EIC's 10Q's w/ The Stargazer Lillies

"..dive deep into a kaleidoscopic pool of reverb, fuzz, heavenly drones, downer bass lines, and endearing vocals..."

The Stargazer Lillies

Celestial Savants

The Stargazer Lillies Bio:

The Stargazer Lilies slow motion bathing through space music is like sun glistening on the water in sound, ambient rock for daydreamers to bob their heads to. The Northeastern Pennsylvania based trio of guitarist/bassist/drummer/producer, John Cep, singer/bassist, Kim Field, and live drummers EJ DeCoske and Johnny Lancia, bring back the raw rock primal gaze, no bullshit sunshine haze. The gazey dance floor where Soundpool, John & Kim’s previous band, dwelled lies behind them, while The Stargazer Lilies cosmic ambient arena lies ahead. Soundpool released three full-lengths in the last half decade, two on Aloft & Quince, and one on Killer Pimp. They shared the stage and in some cases toured with the likes of: Chapterhouse, Ulrich Schnauss, A Place to Bury Strangers, Asobi Seksu, School of Seven Bells, Black Moth Super Rainbow, Tobacco and Robin Guthrie to name a few. The Stargazer Lilies streamline and minimize Soundpool down to just the bare essentials, ridding themselves of the superfluous & getting down to the essence of what The Stargazer Lilies are: ~butterfly wings, slowly beating guitars enveloping the listener, ethereal breathy female vocals floating on a melody , rocked out bossa nova beats and bad ass bass throwing down the rhythm.​ This new direction, like minimalism, gains strength by taking away and paring the instrumentation down to create vast vistas of sound. Their debut album 'We Are The Dreamers' on Graveface Records was released Oct 22nd, 2013 with Tobacco of Black Moth Super Rainbow curating the release.​

Hello, how are you?
Kim: We just woke up… Having some coffee… Feeling pretty good this morning.
John: Fine… thanks for asking, Ray! Have to say thanks for being a long time supporter of Kim and I!
EIC: Thank YOU for sharing your talent with my ears;]

What are you currently listening to?
Kim: At this moment we're listening to the sound of silence. Lately we've had side 4 of Stars Of The Lid's 'The Ballasted Orchestra' on our turntable on repeat. It was literally on repeat for like 3 days/nights solid after coming off of a string of gigs. Maybe we were too lazy… but it was just suiting our decompression.
John: What Kim said.

What or whom inspired you the most to begin this project?
Kim: A string of unfortunate and sad events led us to start writing a series of songs. Those songs inspired the project. We started The Stargazer Lilies because of the songs we were writing.
John: Soundpool (our previous band) had become too big of a production for the level of success we had achieved… so I think we were looking for a way to strip it down. As I recall the original plan was to have Mark (Soundpool's synth player) on bass and James (Soundpool's drummer) on drums for the new direction. But I think those guys were a hint burnt out on the whole "being in a band" thing… so we forged ahead with the two of us. Kim picked up the bass and we recruited Lauren Andino to play drums live. We currently have two different drummers we play out with, Ej DeCoske and Johnny Lancia

Care to shed some light on your debut LP; theme, favorite track(s), etc?
Kim: It's hard to have a favorite track of your own. They're all like your children. Maybe people have favorite children. But you love them all. Even if they make you insecure, sad, angry etc. Right now my relationship with the songs is more from playing them live. I have more fun playing some than others simply because my stage of playing them is more mature. The first song I learned on bass was "Endless Days" it's still one of my most challenging to play live…. but I sort of love it for that.
John: I think it's a very melancholy album… much more so than the uptempo sort of Shoegaze we were doing in Soundpool. We really poured or hearts and souls into this album more than any other we've ever done. There was a lot going on in our personal lives and I think the challenges we were facing are reflected in the material on this album.

Will you be touring extensively for said release?
Kim: We have a lot of touring planned for this Winter/Spring. We'll be going out on a Graveface Records month long U.S. & Cananda tour in February with The Casket Girls, Dreamend and other Graveface bands. We're touring extensively with Tobacco in the Spring throughout the U.S. as well. Still working on Europe/Asia.

Got any other projects we should know about?
Soundpool is our former project. We're on hiatus now but still writing for that project for some future possible release.

Whom in your opinion is currently the most underrated Shoegaze project right now?
Kim: Oh, boy. There are so many Shoegaze bands. I don't even know all of them there are so many. When we first started Soundpool there were just a couple of hand fulls of new Shoegaze bands world wide. That was back in the days of MySpace and a community started really quickly. We all sort of knew each other via online. We had the chance to go to the U.K. and play a festival in Bristol where a pretty good amount of the original "NUgazers" were playing and were able meet a bunch of the bands in person. Presents For Sally, The Fauns, 93 Million Miles From The Sun, Orange Yellow Red, also Damon And Naomi played that festival… others I'm forgetting since it was a long time ago… That same tour we played with Asobi Seksu and Ulrich Schnauss in London. We'd actually met Ulrich previously since John and I used to throw loft parties in NYC and Ulrich actually flew all the way over from the U.K. to come to one of them since he was so excited about the band line up which was Soudpool, Auburn Lull, Elika and Arms And Sleepers.
Now there are so many bands in this genre I can't keep up with them. There's a lot of talent.  I think it's too hard to pick out one band I think is underrated.
John: If we're talking about underrated bands in Shoegaze… I think we have to mention the band Medicine who along with MBV released a new album this year for the first time in decades. It's a killer album but it didn't receive the hype the new MBV album got. Shoegaze music in general is underrated though… from the very beginning it was overshadowed by Grunge and then Britpop. So yeah… I'd say the genre as a whole is underrated.

