ARTIST: Talkdemonic
TITLE: Beat Romantic
LABEL: Arena Rock Recording Company
GENRE: Instrumental
BITRATE: 201kbps avg
PLAYTIME: 0h 36m total
RELEASE DATE: 2006-03-21
RIP DATE: 2006-03-29
Track List
----------
1. Veraison 1:18
2. Mountaintops In Caves 2:11
3. Dusty Fluorescent/Wooden 2:26
Shelves
4. Junesong 2:22
5. Cascade Locks 2:26
6. Skyscraper 1:36
7. Bering 3:33
8. Human Till Born 1:53
9. Sept With Smith 2:39
10. Manhattan '81 2:33
11. Mountain Cats 2:19
12. White Gymnasium 2:40
13. Axe & Red Sweater 1:38
14. Lightning & Butterflies 1:24
15. Hillside Monarch 1:54
16. VΘritΘ 3:39
Release Notes:
http://www.talkdemonic.com/
http://www.arenarock.com/
One night, shortly after Kevin OÆConnor moved to Portland, OR in 2002, the now
28-year-old musician was hanging out at a local club when he heard it. A voice
uttering a single word: Talkdemonic. ItÆs a name that OÆConnor says fit
perfectly with the hip-hop and electronic influenced project he had just
started.
Like nothing the Pacific Northwest has seen before, Talkdemonic melds the
primal, the classical and the modern to create songs that are as sweeping in
scope as they are shattering in intensity. The band calls it folktronic hop and,
for the last year, it has helped Talkdemonic create a fanbase in the Pacific
Northwest that grows with each performance, the tales of the bandÆs ability to
capture the most human emotions with only drums, viola, a laptop and no vocals
attracting curious onlookers that are soon turned into devout fans. Started as a
vehicle for the music of Kevin OÆConnor soon after the soft-spoken musician
moved from the college town of Pullman, Washington to Portland in
2002, Talkdemonic released its first album, mutinysunshine, in the spring of
2004. The album is a wonder of OÆConnorÆs meticulous mind, featuring a sweeping
orchestra of instruments; humming synth lines, plaintive acoustic guitar,
dead-steady programmed beats, a mournful concertina and a soaring viola all
tethered together by OÆConnorÆs drumming. But this isnÆt drumming that simply
settles comfortably in the rock ghetto of the ôrhythm
section.ö OÆConnor uses his kit to both push and pull the songs, creating
explosions of emotion and deafening silences with the power to move your ass or
move you to tears. Live, TalkdemonicÆs music revolved around the mop-topped
blondeÆs drum kit, his primal beats informed by an obsession with instrumental
hip-hop. Then, in the summer of 2004 OÆConnor finally convinced Lisa Molinaro,
the phantom violist whose instrument played out of OÆConnorÆs laptop during his
live sets, to join him, completing a small band with a huge sound. TalkdemonicÆs
music was powerful as a solo act, but, as a duo, it turned into something even
more: a complicated, multidimensional force churning out hair-raising
compositions. OÆConnor captured the power and curiosity of his compositions, but
it took the addition of Molinaro to bring out the true wonder of the songs, her
beautiful viola parts pulling at the listenerÆs heart while OÆConnor worked the
head and the feet. As a duo Talkdemonic quickly claimed a big chunk of real
estate in the Portland scene, opening shows for Explosions in the Sky, Hood,
M83, among others. Soon OÆConnor and MolinaroÆs shows became sure bets for great
Portland music and Talkdemonic was named Willamette WeekÆs Best New Band of
2005. The award landed the band on the cover of the alternative weekly and in
the headlining spot of a showcase that saw a block-long line waiting outside
Berbati's Pan in vain to see the band that was simply blowing away a packed
crowd inside. Throughout all this Talkdemonic found time to record a highly
anticipated sophomore slab called Beat Romantic which will be released by Arena
Rock Recording Company in August. They also have planned the first national tour
that will see both members filling rooms across the country with their curious
and beautiful sound. If youÆre lucky, there will be room for you in there too.