Memories of Earth

Memories of Earth is D Rothon’s second LP for Clay Pipe Music. In the years since 2018’s critically acclaimed Nightscapes, aside from working on this follow-up, he has played pedal steel on albums by Lost Horizons (on the John Grant-fronted track Cordelia), Liela Moss and Johanna Warren. He has also contributed to two recent compilations by the Second Language label – a kindred spirit to Clay Pipe.

Memories of Earth reflects a spectrum of emotional responses to the idea of space travel – from the optimism and wonder of those childhood dreams to the sense of disconnection, isolation and loss we might feel on a one-way trip to Mars... or beyond. The final, bittersweet track brings us back down to earth with a sense that perhaps it’s caring for our own planet that should be our priority.

Musically Memories of Earth draws on a varied palette of influences including early prog, electronica and European film soundtracks. This diversity of styles flows together to form an album that’s coherent but full of surprises. It also benefits from vocal contributions by acclaimed US musician Johanna Warren and actress / chanteuse Claudia Barton, who wrote and performs the words for the title track – a paean to Earth’s “soft, green bacterial surface”; its “deep, wet, blue mysteries”...