What movie would work best on mute while listening to you music?
John: The song "How We Lost" actually goes perfectly with the climactic shoot-out scene in "The Good, The Bad And The Ugly" for some weird reason.

You can only keep/listen to ONE album for the rest of your life ..which album would it be?
Kim:  Probably Stars of the Lid's 'The Ballasted Orchestra'. It sort of makes you feel like you're floating in space. I don't have a "favorite" album, though. I have a lot of favorites.
John: That would be a good way to make you sick of listening to your favorite album!

Are you living your dream?
Kim:  Once we don't have all the stress in our lives that we have in order to just survive and once I don't feel like even with all that stress that we're always teetering right on the edge... I think I'll feel like we're living our dream. We're squeezing dream time in as much as possible in the meantime.
John: There are moments of living the dream… like when we're on the road etc. but overall… we are not yet living the dream. When touring becomes lucrative enough so we don't have to do anything else for income… then I think we'll be living the dream.

Thanx Kim & John ..and Michelle too!

The Stargazer Lillies recently their debut LP, I STONGLY recommend you give that a spin...

EIC's 10Q's w/ Loscil

"..minimal arrangement, slow movements in tone, evocation of a particular environment and place..." 

Loscil

Pelagic Milieu

Loscil Bio:

Born in Canada, Scott Morgan apparently appropriated his Loscil alter ego from the operation code within the sound synthesis system Csound. Although he admits he rarely actually uses Csound to create his compelling minimalist recordings, he asserts that looping and oscillating are the basics of his music-making process. Loscil’s debut, Triple Point, was named after the scientific term for the temperature where a material can exist with its solid, liquid, and gas phases all in equilibrium. Based on a collection of demos entitled A New Demonstration of Thermodynamic Tendencies, the album takes the titles of its minimalist dub/techno/ambient-inspired tracks from the language of thermodynamics, the science that investigates the conversion of heat into mechanical force or energy and vice-versa. However, Morgan has confessed that track titles such as "Hydrogen," "Enthalpy," and "Discrete Entrophy" were lifted from a book bought in a second-hand store and "presented as a sort of false document on thermodynamics" rather than having an explicit correlation with the music. Morgan studied music at Simon Fraser University, Vancouver, facilitating the musician’s exposure to 20th century experimental composers like John Cage and Stockhausen (while, incongruously, Morgan simultaneously played drums for a series of indie bands). Drawing stated influence from contemporary post-techno musicians such as Oval and Wolfgang Voigt’s Gas, as well as early electronic music pioneers such as Brian Eno and Raymond Scott, Triple Point’s fluctuating tones and pulses are explicitly intended to drift between the intuitive and the intellectual. Perhaps echoing descriptions of Loscil's music as deep and oceanic, the follow-up, Submers, looked to underwater craft for its emotional and thematic coherence. Each of the track titles was named after a submarine, such as "Argonaut I," "Nautilus," and "Le Plongeur." The release closed with a touching requiem for the crew of ill-fated Russian nuclear vessel Kursk. For 2004’s First Narrows, which was inspired in part by the first gap in the entrance to the Burrard Inlet, Morgan collaborated with other musicians, an approach he repeated for 2006’s Plume. Released in 2010, Endless Falls was another step forward, featuring vocals courtesy of his Destroyer bandmate Dan Bejar on its final track. 2012's Sketches from New Brighton took its name an oceanside park in Vancouver that was considered to be the city's birthplace. Under the moniker of Loscil Sound Design, Morgan creates interactive music and sound design for websites, CD-Rs, film and video projects, and "ambient environments."

Hello, how are you?

I'm well, thanks.

What are you currently listening to?

Simon Scott gave me his 'Navigare' CD when we met in Prague and I've been listening to that a lot. Really nice work.

Is there a story behind the band name?

"Loscil" is lifted from a computer music language called Csound.  It is a function that loosely means "looping oscillator" and can be used to loop sampled sound… I thought it was a nice, simple, abstract name that encapsulates all that I do with computer music.

Care to shed some light on your latest release 'Intervalo'; theme, favorite track, etc?

'Intervalo' came about through a live collaboration with Kelly Wyse (pianist) while playing Rafael Irisarri's Substrata Festival in Seattle in 2012. I retrofit a few pieces to included the piano ("Endless Falls", "Hastings" "Sunrise") and we also recorded some works that were specifically written with the piano in mind including the Harold Budd tribute, "Rye Fields" and the Lunar Caustic soundtrack, "City Hospital".  In the end, I was so happy with the results that I decided to record and release it myself as a special edition.

Is there a reason you didn't release this one through Kranky?

Partly because I just had a release come out on Kranky in the fall and wanted to get this out right away to bring on tour, but also because it's reworked material and something more suited to a limited edition which is not really something Kranky does.

Speaking of Kranky, whom/who is you favorite Kranky artist of all time?

Wow,  tough call but it's probably a close tie between Stars Of The Lid and Pan American.

