a r t i s t : Park Avenue Music
t i t l e : By Hearts + Horses
d a t e : 2008
l a b e l : Clairecords
c a t : fern075
s o u r c e : WEB
u r l : http://tinyurl.com/5ob68q
g e n r e : Lo-Fi
r l s. d a t e : Apr/2008
t r a c k s : 10
b i t r a t e : VBRkbps
s i z e : 48,7 MB
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For fans of: Mum, Bjork, Broadcast, Erik Satie...
Sacramento couple Wes Steed and Jeannette "Juju" Faith got a
shiny new piano - really shiny. So up went the mics and out
came the music. Flowing pieces of raw improvisation from Juju
were recorded and then dressed, bit by bit, by Wes in layers
of modular synth distortion; some for the fun of making
soundtracks for short films by New Zealand artist and web
designer Fuyuko Akiyoshi; some for the fun of mixing 10
minutes of piano music down to 3; or making 3 minute songs out
of 4 measures of sometimes bluesy, sometimes ethereal use of
the 88s. When one mic picked up off-the-cuff vocals for
several tracks, another picked up the team's beloved cat
Harrison's collar bell ringing in the background for what
seems the sweetest topping to the already honeyed instrumental
"norway kitty", the opening track on what has become park
avenue music's loveliest accomplishment yet.
Befriending cellist Gretchen Lehtonen in time to add her touch
to that first track (even if recorded backwards) was a lucky
move. The trio has played a handful of boutique performances,
each one unique and special as they improvised in the dark
while streams of Akiyoshi's imagery served as backdrop. They
have also brought a crowded house of listeners to silence û
even when equipment failed, piano and cello went on to duet
without the noise of synthesizers, drum machines, and
Unix-based applications.
"by hearts+horses" may seem an odd title, but given that the
band has morphed over the years and is indeed changing their
name to hearts+horses, this last effort as park avenue music
seemed only fit to be thusly titled. (File under park avenue
music and/or hearts+horses.)
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01-Norway Kitty [04:17]
02-Strawberry Magnet [03:08]
03-Palaces and Prisons [04:25]
04-(Soundtrack) [01:02]
05-Tufts [03:52]
06-Saltwater [03:28]
07-Piet [03:55]
08-Roxy's Summer [03:51]
09-Before [03:49]
10-Japon Luvr [05:21]
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37:08 min