BRANDON DE LA CRUZ RELEASES 'THE WILDCAT I CAN'T CALM KEEPS ME FROM MY HOME'
SECOND SINGLE FROM BLUE IRISES IN HOLOGRAM
'The Wildcat I Can't Calm Keeps Me From My Home' artwork
PRESS KIT & ARTWORK
5 September 2025
'The Wildcat I Can’t Calm Keeps Me From My Home' is the third single from Kirikiriroa-based folk musician Brandon De La Cruz’s forthcoming new album, Blue Irises in Hologram, which will be released on October 17, 2025.
Recording for 'The Wildcat I Can’t Calm Keeps Me From Home' took place at a borrowed house overlooking the Waikato River in Kirikiriroa from May-June 2024. Contributors to the track's instrumentation and arrangement include Jim Fulton (Sylvia’s Toaster), Nick Walsh(Big Sigh) and Rachel Hope Peary (Big Sigh).
Describing the genesis of the song, De La Cruz says, "Three years ago I participated in a 10-day silent Vipassana retreat up in Makarau. On day five, I was half-sleeping and dreamt of a tense and traumatised cat that dug its claws into my hand when I tried to help it. The scared cat became an analogy for the frightened energy of my own soul and has given me a context to better understand myself in the years since that first vision."
'The Wildcat I Can’t Calm Keeps Me From Home' was mixed by De Stevens and Brandon De La Cruz in Aotearoa and mastered by Timothy Stollenwerk in Portland, Oregon.
Its release follows that of the double single 'New Signs' / 'How Many Names For Yellow?'on 8 August.
Brandon De La Cruz is a folk artist whose lyricism is uniquely shaped by his interest in mythology, ceremony and RH Blyth’s translations of Japanese haiku. He grew up in the suburbs of Southern California's Inland Empire and has lived and performed regularly in Portland, OR, Berkeley, CA and Aotearoa. De La Cruz’s work has been featured on RNZ’s Bookmarks, as well as Flying Out’s Live Sessions. He has supported such renowned performers as Simon Joyner and Tom Brosseau. Prior records were inspired by the works of Rilke, Joan Didion and Ovid, while his most recent LP, Two Kilos of Blue, drew from local and personal images, and was showcased through performances at Camp A Low Hum, Auckland Art Gallery Toi O Tāmaki and Futuna Chapel in Wellington.
In 2025, De La Cruz was offered a fellowship by the Iowa Writers Workshop, where he’ll spend the next two years preparing his first manuscript of poetry for publication.
Blue Irises in Hologram is available to pre-order via Bandcamp
Tracklist:
War Machine
Memory, No Friend To Me
What A Friend We Have In Jesus
Every Little Boy In Auckland
Blue Irises
Blue Irises in Hologram artwork
PRESS KIT & ARTWORK
CREDIT: RUTH FRIEDLANDER
PRESS KIT & ARTWORK
ARTIST BIO
Brandon De La Cruz is a folk artist whose lyricism is uniquely shaped by his interest in mythology, ceremony and RH Blyth’s translations of Japanese haiku. He grew up in the suburbs of Southern California's Inland Empire and has lived and performed regularly in Portland, OR, Berkeley, CA and Aotearoa. De La Cruz’s work has been featured on RNZ’s Bookmarks, as well as Flying Out’s Live Sessions. He has supported such renowned performers as Simon Joyner and Tom Brosseau. Prior records were inspired by the works of Rilke, Joan Didion and Ovid, while his most recent LP, Two Kilos of Blue drew from local and personal images, and was showcased through performances at Camp A Low Hum, Auckland Art Gallery Toi O Tāmaki and Futuna Chapel in Wellington.
In 2025, De La Cruz was offered a fellowship by the Iowa Writers Workshop, where he’ll spend the next two years preparing his first manuscript of poetry for publication. His fourth album, Blue Irises in Hologram will be released on 17 October 2025.
Please direct press and programming enquiries to:
Sarah Illingworth
sarah@goodluckmansion.com
+642041387342