Got any other projects we should know about?

I have a collaboration with bvdub in the can that will be coming out on Glacial Movements later this year. I also have a 7" single being pressed right now on my friend's label JAZ records. That should be available soon. I've commissioned a series of remixes of the track "Second Narrows", which was written as a soundtrack to an iPad game called 'Hundreds'. The collection of 100 minutes of remixes is currently being mastered and will be released very soon via bandcamp.

What movie would work best on mute while listening to you music?

Hmm. Perhaps 'Stalker'.

You can only keep/listen to ONE album for the rest of your life ..which album would it be?

John Cage's 4'33" (OK, I'm cheating).

Are you living your dream?  I am living one of my dreams.

I still dream of owning a specialty farmhouse brewery one day.

Thanx Scott!

Loscil recently released 'Intervalo', you will go buy that now.

EIC's 10Q's w/ Implodes

"..tell me you didn't get goosebumps.." 

Implodes

Gloomy Semblance

Implodes Bio:

There are some musical traditions - ancient ones - that are grounded in the natural soundscape; the everyday sounds of life arranged into patterns, attempts at mimicking the whoosh of wind, the howls of an animal, the crack of thunder, the thump and scrape of a rice mortar. We emerge into the world having been exposed to these sounds, along with the vicissitudes of our mothers' heartbeats, and we connect to them as we grow. To the extent that we can train ourselves to remove subjective notions about music, we can find musical potential in virtually every sound.

Some prehistoric ancestor slithered out of the ocean and its perceptions of reality were changed forever. Murky ribbons of light were replaced by the warm glow of the sun, rhythms dampened by seawater became sharp and brazen in the air. These sounds and images from eons ago stamped themselves indelibly into our consciousness and have remained there as we have evolved. The band Implodes has, on their previous albums, tapped into the deep psychic recesses where our sonic memories first took shape. They have played the part of the ancient ancestor, lying submerged in the shallows, waiting to make its gambit onto dry land and into a new world. With their new album, Recurring Dream, Implodes breathes fresh air. Melodies that were once distant echoes are now suffused with energy and clarity of purpose, submerged rhythms now walk in the light of day. Implodes does not, however, eschew its heritage. Heaviness abounds. The band has not abandoned the crushing pressure of the deep, dark places. But Recurring Dream breaches the thin membrane that contained its previous efforts and preys unmolested in its new environment. There has always been an organic component to Implodes' music, and not just because the band is comprised of humans. Its music is tied to those very earliest of our sonic traditions, to the sounds of Earth and space and deep water and simple machines. Recurring Dream is about waking up in the dark and witnessing the slow birth of consciousness, still tethered to fantasies and nightmares, and walking into the unknown.

Hello, how are you?

J:    I'm fine, 'cause I know that the Lord is coming soon...

E:    Hi, ready for Spring!

K:    Sleepy, starting to get hungry...

M:    Having a beer, so I'm good..

What are you currently listening to?

J:    Krzysztof Penderecki's "Magnificat"

E:    I've been enjoying Kevin Ayer's "The Confessions Of Dr. Dream And Other Stories," the self-titled Troller LP, Jesse Ware, and the beautiful album by Harold Budd & Cocteau Twins "The Moon And The Melodies."

K:  "Tomorrow’s Achievements: Parry Music Library 1976-86", Streetwalker "Future Fusion", Ruth White "Flowers Of Evil"

M:    Fielded 'Nineteen Thirty Thirty'

What specifically was "imploding" when you began this project?

J:    Nothing for me. I don't think.

E:    That might be a better question for the boys from the 'burgh. They started the band and I was asked to play after James moved to California. It seemed like Matt had a lot of ideas he was recording at home and he asked Ken and Justin to join him in making them expansive, lush compositions.

K:    I think the band name we originally picked was in the process of implosion at the time.

M:    Sobriety

Care to tell us a little bit about your latest release 'Recurring Dream'; theme(s), favorite track(s), etc.?

J:    It just seemed very natural to follow the last record with these songs.  I really enjoyed what Emily added in the process too.

E:  This is, technically, the first album I contributed to start to finish. So, I relished the process of recording with Bill Skibbe and mixing with Jason Ward. I think the theme was, for me, apparent only after it was all put together. The name of the album was inspired by a Neil Young song that references a dream he often has and I thought that our songs are a continuation of a sound/vision that Implodes may collectively hear and see.

K:    This record is more sonically complex than our first. There is a greater variety of textures and we spent a lot of time organizing them in the mix. It feels cinematic to me.

M:    I think 'Black Earth' was much more internal and claustrophobic. The recording was more or less finished before we played our first show. 'Recurring Dream' is more external and it breathes much more. most of the songs were fleshed out playing live.

Will you be touring pretty extensively for said release?
J:    Would be nice.  Probably not though.
E:   We plan on touring some, I don't know about "extensively." I would love to have that opportunity.
K:    As much as we are able to. I would love to do a European tour.

