PIANO BITS TO SLEEP ON.
engrams
from the floral couch
remastered album | photobook | short film
film by
wayland media
written works
benjamin miller
lo whipple
ryan beiter
kaitlin tymko
william bortz
music by
strong black coffee
audio engineer
adam wakefield
field recordings
taylor whipple
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PRAISE FOR ENGRAMS
By Sarah Miller
A deeply moving reminder that nature speaks a language older than words, Engrams from the Floral Couch combines memories and nature that serve as both a silent witness and a soulful mirror. Wayland’s opening frame of a still piano bathed in soft sunlit room, surrounded by empty chairs and a floral couch that seem to hold stories of love and time passed. The gentle singing of songbirds sets the tone, as he begins to play the piano, each note embodying a sense of longing that sets the tone for the film.
Each scene brings a transparent form of nature, moving and flowing with the cadence of each song, breathe of each word, and delicate dance of the landscapes unfolding on screen. The pacing is deliberate, letting each moment breathe and each word spill from a pen like water. Wayland’s journey (6:08) lets you float amongst the echoes of the past, allowing viewers to carry these moments into the next. Music by Strong Black Coffee compliments Wayland’s visually stunning ethereal lens that take you back to the wonders of what once was. Words by Miller, Whipple, Beiter, Tymko and Bortz guide us as a compass, leading each song forward with intricate details of the room with the floral couch. Wayland’s work transcends time and space through his natural yet moody lighting, his focus on the often-overlooked beauty of nature, and an awe-inspiring piano score that gently reminds us to be fully present. The final song of the adaptation of Arcade Fire’s “Photograph” leads us to a passionate ending. As the sun sets across the ivory keys and texture of the floral couch emerges, we are gently reminded that time… is our greatest currency.
Pulling inspiration from dark diner coffee, warm summers and even colder winters, Strong Black Coffee (SBC) writes piano bits to sleep on. In this anniversary rerelease of their debut self-titled album, the tracks are remastered and the scenes where these songs were created are revisited in the project nostalgically named ‘Engrams from the Floral Couch’. Listeners are invited to see through the lens of SBC but invited to look even further to draw their own feelings of recollection, profound displacement, and eventually quiet contentment through an album, photobook, and short film.
Accompanying the remastered tracks, Engrams from the Floral Couch takes the form of a photobook along with sui generis written pieces authored by poets and creatives of the like, using SBC as their backdrop. Each author was encouraged to textualize their visceral interpretation of the music, resulting in an honest variety of works that give the reader a window into multiple different perspectives. This exploration is concluded in a short film where each piece and its written work are framed by a vignette that places the viewer in liminal and curious scenes.
Born in upstate New York and revisited years later, Engrams from the Floral Couch is a multimedia explanation of recalling familiar places, remembering those who quietly supported us, and the shaking hands of courage needed to look to what’s ahead of us.