JT Presents Edwin Raphael w/ Emily Kinney and Laney Tripp

Emily Kinney

“‘Walkin’ Round Your Dreams’ was a way for me to make sense of a brief, fleeting, but fun love affair that had a significant impact on me during a time of isolation and confusion. It’s the kick-off to Swimteam. I want listeners to dive into this next chapter of music with enthusiasm before hitting the bottom.” As a beloved main character in the iconic TV show The Walking Dead, as well as her roles in DC’s The Flash and Arrow, Masters of Sex, Conviction, and many others Emily made an impact with fans worldwide as she expertly navigated being successful in both acting and music. Her experience in acting continued to fuel her lifelong passion for songwriting and music. This new collection of songs is the result of that inspiration.

Cedar Island Songs amplifies the strengths of 2021’s Fishing From Heaven, which Laney recorded with frequent collaborator, the multi-instrumentalist and multimedia artist Jacob Cummings. For the new collection, Tripp and Cummings tapped musician and producer Benny Yurco, working out the songs at the experimental wizard’s Burlington, Vermont studio. Joined by Michael Nau (Cotton Jones) and Seth Kauffman (Floating Action), the quintet tracked the EP live, working Tripp’s demos into a distinct brine.

EP-opener “Lady Fish” establishes the collection’s colorway, applying a deep-azure base coat with smears of swirling synths and guitar. The EP’s standout track, “Cedar Island,” dives deep, introducing new ornamentation – washes of pedal steel, twinkly piano runs. Digital samples, decaying synth and subtle sax runs fill out the soundscape of closer “Movin’ On,” floating on a vast, sparkly sea of experimental folk.

It took Tripp and co. a week in the landlocked New-England-state of Vermont to craft the coastline-evoking EP. But both sonically and lyrically, Cedar Island Songs contains a Pacific-Ocean’s-worth of multitudes.

Spotify – https://open.spotify.com/artist/2oHONIRqxXSaM6rAtMNps8?si=XJmDUHd-SfmPB76Gf4MBpQ
IG – https://www.instagram.com/laneytripp/