The enigmatic, slowly evolving harmonics of the drone that introduces Fletcher Tucker’s “To Light a Fire” from his new album Kin (out August 15, 2025 via Gnome Life Records) complements well the video footage of a fire burning in a pile of grass and other dried vegetation. The way a fire is in variation of form as influenced by the flow of oxygen around it but of uniform character. Then the voice comes in talking about building a bonfire in the snow far from the nearest road to commune with ancient human existence in a ritual surrounded by nature. The words speak to connecting with one’s ancestors and the generations to come. At the halfway point flute-like Mellotron figures and resound across the field of sound with minimal percussion (provided by Phil Elverum) accenting and brushing about like it is embodying the crackle of branches breaking down in the fire and the gentle sound of flames consuming wood. In the end of the song it becomes obvious that the song has been a kind of birth rite welcoming new life into the world in a way that would have been familiar to humans millennia ago and imbuing it with a mystic power often missing from human experiences in the present. Watch the video for “To Light a Fire” on YouTube and follow Fletcher Tucker at the links below.
Queen City Sounds and Art 
You must be logged in to post a comment.