Genre:Avant / Experimental
Jordan Geiger has been releasing records for the last 15 years, both as a solo musician under the Hospital Ships moniker as well as a band member in groups including Shearwater, Des Ark, and Minus Story. The Past is Not a Flood, due out March 11 on Graveface Records, is his fourth full-length as Hospital Ships. This also marks his sixth record with famed producer John Congleton (St. Vincent, The Walkmen, Modest Mouse, etc).Geiger moved to Austin partially to collaborate with longtime friend Thor Harris (Swans) on the creation of the record, which is a product of his dealing with trying to break the cycle of years of mental illness, anxiety and depression.As Geiger describes, "'You and I' is the sound of my anxiety, 'Long May You' reflects grieving, 'Nothing To Hide' is inspired by/a tribute to the late Jason Molina, 'Little Flower' is reflecting on a family life I've chosen not to have, 'All In Time' (which is based on the same musical motif as both 'You and I' and 'Long May You') is about accepting the painful and temporary nature of life..."Geiger currently resides in North Carolina, home to his heroes Polvo, where he plays with Des Ark.The record was a collaborative effort, made by Geiger inviting friends to the recording studio. They had no prior knowledge of what the songs would be. As described by Geiger, "We would build repetitive patterns together until we had something I liked, and then we would track live with me playing/singing the song under the pattern we had built up. This process was made because I didn't really have my band lineup in Austin, and I wanted to open up the process to collaboration, and also inspired heavily by Arthur Russells semi-improvisational instrumentals, mainly the First Thought Best Thought record. Then I'd overdub as I saw fit at home, adding samples from previous Hospital Ships records as well as a Shearwater sample, and vocals, and vintage synths, which is a new texture for my records. The record was completed by the mixing of John Congleton, who is my other longtime and trusted collaborator."Influences: Townes Van Zandt, Steve Reich, Arthur Russell, Washington Phillips, new age music, Krautrock.