eic: the field

Showing posts with label the field. Show all posts

Saturday, March 2, 2013

EIC's 10Q's w/ Tangled Memories

"..a paradisal consolidation of Romantic-Gothc/Moody Witch House with ghostly-hazy Trip Hop, and Dark-Ambient Electronic effervescents.."

Tangled Memories

Tempting Trip Haunt

Tangled Memories Bio:

“Tangled Memories” composes Dark Ambient, Electronic, Trip/Glitch Hop under the concept of “relationship music” distancing himself from society and people he creates a dream like state of mind in a desperate attempt to reach out to his listeners and describe an illusion of being in a relationship with someone and never being able to be close enough to said person, along with everyday struggles in ourselves and our own lives.

Hello, how are you?
I am lost in a conscious stream of personal doubt and growth.

What are you currently listening to?
currently a playlist of the discography of Bibio and Boards Of Canada..

When did this project come about and whom were your biggest influences for said project?
This project ultimately has been a work in progress for over two years now, it wasn't until early November when I decided to break out of my solitude and release some of it. My biggest influence for my music is some of the personal experiences I've had in my own life along with the genres of music I was most drawn to for influence musically. Such as, Boards Of Canada, Bibio, The Field, Burial, Blonde Redhead, Mew, Belong, Atlas Sound, Tim Hecker, Gold Panda, and Baths. It wasn't until I showed one of my acquaintances what I had been working on and was lead on to find out about current popular artists such as Xxyyxx and Holy Other. Looking up a bio about Holy Other I was completely numb as my heard dropped in my chest to discover he as well was writing and producing albums under the concept of what he calls "relationship music" although not all of my songs are derived from the dark side of relationships that i've experienced I thought it was quite remarkable that someone following a similar path as mine, would gain so much positivity toward their music.

Care to tell us a little bit about your latest release 'Untwist My Hands'?
I feel the album speaks for itself really. It's a constant contradiction of oneself trying to control everything in a surrounding environment. Along with maintaining sanity and inner peace through self destruction. The concept for "Untwist My Hands" is a complicated affair. Trying to blame someone else for things that are out of your control but when it really comes down to it, you're the one twisting your hands behind your back.

Any plans to tour for said release?
Plans are an unstable for me. I have amazing ideas, but there is only so much you can do with limited resources. I would like to try to reach more of a fan base in the mid-Michigan area before I attempt to start playing live shows again. I received Jake Rosenthal (How To Dress Well's booking agent) "POPGUNBOOKING" upon meeting him at a festival last year, so I'm planning to get into contact with him and see what he can do for booking a show for me in Chicago, or New York.

If you could choose any artist(s) to remix your work, whom would you choose and why?
I wonder what "The Field" would have to offer when it comes to remixing my music. I've always loved the progression of his tracks.

Got any other projects we should know about?
My first dive into the Ambient/Electronic genre was with my previous project "Prince Ashitaka" before I decided to include vocal samples from various places including my own. I played a lot of shows in the mid-michigan area before I stepped back and realized I had once again changed my direction. I'm a fickle musician, so far this is the longest standing project I have worked on before ultimately changing into something different. I hope to continue this project for a very long time. The two albums I released under Prince Ashitaka are available for free download on bandcamp as well.

What movie would work best on mute while listening to you music?
"Candy" (2006) a lot of my listeners would inquire "Requiem For A Dream" as well. But I think almost anything creepy would work. As far as the strong hold on "drug" related movies when it comes to synching my music is the overall concept of the emotion I put into my music. I've always thought true love to be as powerful as a drug, so it seemed to fit.

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

Are you living your dream?
Honestly, living my dream would be more appropriate if I were traveling and able to connect with established listeners. I have captivating ideas when it comes to connecting with an audience on a visual/audio level but I must keep continuing to grow and work hard for the things I desire with my music career. I've already decided from the begging that my main goal is to connect with people and if my music can help someone get through a complication in their life, that's all I'm really asking for.

Thanx Garett!

Tangled Memories just premiered his latest LP 'Untiwst My Hands' right HERE. on EverythingIsChemical.com. I suggest you take a moment to basque in it's glory;]

Monday, February 6, 2012

EIC'S10Q'S w/ Masquer

"..Pop music doesn't always have to be about "sunshine & happiness", sometimes you have to except and absorb those darker moments to be truly happy..."