What's your favorite Kranky release of all time?
J:    That's tough.  There's so much that I don't know, but I really like Cloudland Canyon's 'Lie In Light' - it feels like church... in a good way. And my dance rock obsession makes it impossible to forget Out Huds' 'Let Us Never Speak Of It Again'.
E:    I was a Godspeed! fan in high school but didn't look in to the label at the time. Later I was reacquainted with the label when I was working at a record store in New Orleans and I stumbled upon Labradford's 'E Luxo' So. Over time, I have revisited the Stars Of The Lid and Growing albums and, ultimately, really was drawn to the Grouper albums. So, if I had to choose, it would be a new one, 'The Man Who Died On His Boat.'
K:    Stars Of The Lid "Avec Laudenum"
M:    Stars Of The Lid 'Tired Sounds…'

Got any other projects we should know about?
J:    Always making different music with different friends. I try to play a lot.
E:    I am in a band from Chicago called Mayor Daley. It's a three piece Pseudo-Prog outfit that allows me to stretch out and be a little busier on bass. I like to record solo at home, as well, which are mostly guitar compositions with effected vocals.
K:    I have a solo record coming out on Kranky later this year.  I also have a project with Alex Barnett called “Runawei”
M:    I play off and on with Papa M. Justin plays in a band called El Major.

What movie would work best on mute while listening to your music?
J:    The Black Hole
E:    Alien, The Shining or The Thing would all do just fine.
K:    The Brood
M:    2001..

You can only keep/listen to ONE album for the rest of your life ..which album would it be?
J:    That's easy - '1999'. Seriously.
E:    Pretending this is not an impossible question, my answer would be ONE cassette with The Cure's 'Faith' on the A side and Bob Dylan's 'Desire' on the flip.
K:   Robert Ashley 'Private Parts'
M:    Neil Young 'Decade' is that cheating?

Are you living your dream?
J:    I'll tell you when I wake up.
E:    Sometimes it feels like a dream.
K:    I try to keep things pretty dreamy.
 M:    Still playing, so yeah

Thanx Brian & Implodes!

Implodes just released 'Recurring Dream' (in my opinion their best album yet!), do yourself a favor and get that NOW.

REVIEW: Bryter Layter - Two Lenses

7.25 out of 10

Find it here.

Bryter Layter are an Ambient (side) project consisting of a couple veterans in said field. Joseph Raglani (Kranky) and Mike Pollard (Arbor) met each other at one faithful probably awesome/cosmic event/music festival and have since then remained in-contact sending each other random tracks. What began as a tiny concept grew into a finalized release. The final product (one of a few actually) being 'Two Lenses', which is their first LP and quite possibly/sadly maybe their last..:[

'Two Lenses' begins with a droney piece that could easily fit in on any Stars Of The Lid album. A little spacey and dark, a little melancholy and organic. Throughout the album's entirety a spacey vibe lingers, all the while highly influential sounds peak their heads in-between the haze. Sometime SOTL, sometimes Eno (his Ambient side), and sometimes Jarre (only in slow-mo). As far as I can tell mostly synthesizers are used, but in a most "un-robotic" way, I really can't stress "organic" enough. The entire album gives you the sense of riding a slow moving asteroid though a star-bursting galaxy, all the while a tiny plant is blooming and blowing amidst a synthetic breeze right next to you. This plant is your friend and your savior, let it grow with you, and let it guide you.
 

Nice chill background tones, good for focusing and challenging your senses.

Standout Tracks: First Light, Second Light, Closing

EIC's 10Q's w/ Felix

"..gentle Chamber Pop that comes off as delicate and somewhat traumatic/romantic.."

Felix

Merciful Crib (for an Overburdened Congregation)

Felix Bio:

Felix is the musical duo of Lucinda Chua and Chris Summerlin, who make their home in England.  Lucinda Chua is a classically trained pianist and cellist, has been a touring member of Stars of the Lid, and is an accomplished photographer. Chris also plays guitar in the rock band Lords.

Hello, how are you?

I am very well thank you, currently getting ready to leave London for the USA.

What are you currently listening to?

Two recent albums I've been really into are St Vincent's 'Strange Mercy' and Feist's 'Metals' album. From the vaults, I always have time for 'Rumors' by Fleetwood Mac and and just about anything by Otis Redding.

Care to tell us about your recent release ..overall theme, how it came about, were there any snags, etc.?

My new album is called 'Oh Holy Molar'; a collection of short songs about superstitious rituals and omens that help make sense of events that happen in life. I had the privilege of working with Peter Fletcher who recorded the album in an converted cinema from the 1940s, above an abandoned dental laboratory. I was joined by guitarist and long time collaborator Chris Summerlin with the new addition of drummer Neil Turpin - whose work I have been a huge admirer since watching him play live with Leeds trio Bilge Pump back when Felix first started out.

Do you have a favorite track from said release?

When we play live I really enjoy playing the title track, there's a real kick of energy driven by the tight pulse of the drums, something we didn't really explore with the first album. On the flip side I have a soft spot for the "Blessing". When I was writing that track I'd been studying the "Beatitude"s and "Da Pacem Domine" by Arvo Part with my choir - I got really into polyphonic singing from Estonian and Georgian folk music.

Will you be touring for this release?

I will be coming out of hibernation to open for Yann Tiersen on the first leg of his tour of North America..

Got any other/new side projects we should know about?

I've been collaborating with film maker Andrew Telling who created a short film for Blessing Parts I & II, we'll be working on some more projects in future. I have almost finished recording a covers album which I hope to release in some shape or form early next year - expect anything and everything from Hendrix and the B52s to Irma Thomas and Portishead.

