conceived shortly after the completion of Sayles's last release in 2018, Manifest Refugees (Philville Records LP-015), with the original concept being a simple stripped down record featuring mostly acoustic guitar work, reflections on narrative songwriting, and instrumental melodies. The tracking began in Ventura, CA in March of 2018, and the final tracking/mixing/mastering wrapped up in Eau Claire, Wisconsin in March of 2020.
At the beginning of the project, Sayles was unaware of his pending move back to the upper mid-west after nearly sixteen years on the west coast. As the move became a reality, the album took on a deeper personal meaning and began to feature cameos from Ventura/Portland friends, reworked originals, and several songs that were a reflection on returning to roots and remembrances of songs and times past. With some of the album being tracked in Ventura, and the remaining parts being tracked in Eau Claire, the album became somewhat of a self-fulfilling reality in both concept, and emotion. The cover photograph of Sayles was taken by Kenyon Hansen in 1999, using a 35 mm film camera, near Little Presque Isle in Marquette, MI. in the frozen ice caves that sometimes form on Lake Superior. The rear cover photo was taken by Clovis IV in May of 2019, in Montecito, CA.
To emphasize that sense of reflection and times past, Philville Records is only going to release the full Reflectere album as a limited physical copy CD, available for purchase at shows beginning in April, 2020. A single is currently available here on Philville Records (just click on the album on the "Releases" homepage, which fans/supporters can download and name their own price). It's free, but you have the option to donate to help support do-it-yourself labels and artists like Sayles and Philville Records.
As always, this release would not have been possible without the invaluable help of longtime Philville Records co-Producer, Fraulein Kitzenbauer, and studio tech Basil Lajeunesse.
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