posted Sep 25, 2008, 1:28 PM by Vu Nguyen
From Tell All Your Friends Alaska in Winter has recently
completed his sophomore offering Holiday,
out on Milan Records November 18th 
Pitchfork:
"....far-flung variety of forms into chilly, beat-oriented,
downtempo hymns: amorous Balkan strings, the melismatic vocal tapestries of
classical Arabian music (often so gently vocoder-kissed as to sound more
spectral than robotic), icily splintered piano loops (which are actually
played live), skittering hip-hop percussion (ditto), and soaringly simple
indie pop melodies obscured in an atmospheric haze."
URB:
"Sounds like: Ratatat
meets robotic Balkan natives.
Click
Here to Listen to "Berlin" from Holiday Watch the Red Dress Music
Video Alaska In Winter began when art
student, Brandon Bethancourt spent a semester writing and recording music
in an isolated cabin on the south coast of Alaska. Upon arrival back in New
Mexico, he teamed up with Zach Condon of Beirut, Heather Trost of A Hawk
And A Hacksaw and other friends, and thus began work on the album Dance
Party In The Balkans. This debut release was released by
Milan Records in July 2007 in the US after a release in the UK by
Regular Beat a few months earlier.
After
his critically acclaimed debut release, Bethancourt decided to quit his
job, move out of his house and relocate to Berlin, Germany – a city
he had been to before and had always dreamed of living in. He has
spent the past 6 months writing and recording this upcoming release Holiday
and begins his tour of Europe in late September.
Holiday will be released on Milan Records on November
18, 2008.
Bethancourt takes much of his
influence from his early years of growing up in the American South West,
immersed in the musical low-rider culture of Santa Fe, New Mexico, as well
as a slight Arabian influence on the part of his parents and their
Byzantine church music. He combines these traditional sounds with
programmed beats and use of the vocoder among other new technologies and
techniques.
Because Bethancourt is the sole
member of Alaska in Winter and does not read or write
music, he uses multi-track recording to build his musical layers, using a
variety of techniques. “For Holiday, I recorded everything in
my living room on a laptop and an old micro cassette tape recorder and used
a German ghetto blaster as my monitor speakers. The only things I brought
with me to Europe were my Powerbook laptop, an effects processor, a small
midi keyboard, a microphone, and the hand held micro cassette tape
recorder,” he explains. “Because I didn't actually have
any instruments with me (aside from the elements I recorded before I came
to Europe), the album turned out very electronic, very synthy as those were
the only tools I had.”
In comparing
how Holiday differs from Dance Party in the Balkans, Bethancourt explains,
“I've definitely been influenced by Berlin on this album - much more
electronic than the last, heavily based on synths, bass, and dancier drums
and with hints of minimal house elements creeping in ever so slightly. Even
within the album itself I can hear a progression of the Berlin electronic
music scene influencing me more and more with the amount of time I spent
here. The Berlin techno parties and all night dance marathons were
big inspirations for me. |
Quotes and Quotes:
Comfort Comes
"There is not one bad track on this album."
Boomkat (UK)
"What do you get if you cross
the Balkan folk of Beirut and A Hawk and a Hacksaw with the 80s disco
reverie of the Junior Boys? Well, Alaska in Winter managed to find out when
they recruited a certain Zach Condon and Heather Trost from Beirut to play
on his record, which does exactly what it claims to - soundtracks a dance
party in the Balkans."
Tasty (UK)
"A pleasant diversion and a
brand new (mind) dance that may just grow on you. "
Culture Warrior (US)
"One of the
best album titles of the year."
Fat and Confused (UK)
"Alaska in the
Winter have created what may be the most original and ambitious pop album
of the year."
N/A
Magazine (US)
"This works as a very good introduction to
a new artist and possibly a new genre(?). "
November and December U.S. tour dates are being firmed up for
Alaska in Winter.
European Tour Dates:
Sept 25 - Rust, Copenhagen, Denmark
Sept 26 -
Musikcaféen, Arhus, Denmark
Sept 27 - Klubb Republik,
Norrkoping, Sweden
Sept 30 - Astra Stube, Hamburg, Germany
Oct 1 - Prinsenhof, Groningen, The Netherlands
Oct 2 -
Paradiso, Amsterdam, The Netherlands
Oct 4 - Ekko, Utrecht, The
Netherlands
Oct 5 - Rotown, Rotterdam, The Netherlands
Oct 7 - Nijdrop, Opwijk, Belgium
Oct 9 - Feinkost
Lampe, Hannover, Germany
Oct 11 - The Kings Arms, Salford,
UK
Oct 24 - 93 Feet East, London, UK
www.myspace.com/alaskainwinter |
|