Who's your favorite Kranky artist?

My favourite Kranky project at the moment has to be A Winged Victory For The Sullen - hands down one of the most incredible ensembles I have seen or heard in a long while. Adam and Dustin have something really special going on and I look forward to the future of their collaboration. On the whole, Kranky have some great artists on their rosta right now - Benoit Pioulard, Grouper/Tiny Vipers, Tim Hecker and of course SOTL who really helped me out before I signed - it's a real honor to be affiliated with these names.

If you could re-score any movie or TV show of your choice what would you choose and why?

It would have to be something by Terrence Malick, it'd be a dream to score for him. His films consistently blow me away; the way he presents these intimate narratives so beautifully and eloquently whilst all the time relating to a bigger picture. But his choice of music is pretty spot on as it stands, you can't really beat a bit of Carl Orff in Badlands!

You can only keep/listen to ONE album for the rest of your life ..which album would it be?

There is a really great recording of the Borodin Quartet playing Ravel's String Quartet in F and the Shos 8. I must have bought that CD when I was about sixteen and I still listen to it now with the same enthusiasm.

Are you living your dream?

Ask me at the end of tour!

Thanx B & Lucinda!

Felix are currently one of the more underrated Kranky bands, perhaps when the covers album comes out they will get more of the respect they truly deserve...

EIC's 10Q's w/ Christina Vantzou

"..minimal/basic beauty.."

(Photo Credit: Julie Calbert)

Christina Vantzou

Quiescent Grace

Christina Vantzou Bio:

Christina Vantzou is an artist, musician, and composer. Born in Kansas City, she attended the Maryland Institute College of Art in Baltimore (1997-2001) and moved to Brussels in 2003 where she currently resides. Over the past decade Christina has made drawings, prints, animations, videos, and video installations. In recent years sound has become a key aspect of her artistic identity. In 2003, Christina met Stars of the Lid's Adam Wiltzie and together they formed The Dead Texan (Kranky). After several years of touring with The Dead Texan becoming a touring member of Sparklehorse (summer 2007) Christina started making music of her own. Over a three-year period, using synthesizers, samples, her own voice, and working by ear, with Reason, and a homemade library of orchestral samples, Christina meticulously pieced together a 45-minute music composition. In 2010 she began working with Minna Choi (director of Magik*Magik orchestra), who translated the digital score to sheet music for a seven-piece ensemble. This collaboration culminated in recording sessions with Magik*Magik at Tiny Telephone in San Francisco. The album was mixed and mastered in Brussels and was released on Kranky on October 24, 2011. Titled Nº1, it is the first installment of a planned series of recordings by Christina with an orchestra component. As a whole, Nº1 includes the release of a CD, a film, and a selection of remixes by various artists.

Hello, how are you?
I'm very fine thank you.

What are you currently listening to?
In the last 24 hours I've listened to Debussy, Fuck Buttons, Laurie Spiegel and Danzig.

Why the length of time between The Dead Texan and now, what prompted your "return"?
I didn't really seem like a timeout to me....I've been working steadily, nose to the grindstone, it just wasn't publicly visible until the release of Nº1.

Speaking of The Dead Texan.. I gotta ask, will that project ever see the light of day again?
Dream on Dead Texan fans....

I love the remix companion you just put out, how did you go about choosing the artists to contribute?
I first asked White Rainbow to do a remix because I'm a fan of his music and we had recently met and i intuitively thought it would be an interesting experiment. When he said he would do it I pondered who else might be into it. I started emailing friends and acquaintances with remix requests....sometimes I got a yes and sometimes a no. I just kept writing people until I had 10 who were in.

Is there another solo LP in the makes?
Yes!!! Nº2 is in the works.

Who is your favorite Kranky artist of all time?
There are many, too many over the years to pick a favorite. I've clocked in hours and hours of Low, Godspeed.., Labradford, Pan American, Loscil, Atlas Sound, White Rainbow, Stars Of The Lid...Ken Camden is a newly discovered favorite.

Got any other projects we should know about?
Well....I'm working on an album made of synth samples only. I've spoken about making a dance record but I keep churning out the slow jams. Can't help it.

You can only keep/listen to ONE album for the rest of your life ..which album would it be?
Big Boi's 'Sir Luscious Left Foot The Son of Chico Dusty'. And I'd sneak in the B side of Laurie Spiegel's 'The Expanding Universe' for contrast.

Are you living your dream?
My dream changes every minute.

Thanx Christina!

Christina V. is currently on tour in Europe, make sure to check out a live show if you're in the area..

REVIEW: Christina Vantzou - Nº1 Remixes

7.5 out of 10

Find it here.

Christina Vantzou first came across my radar (and probably yours too) with the 2004 Kranky release 'The Dead Texan', which was a project with her and Adam Wiltzie (Stars Of The Lid/A Winged Victory For The Sullen). To this day I still think "Glen's Goo" is one of the best Kranky songs of all time. Needless to say I will be in this/these artists debt(s) for as long as they record/I live. After Dead Texan Christina went on tour (as a traveling member) with Sparkling Horse (whom I miss:() and began writing material for her debut release 'Nº1'.

