London based saxophonist and composer Sue Lynch and multi-instrumentalist Adrian Northover had been acquainted with Los Angeles vocalist and performer Anna Homler for many years before their collaborative project Minaru started to take shape from transatlantic conversations during lockdown. “It was a tricky time,” says Lynch, speaking to Robert Barry in The Wire 476. “We were talking quite a lot over the internet, supporting each other over the lockdown. But I was working on this piece. And then I said to Anna, ‘Why don’t you put some words over this track?’”

This resulted in the eight minute piece “The Silent Wheel”, where Homler speaks of “marinating” in isolation and the feeling of face masks being “wooden doors”. Soon after, the group (which also includes guitarist and bassist Dave Tucker) started working on an album, since released on cassette via Blue Tapes.

The previously unheard track “The Whale” is now shared exclusively via The Wire. ““The Whale” was originally created by Anna Homler in 1981,” says Northover via email. “In 2020 she sent me the recorded text and I put music to it, as part of our Minaru project.” Inspired by a turquoise Cadillac that Homler inherited from her aunt and uncle and subsequently transformed into an art installation, “The Whale” anthropomorphises the car and explores themes such as anonymity and visibility, death and extinction.

Read Robert Barry's interview with Minaru in full in The Wire 476. Wire subscribers can also read the magazine online via the digital library.