Fallow Gold is the brainchild of Madison, Wisconsin-based musician Phillip Biller. Where the usual musical path of these sorts of solo projects lies somewhere in the singer-songwriter, folk, or electronic stylistic route, things are far heavier in Fallow Gold Land.
"I self-describe Fallow Gold as 'Existential Emo Sludge,'" Phillip says about his endeavor. "I’d say it’s a mix of shoegaze, post-hardcore, and '90s alt-metal/rock. Influences include bands like Jesu, Deftones, MewithoutYou, Hopesfall, Embodyment, Thou, Sparta, early Starflyer 59, and Pedro the Lion."
Like so many other artists featured on No Echo in the last few years, Fallow Gold came together during the pandemic. "The project is a product of 'COVID Times' born out of a self-isolation period in 2020 while waiting for COVID test results. The aim was a slow, simple wall of sound with a focus more on feel and mood than technicality.
"As time to write/record is hard for me to come by these days, the more simple style allowed me to keep a steady progress on the project and set obtainable goals during a time when things felt at a standstill and it was hard to keep up any sort of mental momentum."
Released back in June, Fallow Gold made its debut via the 7-song The Slog of Days EP:
Keeping with the project's DIY spirit, Phillip tracked everything for the EP himself. "It was recorded at home in my living room whenever I could chisel out the time. It was slow going and there were plenty of times where I just wanted to give up and forget about it.
"The project is a sort of 'riff therapy,' and an outlet for all the feelings of frustration, depression, grief, loss, and burn-out built up over the last half-decade or so. A lot of the lyrics are very personal and vulnerable, which has had me wanting to keep Fallow Gold to myself, but I’ve tried to push myself out of my comfort zone to share it in hope that it may connect in some way with someone else."
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Fallow Gold on social media: Instagram
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