‘Dreaming of the Kelly Pool’ by Mary Lattimore and Paul Sukeena – the latest track to come out of Mexican Summer’s Looking Glass singles series.

Proceeds from the Looking Glass series, “celebrating the human condition through remote connection,” directly benefit the artists or a charity of their choice. Lattimore writes: 

We both lived in Philadelphia for a long time and would spend summers at the Kelly Pool in Fairmount Park, this beautiful Olympic-sized swimming pool which was open to the public but still never crowded. Now, we are next door neighbors and are in quarantine together, along with Paul’s wonderful wife Nicky. We have been reflecting on our time in both Philadelphia and Los Angeles and have been making music together, so our thoughts have been drifting to the memories of past summers not restricted, riding our bikes across a less-populated Philadelphia and feeling that kind of freedom. This song was made for that kind of summer feeling.

Caught by the River editor Diva Harris writes:

The first time I listened to this was at my home-desk – not in Philadelphia or LA, but in Brixton – with the window thrown wide open onto our neighbour’s enormous, bird-busy birch. The music seemed to fit perfectly with the chatterings in the tree, and it felt like the first moment of serenity I’d experienced in a very long time. In an attempt to preserve it, I made a short recording using the Voice Memo app on my phone. Contrary to my expectations, the result is actually clear enough to hear both the music and the birds. 
When I listened to the song a second time, later in the day, it seemed that the birds started up again too. Perhaps they like it and wanted to tell me so, or perhaps it’s just my imagination. It’s not quite nightingales and cellos, nor is it an incredible feat of field recording, but a Spoken Word and Nature Disco mix presented by life, perhaps. In turn I’m posting the recording below, in the hopes that someone else will find a minute’s peace in it too.
I should probably be better at identifying birds by ear by now, but I’m not. I’m sure someone will jump at the opportunity to tell me what I’ve recorded though.