Masquer
Vigor For The Dismal

Masquer Bio:
Masquer entwine lonesome, broken guitar lines drowned in chorus with beautiful teen angst vocals and catchy synthesizers backed by lofi drum machines. They remind you of your favorite 80’s mixtape, and it hits you right there, like they’re channeling that poetic pop love from your past. Rough Trade/G-Records will be distributing the self released, long awaited debut album which is out during the fall 2011. The album is produced by mastermind Per Egland and mixed by Björn Hansell (Streetwaves, Fever Ray). The split-singles include remixes by Swedish-German techno act The Field and Swedish electronica artist Andreas Tilliander. The Stockholm located duo has performed frequently the past year and also toured as opening acts for artists like The Field and Asha Ali.

Masquer is Kicki Halmos (vocals/synthesizer/programming) and Pelle Lundqvist (bass/guitar).

Hello, how are you?
We’re great! On our way to Gothenburg to do a show.

What are you currently listening to?
Kicki: Julianna Barwick, King Krule and Oneohtrix Point Never.
Pelle: Led Er Est, Bon Iver, Neon Indian and Beach House

Whats the story with the band name?
There is no story really. Just a name we took. It always hard to find a decent band name that's not taken. Masquer (a participant in a masquerade) was just something that sounded good and we somehow could
relate to.

Who were/are your biggest influences when it came to sculpting your current sound?
Everything between Madonna, The Cure, Sonic Youth, Blonde Redhead and PJ Harvey.

Is there a theme on on your debut LP?
Visually, chopped up body parts. Music wise, we just wrote songs as they arrived in our heads without any set theme, but now when the album is finished I guess you could say a common theme would be darkness.

If you could collaborate with any artist of your choosing to do a completely "different sounding" side project, whom would it be with and what kind of sound would you aim for?
Kicki: I would like to do something with Cylob, something that sounds like his Synclair remix. That would be so awesome!
Pelle: Crystal Castles would be cool, I'm really in to that type of sound for the moment, I love them. Or Aphex Twin, that would be cool too..

Whats next for you guys?
We’re gonna play at the Norwegian festival By:Larm which will be great. Also we’ll do a small tour in France by the end of March and we’re really looking forward to it. And we are working on getting a release outside Scandinavia.

Got any strange/obscure talents?
Kicki: I am very good at walking really fast.
Pelle: I am a slow walker, but I’m somewhat of a computer wiz.

You can only keep/listen to ONE album for the rest of your life ..which album would it be?
Kicki: This question makes me depressed. I don’t think I can answer it.
Pelle: This would be such a nightmare, I really can't choose... but if I have to choose I think I would say the latest Bon Iver album, even though I would die if that was the only thing I could listen to.

Are you living your dream?
Kicki: By living the dream do you mean making music? It’s not really a dream, more of a necessity. Like breathing. It sounds pretentious, I know, but that’s how it feels.
Pelle: Yeah, In a way I think I am, I mean I love doing music and its always been a dream to make a proper release and that dream is just happening. I have never felt more into music and its just getting better.

Thanx Pelle & Kicki!

Masquer are currently touring Europe, hopefully someday the US will catch on to this band because we owe it to ourselves to witness this act live:)...

REVIEW: Masquer - Cover My Face As The Animals Cry

7 out of 10

Find it here.

I'm not sure if I can link back to whomever/whatever first introduced me to Masquer, but I would like to say thank you to that source:) Masquer are a duo, Kicki Halmos (vocals/synth/programming) and Pelle Lundqvist (bass/guitar), out of Stockholm. They blend elements of Shoegaze with Indie Electronic and Dark Pop sounds, a "peppier" Cocteau Twins almost comes to mind when describing them (or maybe Tamaryn or even Drakes Hotel;). Their debut LP, "Cover My Face As The Animals Cry" is pretty much pitch-perfect Pop music from beginning to end. In-fact/just so you know, a couple of the singles from said album were remixed by a few popular acts (including The Field--whom they've toured with). So why hasn't this band caught on yet? Why am I not hearing more about this project from other sources? Why are they so overlooked?? WTF people, get on the (masquerade) ball!

