Ten minute tea with Afternoon Tea. Spend ten minutes with Afternoon Tea. In the time it takes to boil one kettle, and let one cup of tea steep, we will have your daily art + music fix covered. Take your afternoon tea break with our Afternoon Tea curators.
Today’s tea + soundtrack + visuals are curated by Marcus Lowry. Since earning his bachelor’s degree in jazz performance from the University of Montreal in 2017, Canadian singer-songwriter, guitarist and producer Marcus Lowry has worked with a wide array of Canadian and international jazz, folk and pop artists. His debut solo album, Time, Time, Time, produced by JUNO-nominated musician Joe Grass, is set to be released this coming fall.
Like the morning haze that recedes to reveal a calm and clear day, Lowry‘s intimate folk musings on “Leaving the Shore” drift and buoy through waves of delicate chamber music, subtle electronics and nautical field recordings. “Leaving the Shore” offers calm and serenity to the inevitability of change and the challenges that often come with it.
To really enhance this feeling of a sea voyage, the song incorporated actual nautical field recordings from the personal collection of his producer, the great Joe Grass. In the song’s climax you can hear seaport bells and the sounds of rolling tides, which were recorded by Grass near his hometown in New Brunswick.
“I struggle with anxiety and Hurry Sickness, so the feeling of time always slipping away is a recurring fear of mine,” says Lowry. “The whole album, really, speaks to this feeling. Each song depicts a type of journey that grapples with similar anxieties and choices, and each one has become a personal reminder that my own fear of change can threaten my ability to explore all of life’s richness and beauty.”
Song: The Barr Brothers – “Please let me let it go”
Lately I have really been into Brad Barr and The Barr Brothers, and have been listening to their three records on repeat. In doing so, I discovered this beautiful gem of a song and it just resonated so strongly with me right now. The record I am releasing this fall is called “Time, Time, Time” and is all about accepting the inevitable passing of time and the hardships that come with the fear of letting things go. “Please let me let it go” by The Barr Brothers is a perfect example of what I was trying to do and they did it so well!
Visual: Gustav Klimt’s “Pear Tree”
I have been a fan of Klimt for a while now. I am so fascinated by the dedication, time and effort in pixelism! The combination of all these subtle little dots and shapes of various colours forming this beautiful piece is mind blowing to me! Moreover, I loved the balance in which this arguably maximalist approach feels quite minimalist and soothing at the same time. It’s a concept I also have been trying to grasp musically and that I think you can hear on this record on songs like “Going ‘round again” for example, that have a basic structure and few very familiar chords, but at the same time, the background can be quite dense at times with ever moving sounds and textures to catch your ear and create this elaborate tapestry.
Tea: Wulong Blue Spring
I do admit being more of a coffee person but I gave a few tea samples to dad for his birthday last year (who is trying to quit coffee) and this Wulong Blue Spring was amazing! I ended up going back and getting myself a portion that I am very glad to drink from time to time.
Tea + Me 