Duncan Wood – Where Am I? | EP Review
Duncan Wood is a singer-songwriter from the US and this is his debut EP Where Am I?. This dude is influenced by the likes of Joni Mitchell, Bon Iver, D’Angelo amongst others which gives off a sound that frankly I find mesmerising. Opening track ‘Big Sur’ is a wholesome acoustic number that introduces a wonderful dose of horns that not only adds a little Jazzy vibe to the mix but also tips it over the edge as one of the most wonderful songs I’ve heard of 2018 so far.
Once the little answering machine interlude of ‘Where Am I Part I’ concludes we’re then thrown into another sunny adventure in ‘In Your Flame’. This track once again delivers an instrumental that essentially smiles through the speakers and plants a big old kiss of joy on your pretty little face. The jazzy elements leak through and really helps elevates things into a full blown ballad rather than your everyday acoustic cut, it’s amazing.
Where Am I? honestly is a wonderful EP. Duncan Wood alongside the help of friends converts the traditional singer-songwriter project into something that’s full of life and depth, while also leaving a couple hits along the way. I love the blend of acoustic goodness with Jazz as it works really well throughout and yeah, it’s dead good.
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A very interesting and unusual little EP. Not only is he from the U.S., but he’s from my home state of California. Besides tracks about Big Sur and the beach town of Santa Cruz, it was a pleasant surprise to discover one named for the mountain east of San Jose and the Silicon Valley, where I grew up! There’s an observatory atop Mt. Hamilton that was built in the late 1800s. It’s astonishing that the building materials, telescopes, etc, were taken up by horses and mules. Even today, the last few miles of road up to the summit are narrow and winding.
Now wasn’t that a nice little lesson on geography and history about California! You’re welcome.
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Jeff you are immense. Glad to see how differently people can react to certain music
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Indeed! And how did you know I need to lose some weight?
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So glad you liked the record and are familiar with the geography! I’m a cosmology student and the lyrics to Mt. Hamilton are inspired by my trip up to Lick Observatory. The sample at the end is Stanford physics professor Roger Blandford. It’s an incredible trip, despite taking almost two hours from San Jose to go maybe 30 miles.
– Duncan
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Thanks for your comments Duncan! I love these kinds of serendipitous encounters that occur from time to time. I made several trips to the top of Mt. Hamilton during the 25 years I lived in Santa Clara, one of them even late at night! I also got car sick a couple of times on the way up LOL. Best of luck with your studies and music career!
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