Review: ‘Migrations’ EP by Jeremy Redmore and Levi Patel

KATIE BROWN - 8 NOV 2023

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There’s a special kind of magic that lives in the space where two very different elements are thrown together. It can open up room for a new, dynamic interplay, and this is certainly the case in beautiful three-track EP Migrations, a collaboration between Tāmaki Makaurau modern classical/ambient artist Levi Patel, and vocalist/songwriter Jeremy Redmore (Midnight Youth). Released on October 11th, the EP is the result of the pair working across different mediums and locations, whether in studios, at home, or in the wilderness. Complementing Patel and Redmore’s flawless production, Migrations was mixed by Nic Manders and mastered by Taylor Deupree, and features a cameo appearance by Mangawhai artist Avya.

Both Patel and Redmore have a knack for emotive storytelling in their different manners, with Patel specialising in crafting beautiful, ambient soundscape-like work, and Redmore in lyrical and vocal prowess. In Migrations, these capacities for creating worlds and stories overlap, and it’s a wonderful, symbiotic relationship. Patel’s vast soundscapes swirl around Redmore’s rich and recognisable vocals, and nothing feels out of place. It’s like couture for music: the craftsmanship of both artists is exquisite.

Throughout the EP there’s a sense of contrast between intimacy and distance: what is close, unavoidable and vulnerable, and what is further away, distant and aloof in its magnificence. Redmore’s vocals become the central grounding point to a limitless galaxy, and both this grounding and the contrasting aural vastness are like the relationship of body to soul. Alongside this, as the EP’s name denotes, the songs are filled with a sense of transition: a migration from one space to arrive at another.

Speaking of the project, Redmore says, “There are places this project took my voice to that it had never been before and that, combined with purposefully-challenging songwriting methods, has produced a unique cluster of songs I am so happy to share with the world.” This new territory is notable in the gorgeous opening track “Worlds Apart”, where Redmore’s layered vocals and purity of tone are reminiscent of the likes of Vancouver Sleep Clinic and Sigur Rós as they swell and recede throughout the song, carrying inflections of both wistfulness and hope.

Second track “Love Will Come Your Way” drifts into being with Patel’s ambient textures revolving mesmerisingly around Avya’s poignant harmonies before Redmore’s chant-like, cyclical storytelling kicks in. It’s a song that builds and grows, like steadily climbing a staircase, with the past at the bottom and an unknown future at the top; the promise “Just remember that one day love will come your way, love will come your way” urging the weary climber on.

Reminiscent of the memory of sunlight during the darkest watches of the night, final track “Zero Gravity” is filled with fine, subtle atmospheric detail behind simple piano, complementing Redmore’s gentle vocals and embuing the track with a sense of both melancholy and wistfulness as he sings, “What are the chances our eyes would meet, when the world hit zero gravity?” Subtle vocal delays add an eerieness to the expansive sonic backdrop, and string textures along with the gravitas of a solid bass line elevate it momentarily with a hopefulness before, again, the wave of emotion recedes. Redmore closes both the track and the EP singing, “And though you send me a bird with a song full of hope / My flag of conviction waves and falls … Powerless, I can’t guess how it ends.”

The line makes an unresolved ending to Migrations, but this feels only too appropriate a way to close such a project with all of its beautiful contrasts. The door must be left open. Indeed, I hope that this particular collaborative door has been left open, as Migrations is a truly beautiful body of work, and a testament to how well this musical pairing has worked.

Read more about Patel through our previous interview feature, and I thoroughly recommend a good listen through Redmore’s 2020 album The Brightest Flame.

Listen to Migrations below.

Listen to Migrations on Spotify | Bandcamp

Find Levi Patel on Instagram | Facebook | Website | Spotify | Bandcamp

Find Jeremy Redmore on Instagram | Facebook | Spotify

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