Nick Delffs : Presented by Sou’wester Arts

Nick Delffs grew up in Mendocino County, a lawless stretch of coastline that’s hard to get to and, for many, hard to escape. Nick did — emerging in the early aughts as the frontman for Portland band The Shaky Hands, whose sharp, jittery rock was anchored by Nick’s quavering vocals and questing lyrics. The Shaky Hands were mainstays of Portland on the verge of a major shift, and they rode that shift a while, signing to Kill Rock Stars and touring internationally with some of the bigger names in indie rock. But a hiatus in 2011 became indefinite and Nick Delffs was once again cast into the world: working as a sideman, releasing solo records, doing manual labor, going deeper into his spiritual practices, and, crucially, becoming a father.

Becoming a parent can affect different artists in different ways. Nick rode that change with surpassing grace and maturity. 2017’s Redesign, his first full-length under his own name, reflected the transition. In “Song for Aja”, Nick touched on other concerns familiar to those who follow his work: love of the natural world; longing for spiritual and physical connection; the desire to suffer with meaning and exult with abandon, to embrace somehow the world in its maddening contradictions and find the unity at the core.

Childhood Pastimes, his second release on Mama Bird Recording Co., is both more focused and, despite being technically an EP, more ambitious. It’s a four-song cycle — one song with many movements or four songs that bleed into one another, depending on how you hear it — that can be viewed either as a personal journey or an archetypal passage of a human being through four discrete stages: roughly, the movement from childhood innocence into adolescent adventure (The Escape); the sudden immersion into a life of discovery and excitement (The Dream); the first experience of romantic love, followed by the onset of heartbreak, dissolution, breakdown of self (The Affair); the emergence into a new way of thinking, a fresh perspective that encompasses all the suffering and joy into a balanced whole (The Outside).

Nick plays nearly all of the instruments here and the result is a unified aesthetic, born ultimately of his deep-seated love of rhythm: the thrum and throb of the acoustic guitars, the percussive melodic bang of the elegantly-crafted piano lines, and always, always the insistent, driving drums, propelling the record, and the listener, on this journey as the four tracks bleed into one another, one body, one blood, one beating heart. The concept of four songs that are really one suite of music requires a sure hand, and Nick’s never shakes: the way the songs blend together while retaining their distinctiveness — from the poppy exaltation of “The Escape” to the cold intensity, almost like an acoustic Kraftwerk, of “The Affair” — shows a songwriter and musician who has fully grown into his powers.

Those who have followed Nick’s career may see this as a culmination of years and years of honing and fine-tuning his bountiful gifts, and wonder with delight what might come next. For those who haven’t listened to Nick before, Childhood Pastimes is the perfect entry point, a distillation of what’s come before and the promise of a new beginning.

4th Annual ARTS WEEK!

During Arts Week The Sou’wester hosts 30-35 artists and art collectives for a week of residency work culminating in a weekend (Friday and Saturday) of music, studio tours, performances and installations.

Over the past 9 years we have held an event around this time of year to highlight the creative process and the experiential nature of the Sou’wester Residency Program. Each year this event brings amazing artists to this neck of the woods and shines creative light into the darkest heart of winter.

The focus of Arts Week 2023 is SHIFTING CYCLES:

“Our reliance on a known occurrence has been disrupted. This shift is replacing existing patterns and problems. Collective action and individual insight paving our path forward.”

On the weekend, Friday and Saturday March 17th and 18th, 2023 the public will be invited, free and open to all, to tour the grounds and surrounding areas for a weekend full of installations, music, performances and open studios.

(The Sou’wester has regular residencies offered year-round in addition to residency events such as the annual ARTS WEEK. Applications for the Sou’wester Standard Residency are separate from ARTS WEEK and accepted on a rolling basis.)

Thank you to our Arts Week 2023 Sponsors!

Singing in the land:  earth magic, song, and the body 

Thursday, May 25 5-7 pm

 

Join bodyworker, musician, and animist priest ell rieke (they/them) in residency at the Sou’wester for a magical, musical exploration of connection with the earth, our ancestors, and the world of spirit.  Part workshop, part participatory sonic experience, we will spend the first part of our time in conversation, talking through questions like:  what is magic and why does it matter?  Where do songs come from?  Is the earth talking to us?  How can sound and rhythm help us navigate this complicated, painful, beautiful world?  

