Walt McClements – A Hole in the Fence LP American Dreams Records

“I hope the essence of the record conveys the beauty and wonder of secret worlds,” Los Angeles composer Walt McClements says, discussing the role of subcultural societies on his new LP A Hole In The Fence. Primarily created with an accordion, the album takes notes from contemporary classical, drone, and electronic music. “I think of the record as a fragmented narrative connecting threads of the somewhat hidden worlds I’ve travelled through my life, from underground music and punk communities to train hopping and gay cruising grounds.” Pairing his glacial, meticulous music with personal experiences of artistic, traveling, and queer subcultures, McClements has created an evocative soundtrack, paralleling a lifelong journey stumbling through doorways, portals, and hidden passages to find his place in the universe.

McClements’ desire for adventure on an individual level mirrors the playfulness and experimentation on A Hole In The Fence. Though he had played the accordion for years in folk and indie rock bands, as McClements’ listening habits expanded, so did his artistic ambitions. He admits to not having a serious pedigree in ambient or drone listening, but becoming familiar in recent years with artists who create singular visions out of classical and early music instruments like Kali Malone, Mary Lattimore, and Pauline Oliveros provided growth and newfound compositional interest with the accordion, concentrating on overtones and intervals.