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Sleepwalkers, Part 1

by Chris Koza

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  • Record/Vinyl + Digital Album

    Sleepwalkers on 12" White Vinyl, with a lyrics sheet and full color artwork. More pics will be added when the vinyl arrives! Please note that vinyl will ship on Monday April 29th.

    Includes unlimited streaming of Sleepwalkers, Part 1 via the free Bandcamp app, plus high-quality download in MP3, FLAC and more.
    ships out within 5 days

      $25 USD

     

  • Compact Disc (CD) + Digital Album

    6-panel eco-friendly digipack with lyrics.

    Includes unlimited streaming of Sleepwalkers, Part 1 via the free Bandcamp app, plus high-quality download in MP3, FLAC and more.
    ships out within 5 days

      $15 USD

     

  • Streaming + Download

    Includes unlimited streaming via the free Bandcamp app, plus high-quality download in MP3, FLAC and more.
    Purchasable with gift card

      $8 USD  or more

     

1.
Sleepwalkers 03:50
arm’s length away you say the distance keeps us safe well I drag my legs to your door my body knows something my mind just won’t admit no one ever could change you and only fools would try I guess I never put to rest the sleepwalkers in my mind it’s not your job to play God when the graveyard comes back to life all the wasted time trying to become someone else you taught me a thing or two it took awhile to catch up to where I am now if we had another run we’d blow that scene apart I guess I never put to rest the sleepwalkers in my mind it’s not your job to play God when the graveyard comes back to life no one ever could change you and only I would try I guess I never put to rest the sleepwalkers in my mind it’s not your job to play God when the graveyard comes back to life when the graveyard comes back to life when the graveyard comes back to life
2.
Anagram 03:24
on the theatre marquee yesterday was a name the letters now rearranged to a crass and obscene phrase the patrons couldn’t hold their laughter every finger pointing after those up-to-no-good-kids you’re caught in the middle of it lost and there’s no easy way out they are both your best friends you’re together all the time there’s no secrets you hide save the one that you’ve resigned now you’re drifting, growing distant you’re not alone in this story love is a clever quicksand you’re caught in the middle of it lost and there’s no easy way out words stay the same but the meaning changes you’re all turned around and falling sideways none of the simulations you worked through ended up like this out-of-body and in-between make-believe and the real thing maybe things will all blow over and go back to how they were before if this is all a dream you’re caught in the middle of it lost and there’s no easy way out mmm, now you’re caught in the middle of it lost and there’s no easy way, there’s no easy way out
3.
White Lions 03:31
she speaks it into existence white lions on the lawn glass houses on the hillside lost in reflection playing at real romance fearless and rarefied skydivers in ascension willing to risk their lives for a chance to get close to something fundamental love in ones and zeroes get close to the truth but there’s no understanding what is coming over you chasing illumination blue sapphire chandelier rose petals on the runway appear to disappear for a chance to get close to something accidental love in ones and zeros get close to the truth but there’s no understanding what is coming over you there’s no understanding what is coming over you she speaks it into existence a love you can’t deny she speaks it into existence a love that drives you wild she speaks it into existence a love you can’t define she speaks it into existence a love that gives you life and a chance to get close to something accidental love in ones and zeroes get close to the truth but there’s no understanding what is coming over you
4.
Music to Me 04:04
shadows fall across my face as I walk the city wide windows of empty displays I’m the only one on either side would you trade your dreams for a guarantee to be safe, sound, and secure? would you give your love away for free to go following uncertainty? in the valley between tall buildings where the sunlight doesn’t fall lockstep with the crowded sidewalk everyone lost in their own song and it’s music to me in an age where all that is awaits your fingertips how does one bear the weight and keep from slipping through the cracks? I’m gonna go somewhere and catch my breath where the air is clear and sweet when I find that place and way of being I wonder would you go with me? it the minutes between the hours where time is a broken poem where you’ve always been this person you’ve always known a different song and it’s music to me shadows fall across my face as I walk the city wide
5.
Hush 03:34
I need something to grab onto a gravity that keeps me fastened a role play I can settle into a place not far from home stay with me if you’ve got nowhere else to go I’m too good at being alone I’ve come undone my eyes are open to what’s set in motion daylight’s fading, truths are changing hearts are raging no more waiting words are heavy, bodies ready to let a lightness in all my fears concede to a different path a way I’ve always just walked past now I’m running for it my eyes are open to what’s set in motion and in a little while when we’re still convinced that time is infinite there’ll be a hush there’ll be a hush, hush, hush stay with me if you’ve got nowhere else to go there’s so much that we both don’t know we’ll discover now our eyes are open to what’s set in motion and in a little while when we’re still convinced that time is infinite there’ll be a hush there’ll be a hush, hush, hush
6.
Red Cassette 03:31
she was waiting at the westbound stop fumbling with a red cassette headphones one ear on the other off Robert Smith on her halter top a phone number drawn on the cover of a Sondheim script she won’t wait for an epiphany already got her place by the sea some days it’s easy some days I just want to scream where only you know where to find me room was spinning like a carousel emptied every bottle on the shelf music playing rumbling through the floor sirens outside, a knock on the door but no-one is home they’ve all run deeper into the woods she won’t wait at the palace steps some things you gotta go and get some days it’s easy some days I just want to scream where only you know where to find me staring at the river from the lawn as single spot in a Sunday crowd softly smiling though she’ll never tell you’ll spend a lifetime saying farewell so what would you make of the world if the canvas was blank?
7.
morning show hijinx laugh at their own expense crawling through zip codes in wood-paneled chariots keeping a low profile in case someone is watching like the one that you’ve had your eye on white shirts and blue slacks fall in with all the rest drum up some courage don’t leave it to circumstance if there was a perfect time you’d be the last to know so get back in the race and let’s go only in film does the good side succeed only in song does the party go all night only in fantasy does the spell break only we’re living in real life cue up the mixtape to say what you really mean just get to the weekend and wait for phone to ring when you wish upon a headlight your dreams will be bright start it up, let it roar let it ride only in film does the good side succeed only in song does the party go all night only in fantasy does the spell break only we’re living in real life only we’re living in real life
8.
Man of Stone 04:01
don’t move - you’re OK where you are who is going to push you up and down a hill? you’re fine on your own man of stone don’t cry - you’ll find another way to keep it all inside no-one has to know be the man of stone holding strong weather turns by-the-by while everyone’s inside you’re out there on your own rain, heat, wind or tornado you’ll stay right where you know man of stone breakdance, well that move is not for you who else is going to wait silent by the wall happy not to fall? whether you do or die no-one has to know weather turns by-the-by rain, heat, wind or tornado no surprises though man of stone no surprises though, man of stone don’t let anybody know, man of stone rolling on alone, man of stone rolling on alone, man of stone rolling on alone, man of stone rolling on alone, man of stone rolling on alone, man of stone rolling on alone, man of stone
9.
it’s taken me so long to come around so much is changing I feel like the odd one out I thought I was close to something that I’d always known it vanished overnight so I keep searching places I’ve been for something I didn’t see to show me what I missed you know, I never believed in ghosts but now that I’ve seen one I’m in love again I never thought I would find love again still after all this time spinning out of control, spinning out of control falling forever I don’t want to find the end sure things falter and empires fall so many gods to appease you can’t answer to them all I thought I was close to something that I’d always know then it vanished overnight a certain way of life it’s always been there I’ve been missing out funny, it’s taken me so long to come around now I’m in love again love again I’m in love again I never thought I would find love again still after all this time spinning out of control, spinning out of control falling forever I don’t want to find the end I don’t want to find the end now I’ve found love again
10.
Where We Go 03:19
if you remember me when I’m gone I’ll know somehow my mind wanders somehow my heart wonders if you think of me when I leave I’ll sense it I can’t explain the invisible ways we’re all connected where we go we weave a net around the world in every step captured in every breath a dream you told me about one day long ago when words were cheap roads weren’t so steep our hearts in synch where they will always be if you talk about me at all I’ll hear it somehow my ears ringing is a siren singing when you’re driving through the night I’m with you I can’t account for why we are bound I’ve come to expect it where we go we weave a net around the world in every step captured in every breath a dream you told me about one day long ago when words were cheap roads weren’t so steep our hearts in synch where they will always be where we go, where we go I can’t explain the invisible ways we’re all connected where we go, where we go our hearts in synch where they will always be our hearts in synch where they will always be our hearts in synch where they will always be

