Derivatives

Derivatives, a new collection from William Fitzsimmons, is a multicoloured re-imagining of several prominent tracks from The Sparrow and the Crow, Fitzsimmons' well-received 2009 release on Naim Edge (UK) / Downtown Records (US).

Exploring both love and loss, The Sparrow and The Crow intimately chronicled Fitzsimmons divorce, and could be best described as a confession and apology to his former wife. The album was named iTunes US' Best Singer-Songwriter Album that same year.

Derivatives contains several remixes of Fitzsimmons largely folk-inspired tunes - revisited and remixed in an electronic fashion - while still retaining the emotional and heartfelt core of William's songs.
 
"I wanted to allow people the opportunity to experience these songs and these ideas in ways that weren't necessarily coated in the melancholia in which they were originally written.  Over time I saw people actually understanding the songs in much brighter - even optimistic - ways, and I wanted to chase that feeling.  The songs were written from a certain place, but I never wanted to keep them there." William Fitzsimmons (2010)

The Sparrow and The Crow full length has been greeted with significant critical acclaim on both sides of the Atlantic. The Washington Post called it a  "...doleful but delicately lovely album", while the Boston Herald added, "Powerfully heart-wrenching and yet so delicate you fear a breath might blow it right out of the CD player, singer-songwriter Fitzsimmons' chronicle of his divorce is a near-masterpiece. Recalling both the cornhusker folk-rock of early Joe Henry and the doomed intimacy of Nick Drake, TSATC makes art and beauty out of tragedy without selling the tragedy short..."

Produced by Marshall Altman