I am so incredibly happy to share with you the album I have been patiently working on for the past 4 years, "The Mind is the Builder". The Mind is the Builder was written in April & May of 2020 during/around the pandemic lockdown and at the time, the songs poured into my mind more naturally than I had ever experienced before. It almost felt like I didn’t even do anything! Many artists have spoken of music just kind of “being there”, and that they were just in the right position to receive the message - I really think that this was one of those times. Everything felt sped up during that creation period, so I’m really happy I thought to document writing "The Mind is the Builder" from start to finish. For the first time, I had multiple records detailing every part of the album - Demos, song maps, instrument charts, lyric sheets, etc.

I felt particularly amazed by this process because I was actually kind of rusty. I hadn’t written songs like these in 5 years. In fact, from 2015 to 2020 I struggled with writing lyrics in particular, but not the case this time! It really felt like I was able to elevate my songwriting and make songs about Love & Kindness, Consciousness, and Reflection, instead of “Chevy Hounders” and bizarre sci-fi creatures - Though I certainly still love that stuff too! [See “Capricorn Sun” lol] This is why the album feels like something brand new to me: "The Mind is the Builder" feels like the very first mature Larry Wish album, and rather than presenting as a hyper-orchestral mime or a clown or a character like Composerhead, it’s just me being a singer/songwriter. As much as I love the weird and the absurd, I honestly hope that this is the one that people remember of mine.

A year after writing the album, it felt like a good time to record it. I wanted to bring many friends together to make this one with me, so I invited about 20 amazingly talented artists to play the parts that I couldn’t. After deciding on recording the album with the wonderful folks at Mid City Studio, I booked a number of sessions that would take place over the course of 2021-2022. We started with me laying down the drums, piano, organ, & synths, and then we brought in a slew of musical collaborators to record bass, guitars, and horns. A couple sessions come to mind as being particularly fun, as I had come up with a list of 20 prompts for horn players to improvise to. This became the cacophony of the intro track “Seth Speaks” (named after my favorite book), and the end of “Unmute”. It was such a great experience being able to build this album so comfortably in the studio. It’s something I had always dreamt of, and speaking of which: One more special thing about this album is that "The Mind is the Builder" is the very first actual Larry Wish LP, available through Bumpy!

All in all, "The Mind is the Builder" is a big love letter to Music. The album is full of references to the musicians who first inspired me to start writing songs, as well as former bands, books, films, and other gifts that helped get me to who I am now. It was brought to its best form by the hard work and passion of many lovely musicians, and I feel extremely lucky that it exists and that I am able to finally share it with you. I’m reminded again and again and again that if you can think it, it can be, or in the words of Edgar Cayce, “The Mind is the Builder”.

With Love to You and All,
Adam Wish-Werven