This is the remix companion to 'Nº1', Christina asked some artists (Loscil, Dustin O'Halloran, White Rainbow ..to name a few) if they were interested in remixing her work. Some said yes, some said no. The first 10 (and best probable) choices were picked. Judging by the artists on here, I'd say Christina hangs out with a pretty interesting/awesome crew. The original intention of Ms. Vantzou's work was minimal/basic beauty generated from a synthesizer (or something close to it in nature). That same "theme"/overall tone is still present on 'Nº1 Remixes', only as seen or heard rather through other perspectives. I will say that the original songs felt "almost darker" than this release, the remixes are a little more "light and airy" I suppose. But I think that the choices for the remixes were chosen well, they all "pay homage" to Christina's sound quite perfectly. Slow moving synths, drones, white noises, etc. meets Neo Classical Ambiance mixed with a few vocals (which I found surprising and inviting) + a few minimal structures built on top (I don't want to say "beats"), and just that "nice-niceness" that you'd come to expect from anyone related to the Kranky family. You know how it goes, new Kranky = happier EIC.

Nuthin' here but gorgeous stuff, hear to lull you. Recommended.

Standout Tracks: And Instantly Take Affect (Loscil Remix), Prelude For Juan (Montgomery Knott Remix), Small Choir (Ben Vida Remix), 1111 (Dustin O'Halloran Remix), Steady Beamin (White Rainbow Remix) <-LOVE THIS SONG., Homemade Mountains (ISAN Remix), The Adversary Of Evil Budd (Bonus Track From The Dead Texan) <-!

EIC's 10Q's w/ Windy & Carl

"..passionate and cozy.."

 

Windy & Carl

Pastoral Veracity

Windy & Carl Bio:

Windy Weber and Carl Hultgren began writing music together in 1993. Self releasing their earliest recordings on their own Blueflea label, these were more of a dreamy psychedelic sound, with gentle guitars and hushed vocals. As time went on, the music became more of an imaginary film score, wandering soundscapes with thick layers and lush tones. Various labels generously released CDs; 1995 saw Ba Da Bing release Portal, in 1996 Icon Records released Drawing Of Sound, and by 1997 Kranky in Chicago had adopted Windy & Carl, a place they still fondly call home and where Depths (1997), Consciousness (2001), and The Dreamhouse (2005) all reside. While it may be hard to define Windy & Carl’s sound, the guitars, bass, occasional keyboard and vocals are generally ambient in nature – music great for coloring the background, or foreground, of any activity – walks in the park, driving, afternoon naps …. Similarities can be drawn to some of the 80′s ambient pioneers as well as modern classical music. They create music with a wide range of atmospheres, from a warm fuzzy blanket, to a deep ocean, and to the open spaces of a frozen antarctic. While Windy & Carl do not tour often, they have performed at all 6 Terrastock festivals, and still occasionally venture away from home for shows. There is not much time for touring now as most days are spent running their music store in Dearborn, Michigan, Stormy Records.

Hello, how are you?
I'm good, thank you. And, a little out of sorts at the same time. Winter was fine, and I do enjoy the snow, but I am more content in the spring when I am planting the garden and even happier in the summer to be outside enjoying the sun and walking the dogs. So, I suppose, I'm looking forward to spring.

What are you currently listening to?
The hiss of the radiators here in the house. We had never lived with radiators until we moved in Dec 2010 and they are just such great company! They sing and hiss and thump, sometimes seemingly making their own music. I am not sure why, but since we moved here, when I am alone in the house I hardly ever listen to music. I spend my time listening to the radiators, or the birds singing outside, or the wind chimes. It's when Carl and I are together in the house that we listen to music. Strange, huh?

The new album seems to be a little more sparse than the last, wasn't there a different recording process for this one?
On this new record there is just Carl playing the music. He was working on a solo record, which he started recording for in 2009, and then in early 2011 he recorded a whole new set of songs for me for Valentines day, and I loved them so much!! He had said only I would ever hear them, but they needed to be shared with the world, so he asked me if I wanted to play or sing on any of them and I said yes. That presented 2 issues - the first being that I did not really hear anything that needed to be added or improved upon, and the second was that Carl had recorded them on a single 33 minute reel to reel tape, and they all overlapped each other and filled the whole tape. there was not much room for me to work within the tracks - a few minutes here or there that had nothing recorded on them, and so I simply worked in the small amount of space I had. I liked adding just a touch to the songs I already loved - there was really nothing I wanted to change.

Is there a theme for 'We Will Always Be'?
Continuance. The idea of being in a better place, and having that open up the future.

Will you be touring for said release?
We had been talking about going to Europe in the spring of 2012, but that has fallen through, and while we have been offered possible dates there in the autumn, we will probably just stay home. We are in a period of increased creation, in all fields - music, writing, and art, - and it feels to us that we should simply stay home and continue working while we have such a fire within us to create.

Got any upcoming/new collabs we should know about?
Kyle Hall is doing a remix of a track from the new album! Kyle is a super smart young man who grew up here in Detroit and has become one of the hottest house and electronic producers/DJs on the scene these days. He is only 20 but has already toured the world several times! He runs his own record label, and is one of the most enthusiastic vinyl lovers we have ever met. Which track he is going to pick and what he's going to do with it we have no idea, but we have faith in him to make something incredible out of the song. We're really looking forward to working with him!