Pop music can be accomplished in only one way (maybe just my opinion); simplicity & purity. Masquer have accomplished both of these fetes. On top of that they have also added elements of darkness and atmospheric tranquility. Pop music doesn't always have to be about "sunshine & happiness", sometimes you have to except and absorb those darker moments to be truly happy. Think about bands like The Cure or Echo And The Bunnymen, what they did way back when, they are a direct reference/influence to what Masquer is (in-theory) trying to attempt today. Masquer utillize synthesizers, guitar/bass, drum machines and Kicki's angelic vocals (which really do hark back to the earlier days of 4AD) in the best possible way. To put it simple; Masquer are Synthy Shoegaze in it's most raw form.

Assuming women with a powerful/unique voice have an effect on you Masquer will be right up your alley. Their music definitely perfect for particular moods, and they shouldn't be overlooked anymore. Masquer's debut 'Cover My Face As The Animals Cry' is a promising look into this band's (hopefully fruitful) career/future. Expect to hear more about these guys from other sources very soon.

Standout Tracks: Bang Bang, Happiness, Be Gone, There Was The Smell Of Grease

Wednesday, November 16, 2011

Check into Masquer..

Masquer (Kicki Halmos and Pelle Lundqvist) are exactly what I am looking for when it comes to female lead Shoegaze/Rock bands. Best comparison would probably be Tamaryn (or even Drakes Hotel) only slightly more Electronic. Download the song above, plus a few other great tracks (including a Field remix) HERE.

Monday, October 24, 2011

EIC'S10Q'S w/The Field

"..simplicity" stretched out & remolded into something so much more beautiful than what could it be if there was only one of it.."

The Field
Recurring Dream Sequence

The Field Bio:
What is it that makes an artist fit a label? Is it their sound? Their sense of shared perspective? In the case of The Field and Kompakt it’s all of that and something more intangible too, an unexplained but real connection that transcends all the more obvious signposts. For Kompakt, their reputation as purveyors of laudable minimal techno and microhouse had already been cemented in 2005, seven years into the Cologne-based label’s existence – not least owing to the releases created by their founders, techno producers Michael Mayer and Jurgen Paape and, of course, Wolfgang Voigt. Finding Axel Willner, more commonly known as The Field, was different though; the Swedish artist certainly matched the label’s mould, rekindling something of Voigt’s late 90s project Gas by marrying heavily reverberating 4/4 techno rhythms - the sort that evoke the lost thud of a distant club - with the vast expanse and translucent territories of ambient music. Yet listening even as far back as ‘Things Keep Falling Down’ - The Field’s debut EP on Kompakt – it was clear there was something more, a veiled restlessness bubbling under the loops and layers, as though Willner had set himself boundaries but then tired and sought to break them; it’s this subtle tension in all his albums that heightens them from their otherwise dreamlike state.

But first, let’s go back to the beginning, to Stockholm in Sweden where Willner grew up; for to understand The Field you need to understand that everything he’s experienced from an early age and up through to the present has influenced him in his music and will continue to do so. Those same childhood and teen memories that he imprinted on his very early demos – attempted on desktop computers when the internet was but a microcosm of what it is today – through early incarnation Speed Wax has informed everything he’s done since.

His beginnings saw an early love of pop, like a generation of Swedes his first musical memory was “probably Abba.” That’s stayed in his repertoire, from the samples on LP From Here We Go To Sublime’s ‘A Paw In My Face’ to a glossy cover of 1980 hit ‘Everybody’s Got To Learn Sometime’ on Yesterday & Today. Other formative experiences in music were more conflicting though. On the one hand Axel professes a teenage love of punk, citing The Misfits in particular, on the other though – as he reached late adolescence – he found himself under the strict restrictions and discipline of a music school. Perhaps unsurprisingly it wasn’t for him. “I was in this school that had people nationwide who’d applied because of the quality of their music courses, so I had all these top of the line musicians round me - but I found it dull!” Laughs Axel. “But,” he rations, “it all felt really forced, there were all these students and it seemed like they were all in a niche so it was hard to break out of it.”

Thankfully Stockholm as a city provided far more musical nutrition and fuelled Willner’s move towards electronic music. It coincided with the beginnings of a small club scene in the Swedish capital that started building up during the late 90s; “they were fun days,” he recalls, “I was in a duo called Speed Wax and the places we played were all really into Techno and Warp Records; it was cool, people helped each other out, the vibes were good; it started out just doing nights to 20 people and then it just grew and grew.”

The Field as an entity sprung up around 2003, the back catalogue of Gas at this point having a strong influence on Axel, and he took to Buzz – a software program he still uses to make music today – to construct his first forays into ambient techno, a move away from the guitar-based drone that encapsulated Speed Wax.

