Artist of the Day: Port St. Willow

Port St. Willow, the brainchild of Brooklyn resident Nick Principe, is a breath of fresh air. The indie project has a knack for constructing ambient textures that stand out from the usual - it's one thing to create a stirring ambient track, and another beast entirely to construct one that endures in the listener's memory. I accidentally discovered Holiday (Port St. Willow's debut album) this morning, and I was pleasantly surprised by how rejuvenating it is.

Holiday

One ribbon of ambiance twirls into the other between songs, delicately and with admirable ease. However impressive Port St. Willow's bridges are, though, the sprawling towers of sound in the center of each key track never fail to amaze.

I suppose this sense of amazement stems from this unexplainable feeling that Nick Principe knows what he's doing, and exactly to accomplish it. Emerging out of nowhere, appearing on the Pitchfork radar within no time, it seems that there are people out there that agree about the promising allure behind Port St. Willow. Keep the name in mind, and don't be surprised when Principe returns with a second offering, one that not only trumps the first but establishes a certifiable fanbase.

Nick Principe, the man behind the mask.

Tumblr (with Holiday streaming!) / Facebook