The Field | Sound of Light EP

The inspired people at Stockholm’s The Nordic Light Hotel have come up with a concept called “Sound of Light.” The goal of the project is to portray the entire hotel through music by inviting musicians to the hotel “to interpret the hotel experience and express it by making a record.” The first contributor to the project was local hero Axel Willner aka The Field. Willner came up with a four song EP titled Sound of Light with each track lasting around 15 minutes. The four tracks are meant for the morning, day, evening, and night to “portray all the various moods of the light and the hotel.”

Sound of Light is like a “classical” album, but comprised of all electronic elements; violins, cellos, and pianos are replaced by electronic beats and samples. Hypnotic and simply gorgeous.

Stream the entire EP at The Nordic Light Hotel’s “Sound Of Light” page. The only place the album is available (unless you plan on visiting the hotel and getting a hard copy at the reception desk) is digitally via iTunes. Check out The Field’s remix of Thom Yorke’s “Cymbal Rush” below (note: this track is not from Sound of Light).

[MP3]: The Field  ”Cymbal Rush (The Field Late Night Essen Und Trinken Remix”)

Looking Ahead in 2008

It’s been a bit of a challenge to get back into the swing of things following the holiday break. My mind is still stuck somewhere 400 miles north in Vermont (with all the snow), while my physical self is back in equally as frigid Philadelphia. Starting off with the first post of the New Year, I wanted to follow up the previous post about bands we are excited about in 2008 by featuring a few more.

Bringing thoughts of sunny days by the beach and sipping on summery drinks, WHITE SHOES AND THE COUPLES COMPANY are a blast of tropical warmth for our recent cold snap here in the Northeast. Nghia recently refreshed my memory about the Jakarta six-piece, and rightfully so as their brand of “Love Boat” twee is right in line with his personal tastes. Swinging and upbeat, White Shoes songs are infused with classical jazz, a hint of bossa nova, and “doo doos” that you can’t help smiling about.

On the heels of the October U.S. release of their 2005 debut album, White Shoes will be making the trek from Indonesia to the States to play SXSW (hard to believe that clusterfuck is just over two months away) in March, so expect to be hearing a lot more about the band while they’re over here. Check out “Aksi Kucing” below and pick up their self-titled long player and Skenario Masu Muda EP.

[MP3]: White Shoes and the Couples Company  ”Aksi Kucing”
Skenario Masu Muda EP, Aksara Records; 2007

HIGH PLACES (pictured) were one of the featured acts at our final FRICTION show of 2007 and one of the bands I’m expecting to hear a lot more from this year. Warm tropical/tribal grooves, metallic drums, and other instrumental textures bury Mary Pearson’s ethereal vocals like a 4AD haze. The Brooklyn duo, rounded out by Rob Barber continues to charm audiences with their danceable live show and unique sound. High Places are currently busy in the studio working on various projects, including that full-length we’ve been anticipating. For those of you on the West Coast, High Places will be bringing some of their Brooklyn charisma your way with dates at the end of January. Check their MySpace page for details.

[MP3]: High Places  ”Shared Islands”
David Horvitz Picture Disc; 2007

Kicking it since 2001 and now a duo consisting of Andrew Thiboldeaux and Chris Ward, Philadelphia’s PATTERN IS MOVEMENT has recently been putting the finishing touches on their yet unnamed third full-length (produced by Scott Solter – Spoon, Mountain Goats, John Vanderslice). The band had a pretty busy autumn playing with acts like Dan Deacon, So Many Dynamos, and (Hometapes labelmates) Slaraffenland and are going to be touring again in the early spring, following a play at Gothamist’s 5-year Anniversary party on February 15th.

Both Thiboldeaux and Ward have a background in classical music, which can be heard throughout their catalog and in the violens of “Right Away” below. “Complex polyrhythms are set to a hip-hop backbeat, concocting a wild brand of math rock that you don’t need a degree to understand. A complicated rush of well-played instruments and hypnotic vocals keep a straight narrative, making songs that listen like short dreams you curse for ending too soon.” Watch for their new record on Hometapes early this year.

[MP3]: Pattern is Movement  ”Right Away”
Right Away EP, Hometapes; 2007

pic of the week — bright tomorrow

Above pic via Magda Lates

Yeah, I know. There’s nothing “bright” about this shot. Pairing this picture up with Fuck Buttons “Bright Tomorrow” was erm, inspired (or better yet, blatantly copied) by the video for the track which Pitchfork “exclusively” posted this week. I’ve always loved pictures like this; a moment of life at full speed captured and suspended in time.

The backbone of “Bright Tomorrow” is defined by a trance-y ambient loop a la The Field combined with a chugging, driving beat. To that the Bristol-based duo of Benjamin Power and Andrew Hung add swirling noisy guitars (enter the swirling birds in the video), ethereal melodies, sonic textures, and indecipherable screams. The song manages to be “dark” and “bright” at the same time, with the violent guitars casting a shadowy gloom over the trance beats and blissful organ melodies that reach up toward the sky. Without getting into comparisons (and to use two of this year’s favorites), think No Age meets The Field, or something like that.

Not really sure the picture does the video justice, so be sure to check it out. Fuck Buttons release the full-length Street Horrrsing in February 2008 on ATP Recordings and hopefully tour the U.S. soon after.

[MP3]: Fuck Buttons  ”Bright Tomorrow”
Bright Tomorrow 7″ (picture disc), ATP; 2007

The Field | Remixes

Above pic via Firenzesca

I’ve made it no secret on this site that The Field is one of my favorite artists of the year, in addition to his debut full-length (From Here We Go Sublime) I’ve also been really into his remixes. His trademark chopped up vocals and “dangling layered loops” that seem to be extracted to infinity are all over these tracks from bands like Battles, 120 Days, Gui Boratto, and my favorite of the group, Marit Bergman. The remix of Bergman’s “No Party” is serioulsy some badass shit.

[MP3]: Marit Bergman  ”No Party (The Field Remix)”
[MP3]: Battles  ”Tonto (The Field Remix)”
[MP3]: Annie  ”Heartbeat (The Field Remix)”
[MP3]: Familjen  ”Hogluft (The Field Remix)”
[MP3]: 120 Days  ”Come Out (The Field Remix)”
[MP3]: The Honeydrips  ”Fall From A Height (The Field Way)”
[MP3]: Gui Boratto  ”Hera (The Field Mix)”