He was picked up by Kompakt just a year later in 2004, a demo that stood out amongst pile, though at the time he wasn’t “really aware of any buzz.” Yet in his first release for them – the aforementioned ‘Things Keep Falling Down’ in February 2005 – there already lurked potential within its two tracks. Both ‘Love vs. Distance’ and ‘Thoughts vs. Action’ soared beyond the 10 minute mark; the latter a crackling jump-and-stop minimal effort, to listen to it now is to listen to The Field stripped away of the scale he has since brought to his work. It was ‘Love vs. Distance’ that provided the template for what would follow; based on a stoic motorik and a perpetually rotating hook, it provided an early demonstration of how the Swede could take just four bars of sound and deftly deconstruct, alter and rebuild them to create a constantly changing canvas.

That, alongside follow up 2006 EP ‘Sun & Ice,’ made it clear that his match with the label made perfect sense. Kompakt’s other releases around this time included ambient house legends The Orb’s first release on the imprint, as well as the mellowed out soft-focus bliss of German producer Superpitcher’s ‘Today’ mix featuring other Kompakt members DJ Koze and Triola among others. In ‘Sun & Ice’ The Field imbued a sense of wandering expanse, yet where his contemporaries were happy to submerge themselves in ambient fog, he cut through with more pronounced percussion and purpose, tracks like ‘Over The Ice’ skipping along like skimmed stones over water.

It all came together in 2007 on the phenomenal success of debut LP From Here We Go Sublime; its accolades are numerous – a 9.0 and a place inside the Top 200 records of the decade by Pitchfork, highly regarded by the NME and the BBC and receiving the best aggregate score on review compiler Metacritic to name a few – it came out at a time when electronic meant brash, obvious, loud. Electro was its most swollen. Drum n’ bass was well in the throes of eating itself. In comparison The Field came across like fading noises of the night, the beats still driving but the sun coming up, that transition between the club and journey home and down. It was never more evident than on ‘Good Things End,’ which at one thundered and also fawned, industrial rhythms overlapped with lost sounding vocal samples and blurring, faded-pale drones. For Willner the success of the album surprised him, “I was flattered! I didn’t think there’d be much interest; it’s a record that’s still important to me though. I’d had a lot of the tracks for it a while, there’s a lot of old memories on the album, a lot of good times connected to it.”

With the success of the album came the inevitable demands to tour, The Field taking to American shores - including the 2007 Pitchfork Music Festival - and in 2008’s summer calling in at the pick of Europe’s festivals including the UK’s ATP, Sonar in Spain and Norway’s Oya. Still solo at this point, Willner found the experience restricting, touring the globe armed with just a laptop. He was also lonely – playing with others was something he’d loved since his teenage punk obsession, being stripped of that was difficult; “it was the hardest thing, without other people it got weary and dull,” he comments, “I felt that I couldn’t take out the chance as much as I wanted to as if I had people I could play with or against.”

That meant that come May 2009’s follow up Yesterday & Today, the approach and perceptions about what Willner wanted The Field to be had changed and, by the time of its completion, he’d been joined by two live musicians, an old friend called Dan Enqvist on bass, and – after a couple of personnel alterations – Jesper Skarin on drums. “They’re good people who I can also trust as musicians,” Axel ruminates, “I don’t feel like I’m just by myself anymore; with them I find we play both with and towards each other, seeing how far we can push each other.”

It’s this belief in the communal nature of music that’s always imbued itself within The Field; there’s always a human heart beating among the electronics and samples. On Yesterday & Today that became more explicit as live instruments were worked in with Willner’s laptop experiments – never more so than with the cameo of John Stanier, drummer of respected American math-rockers Battles, on the title track. Linking back to a distant past again, pop was revisited with a cover of The Korgis ‘Everybody’s Got To Learn Sometime,’ and overall the album felt more pointed, with rhythms and synths gaining harder edges. Another critical success, it saw The Field back on the road, including a first ever UK headlining circuit in the Autumn of 2009, a US tour support with DFA label mainstays The Juan Maclean and festival slots at Bestival, Roskilde and Poland’s OFF Festival.

It was around this time Axel also switched countries, a romantic interest resulting in him leaving Stockholm as a home for the first time since childhood, and moving to Berlin. One of the most famous clubbing cities in the world, for the artist its hedonism is something he shuns when not playing – “it’s like going to your office,” he says simply, adding credence to the notion that The Field’s work is music meant for a myriad of situations – not just late night basements and warehouses - but for fading afternoons, early morning sunrises a feeling of expanse that’s always existed.

