Ian Wellman - The Night the Stars Fell (2024)

“The Night the Stars Fell” is a journey that begins in a fire-scarred forest. The trees croak as each new gust of wind passes. Along the way, the remnants of a discovered past emerge; the crashes and bangs of the decaying home and the chorus of a derailed railcar; shortwave radios blaring messages baked in static. Crickets sing their final songs as the world continues to boil. I look for signs of hope, only to find darkness.

The fourth album by Ian Wellman, and his Ash International debut, “The Night the Stars Fell” is built from field recordings from the forests and deserts of Southern California, shortwave radio static, and cassette tape loops layered in distortion. The eleven tracks across the album are carried by the physicality of wind which drove the fires that burned the forests where the sounds were recorded. “The Night the Stars Fell” explores a time of rebuilding, of searching for a new path.

Ian Wellman is a sound artist currently residing in Los Angeles. His recordings have been published by Room40, Dragon’s Eye Recordings, Luminous Drift, and Industrial Coast. Ian is an IATSE Y-1 journeyman, and a member of the LA-based sound collective VOLUME.