4 Track Songs

This is the third full-length release by Peter Broderick for the Type label. In just a few short years, the multi-instrumentalist, singer-songwriter, composer and all-round Renaissance man has shot from being a darling of the underground to something far more substantial. Constantly touring, Peter has accrued fans far and wide with his alluring folk songs and gorgeous post-classical compositions - but all this had to start somewhere.

A few years ago, Peter sent Type a package containing all his material prior to writing 2008's Float - two CD-Rs, lovingly hand-labeled 4 Track Songs. Recorded to tape using only a cheap microphone, Peter assembled these tracks as and when they came to his head. From delicate piano improvisations to fully-fledged songs more reminiscent of Home, this is a charming and heart-warming portal into Peter's early creative process. More than that though, these songs are so defiant in their hazy, lo-fi beauty, that they stand on their own as pieces that can never possibly be repeated. Moving from track to track with all the grace of that chunky stop button on a cassette recorder, we are treated to both volumes of Peter's early recordings, and although they might have been released before, they actually never sold a single copy.

Through dedications to get-well-soon messages to simple musings on life, each song seems to come straight from the heart and is untroubled by the trappings of modern production. This is pure, simple and ineffably beautiful music which shows the beginnings of a truly special talent.