For many music lovers, songs can bring back a specific location, feeling, or memory as soon as the first few notes reach our ears. For Americana artist Ismay their debut LP, Songs of Sonoma Mountain, aims to do just that by evoking all the sights and sounds of the rural California area, Sonoma Mountain. Using field recordings with serene vocals and experimental production, Ismay brings us directly into the world they fell in love with.
Last month, the eight-track album was released and now Ismay is continuing that momentum with the video release of their bonus track “Song Of The Mourning Dove.” The stop motion video was edited and animated entirely by Ismay and is premiering exclusively on Pop Culturalist! Watch below as a pair of mourning doves, fall in love lay three eggs and weather a harsh storm together.
Ismay shared with us the story behind their single and video, “On the ranch where I live on Sonoma Mountain, there’s a bird that makes a low solemn sound, almost like the hoot of an owl. It’s called the Mourning Dove, named for the character of its call. The call itself is mostly a mating call, but the lonesome coo made me imagine a story I then created in stop motion. In the video as well as the song, two Mourning Doves meet, make a nest, and lay three eggs. As with actual Mourning Doves, one of the pair goes out during the day, and the other of the pair at night to bring back food. A storm rolls in, and one of the two is heading out to find food, and upon return finds that the nest has blown away in the rain and wind.
After coming up with this idea for a story for a song and stop-motion video, I found myself looking to record an actual Mourning Dove on Sonoma Mountain. I typically saw them all of the time, but couldn’t find one anymore. If you want to hear how I ended up finding the mourning dove, and the unexpected way in which it came to symbolize a death in real life, check out the vinyl or CD, as that story will only be found there.”
To keep up with Ismay follow them on Facebook, Instagram, and YouTube.
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