Dream Boat is the Athens, GA duo of Page Campbell and Dan Donahue, two local psych scene veterans who are apparently so cosmically aligned, they were born on the same day. Their debut LP, which enlists the aid of The Olivia Tremor Control/Circulatory System's John Fernandez and Neutral Milk Hotel horn player Scott Spillane, among others, recalls what might happen if Peaking Lights got sick of dub reggae and took a detour into the woodsier corners of The Incredible String Band's discography. "Sea to Sky," below, folds stomping drums, mantric vocals and tremolo-ing strings into a sensory experience that feels strangely akin to watching a house fill up with shimmering flames. Read the story behind the track in Donahue's own words, and look out for Eclipsing this December, when it comes out on Cloud Recordings.
"Sea to Sky" was the last song added to the album. I think it actually bumped a few off. It started as synth intro I wrote but then I kept humming it for days, so I wrote words for it. When Page sang it, it really felt there was farther to go. I asked Page and [engineer] Suny [Lyons] to add a guitar strumming out the end and they made it great, so we kept going, and with a title like "Sea to Sky," we just tried to take it there. Scott Spillane always takes it to the stars so having him come and blast away was beautiful. I loved making this record and having people like Scott and John Fernandes who I have known and made music and mischief with for years back in the mix is truly life changing for me.
Stream: Dream Boat, "Sea to Sky"