Former Family Band member Arjan Miranda returns with Spiritual America LP
You may recognize Arjan Miranda from Family Band, the duo of Kim Krans and Jonny Ollsin that called Philadelphia home circa 2012. After a move to the west coast and a few years off from the public music life, Ollsin is back as Arjan Miranda and has a new solo effort in tow.
Spiritual America dropped on the summer solstice via The Wild Unknown, Krans and Miranda’s artistic, spiritual, and now musical outlet. It’s the label’s inaugural offering, more of which will be shared on each solstice and equinox for a total of four albums a year. About the label’s existence, Miranda writes:
“I’ve been digging through crates of vinyl since I was a teenager, obsessed with exploring the esoteric records left by dreamers from the past. Music has been there for all my changes. With TWU Records, I aim to bring you honesty. To place musicians in a space to unfold, to show themselves, and to grow. I am on a mission to contribute good to the world, to be a part, however small, of creation. In times of darkness the light you seek is within. May this music be a soundtrack to your own awakening.”
For its part, Spiritual America is an elongated psych folk meditation that is atmospherically dark and enigmatic. Throughout the heavy moments, though, Miranda weaves in lighter elements like the bouncing beat and bright guitar on “Golden Hair” or the quietly cascading “The Leaves” with its saxophone interlude, that promise a way out of the shadows even if it’s not quite clear yet. On “Fire & Ice,” the video for which is below, a love poem is recited by Krans over a minimalist, music box-esque arrangement that seems to take comfort in its simplicity.
Watch the video “Fire & Ice” below and stay tuned to The Wild Unknown for more from Miranda.