RED BOILING SPRINGS “Paternal II” C20 (Nailbat Tapes)


We’ve been here before. Matthew Sullivan’s Red Boiling Springs project tackled the difficulties of parenthood on the first “Paternal,” but he certainly wasn’t done, and who can blame him? The first “Paternal” focused on the events surrounding the birth of his daughter, and contained samples of in utero sounds. “Paternal II” follows the events of the birth of his son two years later, which also included a medical emergency. The Sullivans were clearly unlucky.

But it’s so great to hear these sounds, these heartbeats, the field recordings of a living child. Of course, this being a Red Boiling Springs tape and all, those sounds get processed until they’re heaving fog banks of intense noise and static, mirroring the angst of the whole process. And honestly, why would you do anything differently? It worked the first time, let’s try it again. The Sullivan kids will each have an incredible keepsake documenting their life before birth.



--Ryan