Who's your favorite Kranky band?
Now that is not fair. I love so many of them. I suppose the top two would be Labradford and Stars Of The Lid. Labradford records made us want to be on Kranky, and sharing a label with SOTL makes us feel very lucky. Kranky has such an incredible roster, and has such great consistency for tones and moods. I also really appreciate how Joel's umbrella hovers over so many types of music - Modern Classical, Ambient, Krautrock, Warm and Fuzzy Pop.

What movie would work best on mute with your music as it's soundtrack?
Oh - I don't know. I hardly ever watch movies. We were truly honored to be featured in Chris Eska's 'August Evening', and it would be amazing to be included in anything Sir David Attenborough is doing or has done, but otherwise I'm not sure!!

You can only keep/listen to ONE album for the rest of your life ..which album would it be?
Yikes. That is a really hard question for me. IF I was still able to be with Carl and he had all of his musical gear, then I could still listen to him whenever and always, and then I could pick an album that was music he had not made, and it would be Durutti Column's 'Vini Reilly' album.

Are you living your dream?
 Yes. There are always things that could be changed, or made better, but overall I am very lucky in this world. I live with and make music with my very best friend, I am surrounded by people I love, and I spend my time making music, painting, and gardening. I enjoy every day in one way or another, and for that I feel truly thankful.

Thanx Brian & Windy!

W & C are currently/always working on new material, make sure to check up on them every once in a while as you never know what they have up their sleeves...;)

REVIEW: A Winged Victory For The Sullen - S/T

8.5 out of 10

Find it here.

A few things my "winter ears" require; 1. Tonal Warmth 2. Post Bliss 3. Lack of gravity. These are also, coincidentally, three things A Winged Victory For The Sullen's debut has to offer. Let it snow, I'm ready now.

AWVFTS is Adam Wiltzie (Stars Of The Lid/Dead Texan) and Dustin O'Halloran (Dustin O'Halloran). The two of these guys joining forces isn't really that peculiar of a concept, in-fact it makes a lot of sense. Adam and Dustin both seem to have an ear for clear and ideal Classical Ambiance so it only seemed inevitable that their paths would eventually cross. AWVFTS's debut/self titled release is a nice companion piece for both artists involved. Slow murmurations of gorgeous synths swimming in a pool of strings and an accompanied piano that is no doubt one of the most gorgeous things I've ever heard. Track 1 is a bit of downer, a gorgeous effervescent disaster slowly unfolding into itself to reform the polar opposite. Track 2 is just as slow moving, maybe more so since the shift of the piano has been more focused towards the swirling synthetic strings, I really like this track (a lot) a lot. Track 3, ohhh track 3..soooo warm. Every track just gets better and better the further you listen. Music like this only comes along so often, its even better when it comes out during the proper season. What you would expect from these two artists has indeed unfolded in a grand manor that will hopefully be replicated on a new album sometime in the near future. If this (see track 5. 'Steep Hills..') is only the beginning of this bands career ..I don't know how much more emotion my ears can handle, but I'm willing to risk it. More please?

Said it before, say it again (always and forever) it's Kranky so you know the "gold standard" is there. Recommended for fans of slow motion.

Standout Tracks: All. (but mainly) Requiem For Static King Part 2, Minuet For A Cheap Piano, Steep Hills Of Vicodin Tears (yum), A Symphony Pathetique (imagine (happily) dying in the snow to this song)

Check into A Winged Victory For The Sullen..

A Winged Victory For The Sullen - Steep Hills Of Vicodin Tears


A new duo off of the (always welcomed around these parts) Kranky imprint featuring Adam Wiltzie of Stars Of The Lid / The Dead Texan fame. I've been awaiting a new Dead Texan album, but this'll (more than) do for the time being:) The self-titled 'Winged Victory..' album comes out September 12th.

EIC'S10Q'S w/Brian McBride

"..a beautiful hush with ominous & disheartening tones.."


Brian McBride
Ataractic Milieu

Brian McBride Bio:
Brian McBride has been a member of Stars of the Lid since he met Adam Wiltzie in Austin Texas in 1990. McBride had a radio show on the local college station. As he described it to The Weekly Dig in fall 2002: "I used to record any sound that caught my ear. The sounds of in-need-of-repair ice cream dispensers in large cafeteria rooms would eventually be mixed with other found sounds on a four-track recorder for radio broadcast." This use of sound as a raw material and source of information has been a continuing theme in McBride's musical endeavors. With Adam Wiltzie in Stars of the Lid, McBride has recorded a number of albums and toured North America and Europe since the mid-90s. Mcbride also contributed to two albums by the hushed pop band The Pilot Ships. As one half of Stars of the Lid, Brian McBride has contributed to the essential drift music of our time.

His debut solo album, When the Detail Lost its Freedom was recorded mainly on an ASR X keyboard sampler. The instruments recorded were guitar, piano, vocals, harmonica, trumpet and strings. There were no synthesizers or keyboards used in the creation of the album. There's a lot of sampling in the sense of capturing a tone, isolating its tuning, and playing it on the keys of a piano. Guitars become piano-esque. Room noise becomes room noise played on a keyboard. And you can actually make out some guitars. When the Detail Lost its Freedom is a collection of individual pieces and therefore released from the Lid's uninterrupted architecture. The album was recorded somewhere in between Los Angeles and Chicago, always at home, in random moments of duress over the last four years. The final mix was arranged from December 2004 to January 2005. Music guests included two singing ladies, an ex-wife and a fiancee, two guitarists, notably Mike Linnen who did the soundtracks for All The Real Girls, Manic, George Washington, and Undertow, The Morgan Park (Chicago) Step-Up Trumpet Section and violinist Eden Batki, referred to as The Inland Empire Symphony Quartet on the credits.

