Currents is the follow-up to Trotting Bear’s 2011 EP Morning. This collection of four songs reveals a new direction for lead singer and songwriter Andy Berkhout.Featuring the touring band from Morning (with long-time contributor Joanna Laws Landis on vocals, and John Donovan on guitar and backing vocals), Currents expands on the group’s previous sound, layering lush vocal harmonies and synthesizers over traditional folk instrumentation.Although Berkhout has lived in Saint Louis for the past three and a half years, he returned to his home state of Wisconsin to record the foundations of Currents. “These songs have a lot to do with Lake Michigan. The natural movement and sound of the water influenced our musical choices a lot,” says Berkhout. “I was feeling pretty landlocked at the time, so I drove up North to Manitowoc to start the recording process for these songs.” Berkhout later combined his early recordings with parts performed by his bandmates in Saint Louis and Dallas, Texas.Currents was mastered by TW Walsh and will be released on Jumproping Bird Records on March 5, 2013.