Doter Sweetly (aka Memphis Flyer 20<30 alum Elijah Poston) was an artist in residence at Crosstown Arts last fall. He recorded a lot of new music, which will be released as a series of singles.
While ensconced at Crosstown, Posten says he was mastering an unusual instrument pioneered by guitarist Charlie Hunter.
“About four years ago, I started writing songs with this eight-string, hybrid guitar. It’s got three bass strings and five guitar strings and goes to two separate amps. So, ‘hybrid’ and challenging,” he says. “For the residency, I decided I wanted to write and record all of these new songs with just the eight-string, drums, and vocals.
“My own little exercise in simplicity has ended up being some of the best stuff I’ve ever written. This one, ‘stars,’ is the first one from my “Crosstown” batch. My last single (pisces moon) was the first one I actually released that had the eight-string, but it had more guitars and synth. This is the first one with just the basics, and I like it a lot.”
Posten says “stars (not home)” is “…about being stuck in your head. It’s about being physically present while mentally being miles away. It’s also kind of about being the one waiting on the other side, watching someone drift in out of the moment. I think (I hope) everybody knows the feeling when nobody’s home but the gears are still turning.
“I made the video with my partner Nia [Rincon]. She made this awesome video collage last year I was using during the residency for performances. We projected that video collage huge onto the wall at the Robinson Gallery. Then Nia shot several other performance pieces of stars and I made a video collage of the video collage. We had been talking about projecting something on the wall at the gallery for months and it turned out to be a great match for the song.”
If you would like to see your music video featured on Music Video Monday, email cmccoy@memphisflyer.com.
