In the Randomised Record series, I take us both on an adventure to (re)discover my record collection. Fate decides: whether it be that obscure grunge album I bought recently or that emo rap record from 2017. Nothing is safe from the hands of the randomiser! I will listen to the entire album and highlight my favourite song off of it here on the blog. Do I still enjoy my records as much as when I bought ‘em? Let’s find out. Today, episode 6: ‘Am I An Amaryllis?’ (2022) by Rosa Canina.

Before diving into the story of this record, I have something to confess: the record the randomiser chose today wasn’t actually the one pictured above. Though it did choose this specific album, it went for the signed white label version I also have a copy of in my collection instead, pictured below. As you can probably imagine, I stored the latter somewhere safely for the day it’ll be worth millions of pounds. Ha! Therefore, I figured I’d play the ‘regular’ copy of the album instead.

All jokes aside, the randomiser did a great job choosing this 2022 record by Amsterdam based Rosa Canina. I can imagine this band slipped somewhat under your radar, so let me briefly introduce you to this debut album by this (then) trio. ‘Am I An Amaryllis?’ is an instrumental 8-track-long album containing prog-influenced post-rock by Rosa Canina, a band formed of British guitarist David Gould, American drummer Paul Natale, and Danish bass player Anders Vardinghus. Soon after the release of ‘Am I An Amaryllis?’, Greek synth player Petros Samiotis joined the lot, thus making for a beautifully international mishmash of musical talent.

As mentioned before, ‘Am I An Amaryllis?’ is Rosa Canina’s debut album. Having smacked smooth transitions (‘Catsfoot’ into ‘Cat O’ Nine Tails’), appealing melodies, and an overall well-coherent bunch of songs on this record, it seems like Rosa Canina – how daunting post-rock might sound – is still somewhat approachable for the musical layman. Fear not! Ever since the release of this album, Rosa Canina has dived into an even more drone-heavy soundscape, making their live shows (I managed to catch a few) being full of mystical, ambient sounds, often containing lengthy improvised parts throughout. This 31-minute live recording of ‘Corrosive Cantina’ as shared on the band’s Bandcamp page is a prime example of this.

As if owning a signed white label test pressing isn’t rare enough, the ‘regular’ copy I own of this album happens to be number 1 of a limited 100! Together with owning copy ‘666’ of a 666-run of Dance Gavin Dance’s ‘Afterburner’, it truly makes for a special one in my collection. Not that #1 actually sounds any different than #56 does, but there’s still something to owning copy #1 of a certain record.

All there’s left to say is: give this band a spin. Check out their Bandcamp, which seems to be their go-to spot for sharing music, or otherwise head over to – for example – Spotify to stream the amazing ‘Am I An Amaryllis?’. Or how about ‘waiting list‘? Exactly one week ago, Rosa Canina surprised us with their second full-length and it certainly made it onto my Album of the Year longlist already. Either way, whatever you will end up doing, one thing’s for sure: you will hear a bunch of highly talented and experienced musicians creating music far away from what we consider conventional, therefore making some of the most interesting and original pieces of content out there.