Small Isles is the collaborative project of guitarist Jim Fairchild (Grandaddy/Modest Mouse/All Smiles) and songwriter/composer Jacob Snider. They recently released their debut single/video “Life At One.” The duo release their new album The Valley, The Mountains, The Sea on June 25 on Los Angeles based experimental label AKP Recordings

Jim Fairchild on Small Isles

“I began writing this album with a vague prompt. I wanted to conceive music that would inspire Ang Lee and Rick Moody to come together and use my work as a mood board for creating a spiritual sequel to The Ice Storm. And then use the album as cues for the score to the movie. I worked on it backstage almost every day during a tour with Modest Mouse. It was a dark time and it was healing to set up my rig and make music as a ritual. I was feeling good about the results, but it wasn’t until Jacob Snider started adding to the songs that they felt as beautiful and evocative as I’d imagined they could. Once Mike Cresswell sent me back the mixes, my favorite songs were the ones Jacob was on. So Small Isles the band was born. Now we have this album and another five-song EP that we’ll start mixing in the next couple of weeks with live strings and a fully formed collaboration between Jacob and me.”

Small Isles
The Valley, The Mountains, The Sea
Tracklist:
AKP Recordings

1 – The Concept
2 – Walked From Ruin
3 – I Came as a Faux
4 – Life at One
5 – Fort Wayne
6 – Lake Superior
7 – Maybe We Will
8 – The Plot to Take Clover

AKP Recordings is an imprint of Dangerbird Records launched in 2020 as a creative hub that encourages artists to engage the unknown through experimental music and visual art. The label has released albums by Jason Lytle (Grandaddy), John Herndon (Tortoise), Victoria Williams, Randy Randall (No Age), Tim Rutilli (Red Red Meat, Califone), Bill Baird, the art studio Arthur King, as well as remixes by Four Tet, Laetitia Sadier and others in a broadly unified series of music releases, video integrations, and art installations.