I remained a stranger to the birds (Thomas / Kaufmann-Buhler)

In the middle of 2022, Toby visited Kolmar Park for the first time, after discovering that it was set to be re-dedicated by the city of Chicago in the name of German poet Gertrud Kolmar (1894-1943). There he made field recordings of the place, without a real sense of how they could be used in the future. Two years later Toby and Wayne began collaborating on an approach to this material together with Wayne’s instrumentation; during this time and with the encouragement of Zach Frizzell, they expanded the project’s scope to other material. This included field recordings made in more disparate locations, tied together by Wayne’s approach with the guitar. “I remained a stranger to the birds” is part of a line from Kolmar’s poem “You”. released by Somnimage, March 28, 2025 Wayne Robert Thomas -- electric guitar, processing and effects Recorded at home in Fairland (IN, usa) Toby Kaufmann-Buhler -- field recordings, editing and mixing Field recordings made in Chicago (IL, usa), Porto (Portugal), Lafayette (IN, usa) Track 1 made in memory of Gertrud Kolmar (1894-1943)