When the Detail Lost its Freedom is a recording that sheds light on the notion of "picking up the pieces and moving on." It is a record of Brian McBride "getting it out" in the midst of some overwhelming situations, a recording made during a move from Chicago to Los Angeles. The strong emotions the recording sessions tried to channel do bring a sense of awkwardness here that made it through to the finished product. As McBride describes the recording process: "In retrospect, it probably has to do with some of my weaker moments. Which is all fancy code for: it was therapy during a divorce and a move to a city which thrives on sucking the life of out people's souls." As with Stars of the Lid's recordings there is a synthesis of different instruments ­ or maybe a reinvention through some gross mutation (of different guitars, violins, trumpets, harmonicas)—which then become the pooled tones for extended, and melodic development. What you get are nacreous songs that pack a real emotional wallop, are reminiscent of Stars of the Lid (and lots more), and that earn a space on your shelf all to themselves.


Hello, how are you?
Fine, thank you

What are you currently listening to?
Chet Baker’s record that was put together for the film "Let’s Get Lost" and the crickets from my porch.

How old were you when your interest in Ambient/Classical music spiked (enough to make you want to do it yourself) ?
In my early 20s I had a radio show. I also had a four-track recorder. I used to walk around with portable handheld recorders recording everything from fire alarms from a distance to the sounds of cafteria ice cream dispensers. I’d bring this stuff home and arrange things on my four track using delay pedals and reverb. Eventually I’d bring that stuff to the radio station and layer it with other minimal sounds (Environments records, tv/film samples and maybe something like a Zoviet France record).

Do you generally listen to downbeat music?
I listen to music all over the map. Mostly it’s relatively relaxing or down tempo-ish. During the summer I work with high school kids and I usually try to play something more uptempo for them as they’re working. They usually joke that my sense of up is pretty down. But I can listen to the Beach Boys, Rapeman, ELO, Skeeter Davis or some Joe Meek recording and be pleased. Usually the more up tempo stuff shows up while driving. Like right now, I’m on a plane and I’m listening to Jesus Lizard’s “Mouth Breather” to drown out a couple of mouth breathers behind talking really loudly about which are the best casinos in Vegas. My life is often a series of Larry David moments.

You originally composed your latest album “The Effective Disconnect” for a film titled “Vanishing Of The Bees”, how did this opportunity come up for you?
Maryam Henein & George Langworthy asked me to. George and I had crossed paths before in Austin during the early ‘90s. We both worked at the same radio station.

To the people that haven’t seen the film, can you please explain the plot as well as what kind of atmosphere you were trying to achieve with the music?
I’ll let the filmmakers explain it:
“Honeybees have been mysteriously disappearing across the planet, literally vanishing from their hives. Known as Colony Collapse Disorder, this phenomenon has brought beekeepers to crisis in an industry responsible for producing apples, broccoli, watermelon, onions, cherries and a hundred other fruits and vegetables. Commercial honeybee operations pollinate crops that make up one out of every three bites of food on our tables. Vanishing of the Bees follows commercial beekeepers David Hackenberg and Dave Mendes as they strive to keep their bees healthy and fulfill pollination contracts across the U.S. The film explores the struggles they face as the two friends plead their case on Capital Hill and travel across the Pacific Ocean in the quest to protect their honeybees. Filming across the US, in Europe, Australia and Asia, this documentary examines the alarming disappearance of honeybees and the greater meaning it holds about the relationship between mankind and mother earth. As scientists puzzle over the cause, organic beekeepers indicate alternative reasons for this tragic loss. Conflicting options abound and after years of research, a definitive answer has not been found to this harrowing mystery.”
While recording, I tried to adhere to two guiding principles: I knew that I wanted the music to convey a sense of fragility given the subject matter. And I also purposely tried to not overwhelm the film, wanting to provide them something that emphasized their ideas more so than creating some type of music video.
George and Maryam asked me to concentrate on four different themes. Some themes I was better at than others. The ‘gloriousness of the bees’ was a tough one for me. Communicating beauty can’t really be forced. You don’t want it to become something that seems ornamental or overdone.

Can you name a genre of music you wish you had attempted but never did? Big Band Swing probably. But more subdued. Like a Perry Como / Xavier Cugat thing.

What is Stars Of The Lid up to these days?
We’ve been writing new material. We have been for a while. Another record will happen someday. But it’s only gonna happen when it’s ready. There’s little point in hurrying patient music.

You can only keep/listen to ONE album for the rest of your life ..which album would it be?
Morricone’s "L'Assoluto Naturale". It just has so many memories attached to it.

Are you living your dream?
Not yet but maybe someday. The day I can move past coaching debate will be a dream I won’t want to wake up from.

Thanx Brian(s)!

Brian McBride and co. are currently working on the next Stars Of The Lid album, perhaps we can get another solo release (or two -- a little off subject, but I'd love to hear another Dead Texan release..) in there while we wait? 'Til then I suggest you take in anything & everything Brian McBride has to offer...