Fifty-five years ago, Marilyn Bell took a plunge and traversed Lake Ontario. Back then, being a Great Lake swimmer was a big deal; now, it's an astonishing physical feat taken for granted. It's a rapidly forgotten part of history, like a faded map or a tattered photograph. Or a lost channel.
Tony Dekker's Great Lake Swimmers have spent the past seven years performing on stages around the world - though, like Bell, they should never be taken for granted. LOST CHANNELS, their fourth album set for release on March 31st, finds them once again recording at historic locations. This time in the Thousand Islands region of Ontario and New York state, telling tales of hidden histories, still "mining for light in the dark wells," still "tuned to an instrument of greater and unknown design."
The instrument in question is the singular voice of Tony Dekker, a voice that summons ghosts from times past. It’s a voice that is capable of conveying heartache and comfort all in the space of a single phrase. Though his supporting cast has changed over the years—with the exception of longtime right-hand man Erik Arnesen — Dekker has always encircled him self with sympathetic players who value spacious arrangements that frame his vocals. Over time, the band has evolved from a sparse, delicate and hushed unit into a well-rounded folk rock band, sacrificing none of their original intimacy while upping both the volume and tempos when necessary.
Dekker chooses to record in old churches, community halls, abandoned grain silos and rural locations. It's easy to hear why. His voice doesn't need any studio embellishment, standing at its strongest when bathed in natural reverb and enriched by the historical context surrounding it.
To record LOST CHANNELS, Dekker and company went upstream on the St. Lawrence River to the Thousand Islands, halfway between Toronto and Montreal, a historic and picturesque area that straddles the Canadian/American border, and has been designated a World Biosphere Region. Great Lake Swimmers arrived at the invitation of fan and Thousand Islands photographer/regional historian Ian Coristine (www.1000islandsphotoart.com).
Coristine was able to arrange for the band to record in a number of acoustically unique spaces within the region, including one of the area's most storied landmarks, Singer Castle on Dark Island, near Hammond, NY (www.singercastle.com); as well as the historical Brockville Arts Centre (www.brockvilleartscentre.com); and at St. Brendan’s Church in Rockport, ON.
Additional recording took place at Halla and the Lincoln County Social Club in Toronto and the album was woven into a cohesive whole at the House Of Miracles, in London, ON, with long-time Great Lake Swimmers collaborator, Andy Magoffin.
That the album was created in both rural splendour and urban Ontario makes perfect sense for a band that has always navigated the parallels between natural and urban rhythms. River imagery recurs throughout LOST CHANNELS; the title of the album is a reference to a certain passage of the St. Lawrence, close to the recording locale, where a reconnaissance boat from a British warship went mysteriously missing in 1760. There’s no specific reference to the incident in the lyrics, though there are plenty of night skies, howling winds and raging rivers in almost every song which captures an elusive sense of mystery. As the album closes, Dekker sings the final lyrics—“Like the unstoppable river… Your beauty is gentle/ but forceful, and fast”—before the band ends on a suspended note. There is no resolution there, only eternity, a continuum, an endless river.
LOST CHANNELS also features the talents of Julie Fader (flute/backing vocals), Greg Millson (drums), Darcy Yates (bass), with appearances by Erin Aurich on violin; Mike Olsen on cello; and Paul Aucoin on vibraphone; along with special guests / Swimmers collaborators Serena Ryder with vocals on “Everything Is Moving So Fast” and Bob Egan on pedal steel.
Four albums into an already-rich and storied career, Great Lake Swimmers’ live show has won them ever-expanding audiences in the United States and Europe, and of course their native Canada. In 2008 Great Lake Swimmers shared the stage with an impressive list of artists, including Feist, Bela Fleck & The Sparrow Quartet, Hayden, Goldfrapp, Bill Callahan of Smog, and Robert Plant & Alison Krauss.
Unison Falling Into Harmony
Great Lake Swimmers Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Or have you fallen deeply too
Into the light of a dream
Like unison falling into harmony
The only thing between us is a breath of air
A river of fear, a ship we can't steer
A curtain of rain, a layer of skin
A determined stare, a dare
Sweep across the floor
Like the wind through the islands
Step once, and turn twice
And move like the current
I will try to know you
Though you defy my grasp
Your beauty is static
But steady, and fast
Spin once, and turn twice, and fall in with abandoned
Unison falling into harmony
I love the way that your lights come on
When you've been lit with some happy thought
So save up your tears for the next time it rains
And flow across the floor
Like the unstoppable river
I will try to know you
Though you defy my grasp
Your beauty is gentle
But forceful, and fast
In "Unison Falling Into Harmony," Great Lake Swimmers explores the nature of human connection and our struggle to truly understand and connect with one another. The opening lines question whether gravity affects us all in the same way, or if some of us are pulled more deeply into the beauty and mystery of life. The following lines speak to the elusive nature of human interaction, likening it to a river of fear or a ship that cannot be steered. The chorus offers a glimmer of hope as the singer talks about unison falling into harmony and the moment where two people connect and truly understand one another.
The second verse focuses on movement and the ways in which we try to connect with one another. The lines "Step once, and turn twice / And move like the current" convey a sense of fluidity and adaptability, highlighting the importance of being able to flow with one another. The singer acknowledges the difficulty of truly knowing another person, even as they offer praise for the beauty of the person they are attempting to understand. The song ends with a call to let our emotions flow like a river and an acknowledgment of the forceful, yet gentle nature of human connection.
Overall, "Unison Falling Into Harmony" beautifully captures the struggle and beauty of human connection. It acknowledges the challenges we face in understanding and truly knowing one another, while also offering hope and a sense of wonder at the moments when we do connect.
Line by Line Meaning
Is gravity the same for you
Are we both feeling the same pull towards something?
Or have you fallen deeply too
Or have you also given in to the feeling?
Into the light of a dream
Into the pleasant world of imagination and hope
Like unison falling into harmony
Like coming together in perfect agreement and working as one
The only thing between us is a breath of air
There is nothing that separates us except for the space we occupy
A river of fear, a ship we can't steer
We are both uncertain and scared, and we cannot find our way
A curtain of rain, a layer of skin
External factors like rainfall and the human body can be hindrances to progress
A determined stare, a dare
A gaze of unwavering resolve, and a challenge to push forward
Sweep across the floor
To move gracefully and fluidly
Like the wind through the islands
Just as the wind moves easily through the spaces between islands
Step once, and turn twice
To dance nimbly and with quick footwork
And move like the current
To flow steadily like a stream of water
I will try to know you
I will attempt to understand you more intimately
Though you defy my grasp
Although I struggle to comprehend you
Your beauty is static
Your attractiveness is unchanging
But steady, and fast
But reliable and able to move quickly
Spin once, and turn twice, and fall in with abandoned
To lose oneself in the beauty of the moment and abandon caution
I love the way that your lights come on
I appreciate how you seem to light up when happy thoughts cross your mind
When you've been lit with some happy thought
When you have experienced joy in some way
So save up your tears for the next time it rains
Hold onto your sadness to let it out when it needs to be released
And flow across the floor
To move with fluidity and ease, like a river
Like the unstoppable river
Just like the persistent flow of a river
Your beauty is gentle
Your attractiveness is soft and soothing
But forceful, and fast
But powerful and able to move quickly
Contributed by Carson P. Suggest a correction in the comments below.