about

On Sleepwalkers part 1, Singer-Songwriter Chris Koza scours the SKUF bin for hidden gems and deep cuts, assimilating the shifting narrative of the personal past through media, memories, dreams and possibilities enduringly almost-within-reach. Chris's first solo album since 2014's "In Real Time" is bursting at the seams with sweeping electric guitars and pulsing pianos, while a Roland Sh-101 and Juno-106 subtly lurk in the background. Sleepwalkers part 1 is at its core Americana music in the city; a collection of ten songs following a transit map of dynamic acoustic guitar, expressive vocals, and poetic lyrics that at once ponder, observe, dismiss and celebrate the awkwardness, curiosity, and clarity of youth.

There is the diner you are in, then the diner of your dreams where you see yourself sitting always; constructed of contradictory and corroborating minutia. There is the music over the jukebox; a sound collage of the fleetingly familiar and the unborn. There is the way that the light from a neon sign catches the rainfall and is reflected in wet streets which is both true and transformed. A Sleepwalker is someone who haunts or is haunted by the flux of memory and its overlay with the physical moment.

Sleepwalkers is a double album released in 2-parts. Strategically, given the evolving nature of attention spans and the sheer volume of artistic output available at any given moment, a 2-part release allows for a longer window of opportunity to reach a greater audience with new music. Artistically, part 1 and part 2 function independently in their production and stylistic choices, though complimentary and as singular narrative concept.

Basic tracks were recorded at Wild Sound Studio in NE Minneapolis and engineered by Steve Kaul. Cody McKinney (bass), Richard Medek (drums), and Peter Sieve (electric guitar) along with Chris (acoustic guitar, Rhodes, piano) comprised the live band. Additional tracking and overdubs by Chris at Little Radios, also in NE Minneapolis. Guest vocals include Alicia Christenson, Becky Shaheen, and John Munson. Part 1 was mixed by Brad Bivens and mastered by Tom Garneau.

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released April 5, 2019

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Some rights reserved. Please refer to individual track pages for license info.

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Chris Koza Minneapolis, Minnesota

Both solo and with his band Rogue Valley, Chris Koza has supported and shared the stage with artists such as Brandi Carlile, Ingrid Michaelson, The Jayhawks, Neko Case, Kathleen Edwards, Dan Wilson, Stephen Kellogg, This is the Kit, and Tift Merritt, among others. His song (Rogue Valley) The Wolves and the Ravens was featured in Ben Stiller’s film The Secret Life of Walter Mitty. ... more

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