Great Lake Swimmers, who are "notorious" for their unconventional recording locations, recorded
Lost Channels in a variety of locations in and around the
Thousand Islands, including
Singer Castle near
Hammond, New York. The band was originally invited to the Thousand Islands area by Ian Coristine, a historian and
aerial photographer from the area, after he heard the band on
Stuart McLean's radio program
The Vinyl Cafe. When
Tony Dekker and the band were prepared to record a new album, they accepted Coristine's invitation and asked him if there were any "interesting spaces in the area"; one of these suggested locations was Singer Castle. into his songs; the track "Singer Castle Bells" actually consists entirely of the castle's hourly chimes. This incorporation was noted by Sarah Liss of the CBC, who wrote that "[t]he delicately layered banjo plucking and resonant Hammond organs that surge on the jubilant chorus of 'Pulling on a Line' draw you right into the room where the song was recorded." Dekker has explained in concert that "Concrete Heart" was written for a project in which various Canadian musicians were asked to write songs about Toronto architecture, and "The Chorus in the Underground" was written about a concert by Canadian indie rock band
A Northern Chorus. ==Reception==