Do you like surprises? Well, surprise we’re working with Brad Perry (Worn in Red, Forensics) on the release of his debut solo album as Caverns of Pine. Well, to call it a solo album is a real disservice to the amazing contributors on this project.
The idea for Caverns Of Pine – “Dissociate” is to dedicate an entire musical project to the ways different people survive the traumas of sexual violence. From survivors of different backgrounds and various genders, to the people who care about them. It’s about telling stories that reflect different perspectives on healing and reckoning and coming to terms with the fact that another human being could act with such cruel disregard. Or not coming to terms with any of it, and still finding a way to live.
The “Dissociate” photo zine is designed to go with the the record of the same name. All of the stories come both from Brad Perry’s 20+ years of working in the sexual violence victim advocacy field, and from his own personal experiences watching people cope and heal from this violence.
Brad Perry had this to say about the project,
“I’ve been actively working on the “Dissociate” record/project for the past 3 years. I had most of the songs and all of the lyrics rattling around in my head for far longer. But it is truly the result of a musical and visual collaboration with good friends in the creatively rich city of Richmond, VA.
Graham Scala was invaluable in helping me turn my early demos into these songs. “The Body Keeps Score,” “Carved,” “Hexed Reckoning,” and “Cheap Grace” all became far better because of his collaboration. He also co-wrote the music for “All Instinct” with me during this… process.
Graham, along with Patrick DeWitt and John Martin made this feel like a real band. Together we wrote the music for “Heaped Upon Us.” Me, Graham, Patrick, and John recorded the record with Ricky Olson at The Ward in Richmond. Ricky’s engineering, mixing, and overall production was completely aligned with the vision I had for “Dissociate,” and without him this project would have never seen daylight.”
While this is a purely digital release, the photo zine is really the secret weapon of the whole experience. The “Dissociate” photo zine is designed to go with the Caverns Of Pine record of the same name. The idea for this project is to dedicate an artistic endeavor to the ways different people survive the traumas of sexual violence. From survivors of different backgrounds and various genders, to the people who care about them. It’s about telling stories that reflect different perspectives on healing and reckoning and coming to terms with the fact that another human being could act with such cruel disregard. Or not coming to terms with any of it, and still finding a way to live.All of the stories come from both Brad Perry’s 20+ years of working in the sexual violence victim advocacy field, and from his own personal experiences watching people cope and heal from this violence.
The photo zine itself created by Richmond, VA based print artist Brittany Lynn Justice. Each one contains 6 double-sided high resolution prints of original photography, plus a captivating reflective cover and a fly sheet detailing the creative credits. It is all encased in a translucent self-sealing sheath. The 6 double-sided prints each contain a full color photograph which connects to a particular song on the record, while the reverse sides contain a photo series of allegorical death masks, the song title, and the lyrics.
In some ways this photo zine is like a beautifully assembled LP with inserts, but without the big black vinyl disk in it. The intent is that by experiencing the striking photos and haunting lyrics while listening to the record, a person will be immersed in this work, and come to some new or helpful discoveries. Every photo zine comes with a download of the accompanying record.
All profits from digital sales of “Dissociate” will be donated to FORCE (www.upsettingrapeculture.com) because this project is meant to sit in empathy with those who have survived the inhumanity of sexual violence, or who have seen the pain it inflicts up close.
It’s meant to be in solidarity with survival.
It’s meant to be a defiant cry against a world still eager to disbelieve.