"what if every part of me is bone dry / by then / what if some part of me has flown by / by then..."
The moving beautiful caged somberness of "Soft and Hidden" by Carpet, the project of Leeds based musician Rob Slater, is more perfect than I can believe. Sonically rich, with a truly wonderfully upfront guitar and vocal, embraced with a stoic drum beat and supporting bass, the track feels sparse but really isn't. An emotional jigsaw puzzle that gets deeper as it moves along as added plaintive guitar lines and harmonies gently flood in. The song ebbs and flows and as an avid music listener I almost expected a misstep but there is none, it is gorgeous in it's melancholia, it is perfect.
From Liner Notes (bracketed):
[(On November 1st, 2024) Carpet is set to release a new EP titled Fruit via Launchpad+. The project of Leeds-based musician Rob Slater—best known for his work as a musician and recording engineer at Greenmount Studios—Carpet marks Slater’s departure from his previous band, The Spills, and a return to the intimate, lo-fi recording methods that first inspired him as a teenager.
A linchpin of the West Yorkshire city’s DIY scene, Slater has played in numerous bands including Thank, Mi Mye, Post War Glamour Girls and Crake, with whom he raises a son. Through his work as a recording-engineer/producer, he has made and performed on countless records - recent credits including work on the debut albums by Yard Act and Holly Humberstone (playing drums on the song ‘Cocoon’) as well as with Leeds peers Jake Whiskin, Green Gardens, Thank, Crake, Mush, Beige Palace and Ellur to name but a few.
Crafted largely in solitude at Greenmount Studios, with some contributions from close friends, Fruit encapsulates the raw and exploratory spirit of home demos brought into a studio setting. Carpet represents Slater’s attempt to reconnect with the mystery and magic of his early recording experiences, blending the freedom of bedroom recording with the fuller sound of his studio work.
New single, ‘Soft and Hidden’, is the sparsest and most introspective song on the EP. It was one of the first songs Slater wrote with the Carpet project in mind, capturing a moment of clarity and a vision of what Carpet would become. The song features a simple, looping three-chord pattern and quietly yearning vocals that wrestle with the beauty and importance of life’s small moments.]
Crafted largely in solitude at Greenmount Studios, with some contributions from close friends, Fruit encapsulates the raw and exploratory spirit of home demos brought into a studio setting. Carpet represents Slater’s attempt to reconnect with the mystery and magic of his early recording experiences, blending the freedom of bedroom recording with the fuller sound of his studio work.
New single, ‘Soft and Hidden’, is the sparsest and most introspective song on the EP. It was one of the first songs Slater wrote with the Carpet project in mind, capturing a moment of clarity and a vision of what Carpet would become. The song features a simple, looping three-chord pattern and quietly yearning vocals that wrestle with the beauty and importance of life’s small moments.]
I look forward to exploring the EP "Fruit", this sound that Carpet dips into, intimately drawn, purely recorded feels like a white rhino these days. I recently saw an instagram where Billie Eilish was describing 'comps' to David Letterman while telling him that 80 plus were used on the song they were showing him, no, no, noooooo. I am a big fan of the 90's band Cracker, the American indie rock band lead by singer-songwriter David Lowery and guitarist Johnny Hickman. For whatever reason I thought of them while listening to the intimacy of "Soft and Hidden".
“In a way, for me, this is actually the first Carpet song,” Slater reflects. “I was playing a lot of Zelda at the time, so obviously thinking a lot about time, light, sanctuary. A friend and I were messaging about what I would hypothetically get as a first tattoo—a snail, under the arm, somewhere soft and hidden. Then I sat on the stoop in the sun, and this song came."
-Robb Donker Curtius
https://soundcloud.com/carpetsongs/03-carpet-softandhidden-3-fdmstr02-1644/s-lLk1Q76t4Kz
THE FACTS AS WE KNOW THEM
https://soundcloud.com/carpetsongs/03-carpet-softandhidden-3-fdmstr02-1644/s-lLk1Q76t4Kz
https://x.com/carpetsongs
The project of Leeds-based musician Rob Slater—best known for his work as a musician and recording engineer at Greenmount Studios—Carpet marks Slater’s departure from his previous band, The Spills, and a return to the intimate, lo-fi recording methods that first inspired him as a teenager.
A linchpin of the West Yorkshire city’s DIY scene, Slater has played in numerous bands including Thank, Mi Mye, Post War Glamour Girls and Crake, with whom he raises a son. Through his work as a recording-engineer/producer, he has made and performed on countless records - recent credits including work on the debut albums by Yard Act and Holly Humberstone (playing drums on the song ‘Cocoon’) as well as with Leeds peers Jake Whiskin, Green Gardens, Thank, Crake, Mush, Beige Palace and Ellur to name but a few.
The project of Leeds-based musician Rob Slater—best known for his work as a musician and recording engineer at Greenmount Studios—Carpet marks Slater’s departure from his previous band, The Spills, and a return to the intimate, lo-fi recording methods that first inspired him as a teenager.
A linchpin of the West Yorkshire city’s DIY scene, Slater has played in numerous bands including Thank, Mi Mye, Post War Glamour Girls and Crake, with whom he raises a son. Through his work as a recording-engineer/producer, he has made and performed on countless records - recent credits including work on the debut albums by Yard Act and Holly Humberstone (playing drums on the song ‘Cocoon’) as well as with Leeds peers Jake Whiskin, Green Gardens, Thank, Crake, Mush, Beige Palace and Ellur to name but a few.
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