 

In the second half of our gathering, ell will guide participants in using voice and body to connect with spirit and the earth.  They will teach some songs of the season, from both folk and modern traditions, and then guide a gentle ritual of reverence and celebration for the coming of summer.  You will be invited to sing or hum and move your body, and are also welcome to just sit and experience.  All bodies, voices, and backgrounds are welcome, including kids! 

 

Please bring something to sit on, and cozy layers in case the evening is cool.  You may want to bring a journal and pen, if you like taking notes, and are also invited to bring a special object (that will return home with you) and/or flowers for the group altar. 

QUADRAPHONIC + ACUPUNCTURE + SOUND BATH 

AUGUST 31 • 7PM

Featuring Sonic Ceremonies with Dr. Kade Rose (they/them) of Celestial Window Restorative Arts.

Harmonize your body with the healing waves of a sound bath combined with the flow of intuitive acupuncture.

• $88 WITH ACUPUNCTURE
• $44 SOUND BATH ONLY

Join us along with certified acupuncturist, Kade Rose, here at the Sou’wester Thursday August 31st for a unique wellness experience. This event will be held in our spacious Pavilion on the grounds of the beautiful Sou’wester and will be open to 15 participants. 8 reservations will be for a sound bath and acupuncture combination where Kade will be performing intuitive acupuncture while the sounds of her polyphonic analogue synthesizer offer deep relaxation and realignment. The remaining 7 reservations are for sound bath only where you can lay in a state of deep relaxation while the sound waves wash over you. 

The event will be an hour and a half long and we request you bring your yoga mats, blankets, pillows or anything that will make you more comfortable laying on the floor for an extended period of time. We are very excited to welcome you all to join us in wellness.

 

Grief Retreat with The Portland Grief house

Two night retreat with guided meditations and sound healing

Who/How much: w/Julia Francis and Laura Green of The Portland Grief House $498-807 includes lodging

1:1 Wellness / Acupuncture Sessions

w/ Celestial Window Restorative Arts

$150 / 90 Minute Sessions

December 18, 2023 by Appointment | Text: 971-282-3891 to Book

About Celestial Window:

My work is focused in the lineage of Worsley Five Element Acupuncture, however, in my 8 years of clinical training I studied many modalities and can offer a variety of treatment strategies. Acupuncture is a beautiful craft with techniques for bringing flow to stuck places, and fostering a deeper harmonization within the body. It is based on philosophy that sees the human being as whole, with the full potential for healing as innate. Acupuncture uses a network of physical connections to activate the body’s own healing potential and is supportive for all aspects of life, from pain management, fertility support, digestive disorders, to finding creative expansion and self actualization.

Sessions by Appointment | $33 / Person for 75 Minute Sessions

Text 971-282-3891 to Book

Solstice at Sou’wester

Acupuncture + Sound Bath

“Sound Dérive (Drift)”

An Embodied-Listening-Acupuncture-Sound Bathing-Fluxus-Art-Exercise with Unity Garnish x Feast of The Epiphany

Wednesday, Dec 20, 2023 | 6-7:30pm

Solstice at Sou’wester 

Quadraphonic Acupuncture & Sound Bath

With Star Child x Sonic Ceremonies

Winter Solstice | Thursday, December 21st | 3-4:30pm

• $88 with Acupuncture
• $44 Sound Bath Only

BOOK

Collective Release Fire 

Outside in the trailer court in front of the lodge, we will gather into an expanded moment of presence with the weight of the world, a time of reverence through lively celebration of the complexity of existence in togetherness, where whatever wishes to unfold may do so naturally through the intentional lighting of a fire.  There will be pieces of paper and pens on which to write and reflect and then offer the writings into the fire, instruments with which we can play, and an invitation to donate whatever resources are available, financial or otherwise, to Source Food and Goods, a group offering community aid to the local Palestinian community in Portland, OR .

*No drinks in public. Quiet hours after 10p.