Maps by Driftwood

 Nick Ashwood and Aviva Endean have worked together before. Now, through their new release under the wings of Room40 we have a chance to see a different narrative that they have developed together.

Seven compositions which they released under the moniker Driftwood are a perfect blend and a compromise between tonality and experimentation. Pump organs which have been re-tuned in a microtonal way, as well as clarinets and guitars set up the structure and the tone bar high. 

Improvised music that actually holds on the whole landscape of sounds together and creates a microcosm which is just not that easy to escape from once you savour it.

Modular synths , guitars plugged into effects loop and contact microphones used here add up an extra set of layers to what they have already built before. 

It is a journey into a realm of sensations that is both rare and impossible to imagine if it wasn’t for Nick’s and Aviva’s musical minds. Serene and dense and dynamic and …. All those together. Please play on repeat.

A Note from Aviva

Following our 2024 self-titled release, Nick and I were compelled to make another record, expanding on the distinctive sound world we have found as the duo Driftwood.

Grounded in the unique instrumentation of two microtonally re-tuned pump organs, alongside clarinets and guitars, the sonic landscape of Driftwood has become a welcoming place for us to inhabit together. The distinctive characteristics of these instruments, as well as the challenge of playing multiple instruments simultaneously, have become a frame we've leaned into more and more, trusting the vitality of their combined resonance to lead us further into uncharted paths of improvisation.

For our second album, we wanted to incorporate additional elements from each of our solo practices into our sound: modular synth, effects pedals, electric guitar and contact mic’s (because playing two instruments at the same time wasn’t enough for us!)

In ‘Maps’, electronics are subtly worked back into the original improvisations, saturating the live instrumentation with bass undertones and signal processing, pushing the sound into more otherworldly realms.

Sometimes the pieces hint toward song-like forms, with repetitive guitar ostinatos lulling the music to the edge of familiarity, while other times the drones and harmonies blur, creating the ground from which glimpses of folk-like melodies surface, as if from a long-forgotten dream. 

credits

releases June 12, 2026

Nick Ashwood: Pump Organ, Guitars, Electronics

Aviva Endean: Pump Organ, Clarinets, Electronics

Recorded by Driftwood at Punctum ICU on Dja Dja Wurrung country, Castlemaine, and Wurundjeri country, Naarm/Melbourne, Australia

Mixed and Mastered by Joe Talia

Thanks to Lawrence English, Punctum Inc. Genevieve Fitzgerald, Joe Ferguson, Justin Marshall, Melanie Evans, Tails, Bubble and Baby Cat.

This project has been assisted by the Australian Government through Creative Australia, its principal arts investment and advisory body.

https://room40.bandcamp.com/album/maps