Contemplations in the Desert is an instrumental album born amidst the sweltering sun, dust, and nothingness of Southern California. Kate Ramsey and Ruben Gonzales of Rose Haze set out for nowhere to record a fully improvised collection of tunes using all analog gear.
Unsurprisingly, the desert was a pretty brutal environment for doing much of anything, much less recording an album, but that’s precisely what intrigued the duo. The idea sprung from their desire to satiate a pandemic ennui and escape for a bit. While battling heat and fatigue, and running from rattlesnakes and swarms of bees, they found sanctuary. Freely writing and recording music out in the wild frontier was an unforgettable experience punctuated by an absolute tranquility.
The duo brought two guitars, one harp, several effects pedals, a vintage synth, a video camera, and a two-track recorder. With no preconceived notions, they tracked the experience as it felt, looked, smelled, tasted, and sounded, off and on throughout the two slow-moving days. Weeks went by with each dense hour. Their studio was a small teepee on a ranch. A few guests milled about the area enjoying the music but keeping their distance. The duo ran a long extension cord from the main house to power their musical mission. The sessions began with serious meditation, but as they continued recording, Kate and Ruben began to shift into more humorous and light-spirited sounds as they grew in delightful delirium.
Between tracking music, Ruben filmed Kate wandering the grounds swinging a katana dressed in a suede fringe jacket, cowboy boots, and a stetson, playing harp in a random boat on top of a plateau, or dancing around on stilts with the mountains in the distance. Why? Because they could.
The days were filled with music, art, and contemplations. Contemplations of dreams, childhood, romances, hardships, moments in time. Contemplations of self. Contemplations on how our ancestors may have lived. Contemplations on how Hollywood shaped history. Contemplations of existence. Contemplations of gratitude in music. And at night, contemplations while gazing up at the brightest of stars in the desert.
Rose Haze is the ethereal experimental music project of Kate Ramsey. Ever-evolving over the years, the group has encompassed a vast array of sonic soundscapes and undergone several supporting lineups. Elements of ambient drone, dreampop, shoegaze, psychedelic rock, post-rock, and soulful jazzy expressions all make an appearance in Rose Haze compositions and performance. Based in Oakland, CA, Kate is supported by Ruben Gonzales (guitar and bass), Yoko Miyakawa (viola, electric violin, and bass), and Dustin Coker (drums).