So to 2011 and the release of third album Looping State Of Mind, a record that in many ways recalls his previous work but also pushes on in new directions. “It’s been evolving and it will keep on doing so,” says its creator, “people come and go, adding their things to it, you change as well and so will the sound.” A release that comes across as Axel’s most accomplished to date; it feels like a culmination of sorts in that it could be a compilation of both its protagonists work and, indeed, life to date. “All the old influences are still there,” he admits, “but we’ve made a real attempt to grow the sound;’ this involved the most prominent use of live instruments yet, bass jutting through opening track ‘Is This The Power’ and wandering piano keys slinking in and out of view of the albums landscape.

As ever though The Field transcend their mere components, Looping State Of Mind could almost be a manifesto for them. Certainly for Axel there is no beginning and end to the impact of what he sees and experiences in every day life, things will always come back around; the challenge for him is to adapt and alter them when they do in order to create something that understands and re-defines them in a new way each time. For Kompakt, meanwhile, it’s a record that plays on their long held principals of progression through emotion and recollection, married with an openness of mind. It’s the most definitive answer yet as to what makes they and The Field fit so well, providing as it does some of the best work the label’s ever released. Only through past experiences can one move forward; it’s something that, in 2011’s turbulent times, many could do with remembering.

Hello, how are you?
I'm pretty good thanks!

What are you currently listening to?
Right now I'm listening to Jürgen Müller's 'Science Of The Sea'.

Was Philip Glass an inspiration at all when it comes to your minimalist sound?
I like Philip Glass a lot but I find Steve Reich more inspiring.

Is there a story behind the band name?
It's "the field" of music where I get my samples and ideas from. And also its a good name.

What is the theme, if any on your newest album?
The theme if any is probably the fusion between the first and second album. The mixture of acoustic and electronic instruments.

If you weren't "The Field" and you wanted to write music that was completely different what kind of genre would you attack?
I might go back to Punk but it would be fun to play Grind Core!

The best time & place to listen to The Field is..?
Late night driving..

Pardon, my ignorance..have you ever done or thought of doing a cover song?
We made a cover of the Korgis 'Everybody's Got To Learn Sometime'. Maybe we´ll try it again at another point.

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

Are you living your dream?
Hehe, not sure about that.

Thanx Axel & Fallon!

The Field is currently touring Europe, hopefully the US shortly after as I would LOVE to hear him live...

REVIEW: The Field - Looping State Of Mind

7 out of 10

Find it here.

Not really sure what I can say about The Field that hasn't been said by now. I guess I can begin by describing the sound real quick (for those of you that live underneath an internet-less rock); take equal parts Trance (ala Glass and/or Reich) add a dose of Modern-Minimal Berlin sounding Techno, a few acoustic sprinkles and there you have it. Each song has it's own repetitious loop layered intensely throughout that evolves into a thick pool of dense psychedelic euphoria. C'mon, you've had to come across The Field by now right?

I figured you had, you're just curious about my opinion at this point. 'Looping State Of Mind' is Mr. Field's (Axel Willner) 3rd proper release. On the first release The Field was slightly more ambient/acoustic, on his second release (my favorite) the sound was more fast paced/dancey & electronic, and on this one he combines the those two concepts (its the kind of evolution that only makes sense). I've already seen a few critics out there calling "Looping State.." his most accomplished album to date, I can't exactly say I agree with them though. I like this album a lot, it's a very "forward thinking" album (as usual with The Field), but I wish the synths were turned up and the acoustics down (just a little). Don't get me wrong, it's still a solid experience from beginning to end, it's very neatly/tightly produced and well polished. "Looping State.." is even a little more complex/less repetitive than his previous work, but honestly, that's what I loved about his music so much. I'm a huge Philip Glass fan, so hearing that form of delicious repetition transcribed into dance music always does wonders for my ears. Still though, this is The Field doing what he does best, which is taking "simplicity" and stretching it out and remolding it into something so much more beautiful than what it could be if there was only one of it.

A great/"must own" electronic album for fans of Trancey upbeat bliss and/or the night scene.

Standout Tracks: It's Up There (don't stop. ...), Burned Out, Arpeggiated Love (past the 5:00 mark is when you really start feeling "it"), Looping State Of Mind (perfect song)