Daiana Feuer on November 7th, 2018

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The title to Orpheo McCord’s ambient album, “Recovery Inhale,” took on new meaning after the Thomas Fire ravaged Ojai, the place he calls home and also the setting that inspired his music. “I decided on the name only months before the Thomas Fire and it turned out my family and I had to leave for almost two weeks post-fire for all the toxic smoke to fully clear out of the valley,” he says. 

The “As Within” video follows McCord on a walk around the burnt remains. “It was completely surreal,” McCord says of the experience. “I have really established a relationship with the land after living here for some time. It was heartbreaking to go to my favorite hiking spots and see everything completely charred.”

Paired with this serene, percussive song, the footage captured by Maximilla Lukacs takes the viewer on a journey not just of the landscape but somewhere inward as well. The little bits of green grass popping up through the debris stirs up a feeling of hope while highlighting beauty in the cycle of nature. “I mostly recorded this album at my home studio in Ojai,” explains McCord. “It is inspired by the vibration of the valley and my day-to-day life here. The flames came within yards of our home and the vibration certainly shifted. The video reflects how much devastation was left behind as the flames moved so quickly through the valley burning more than 300,000 acres. It also reflects how quickly nature rejuvenates itself.”

||| Watch: “As Within”

||| Previously: “Ghost Ship”