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Unbecoming

by Eli Winter

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lunaruins
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lunaruins This song got me through an impossibly difficult moment. Thank you, Eli
—Luna Favorite track: Either I Would Become Ash.
William Brown
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William Brown "Either I Would Become Ash" is such an evocative epic that it's hard to imagine a track here could top it. But "Maroon" takes its beauty even further. Looking forward to soundtracking many future sunset walks, bike rides, etc. with this album. One of the year's finest guitar records without a doubt. Favorite track: Maroon.
mikethurston96
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mikethurston96 So beautiful to get lost in these magical melodies! Eli takes you on an adventure with every song and always brings you right back home.. Favorite track: Dark Light.
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  • Streaming + Download

    Includes unlimited streaming via the free Bandcamp app, plus high-quality download in MP3, FLAC and more.
    Purchasable with gift card

      $10 USD  or more

     

  • Compact Disc (CD) + Digital Album

    CD Version of "Unbecoming"

    Includes unlimited streaming of Unbecoming via the free Bandcamp app, plus high-quality download in MP3, FLAC and more.
    ships out within 5 days
    edition of 100 
    Purchasable with gift card

      $12.99 USD or more 

     

  • Record/Vinyl + Digital Album

    Includes unlimited streaming of Unbecoming via the free Bandcamp app, plus high-quality download in MP3, FLAC and more.
    ships out within 5 days
    Purchasable with gift card

      $19.99 USD or more 

     

  • Record/Vinyl + Digital Album

    Featuring a chapbook of Eli's writing, which contains an artist statement, and interviews with Mute Duo and Cameron Knowler

    Includes unlimited streaming of Unbecoming via the free Bandcamp app, plus high-quality download in MP3, FLAC and more.
    ships out within 5 days
    edition of 100 
    Purchasable with gift card

      $29.99 USD or more 

     

  • Test Pressing + Chapbook
    Record/Vinyl + Digital Album

    Test Pressing Edition Plus A Chapbook of Eli's Writing and Interviews

    Includes unlimited streaming of Unbecoming via the free Bandcamp app, plus high-quality download in MP3, FLAC and more.

    Sold Out
1.
Either I Would Become Ash 22:45
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2.
Maroon 07:19
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3.
Dark Light 09:07
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about

If there’s one word that describes Eli Winter, it’s precocious. At twenty-three, the Chicago musician and writer (named an artist to watch for 2020 by The Guardian and “generational talent" by NYCTaper) has performed with Ryley Walker and David Grubbs and toured the country by bus and train. His first album, The Time To Come, explored the difficulties of coping with grief and Hurricane Harvey with finely wrought melodic solo instrumentals belying his age. Unbecoming, his virtuosic second album, is bolder, uncompromising yet accessible, showcasing ambitious, spacious compositions and a heightened command of the guitar, and providing measured catharsis during intertwined political crises.

The album opens with the nearly twenty-three-minute “Either I Would Become Ash,” a mature, epic solo piece that winds through beautiful, robust passages, dense cacophony and insistent silence, calling to mind inspirations Jack Rose, Daniel Bachman and Pauline Oliveros. The song takes its name from an essay in which the late poet and critic Tory Dent notes her surprise at having lived with AIDS for a decade while remaining "no closer to cured”: “Either I would become ash or I would survive fully, completely, resuming all the dreams and potentials I assumed myself capable of experiencing before I tested.” The song suggests the difficulty of resolving such tensions and a way through them, speaking to the power of vulnerability and the significance of shared struggle.

Lead single “Maroon” is a blossoming, joyous song marking Winter’s first time leading a band, featuring Sam Wagster (American Dreams band Mute Duo) on pedal steel guitar, Tyler Damon (Circuit Des Yeux) on drums, and Cameron Knowler on nylon string guitar. “Maroon” is the shortest and most straightforward track on the record - it’s also catchy as all get out, and ripe for repeat listens. Like "Dark Light” - a spare, rich exploration of space and feedback sourced from a concert recording - “Maroon” evinces the importance of fostering communities on scales large and small.

Unbecoming showcases Winter as an invigorating, talented presence, and alludes to his bright future as a voice - or perhaps set of well-trained hands - in the constantly evolving guitar music canon.

credits

released August 21, 2020

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Eli Winter Chicago, Illinois

Eli Winter is a guitarist and writer based in Chicago.
eliw97@gmail.com

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