The world’s first

Portland, Oregon saxophonist and composer Jason DuMars has just released an album dedicated to peak oil entitled Songs from Oil City which is available for free download from his site.  The album is based on the premise of reconstructing the music of a long-gone mythical place known as Oil City which was once inhabited by strange creatures who relied on oil to fuel their complex society.  This album entertwines improvised music with ambient sound captures, evading any particular stylistic niche, but leaning heavily toward jazz and post-rock sensibilities.  With only a few exceptions, all of the instruments on the album are acoustic, mirroring a future where amplified instruments and electronic keyboards are a thing of the past.  The album serves as both a reminder and warning that everything we take for granted, including music, can erode into the ocean of history.