Saturday Feb 27, 2010
The Clientele & Vetiver
The Clientele
The Clientele formed a long time ago in the backwoods of suburban Hampshire, playing together as kids at school, rehearsing in a thatched cottage remote from any kind of music scene, but hypnotized by the magical strangeness of Galaxie 500 and Felt and the psych pop of Love and the Zombies. Singer Alasdair MacLean still recalls a pub conversation where the band collectively voted that it was OK to be influenced by Surrealist poetry but not OK to have any shouting or blues guitar solos. From that moment on, they put their stamp on a kind of eerie, distanced pure pop, stripped to its essentials and recorded quickly to 4- ... [read more]track analogue tape. Bonfires on the Heath is in a sense a return to the Clientele’s roots; the dreamlike suburban landscapes first encountered in the early singles, their trippy sense of menace stronger now. Back in London, they’ve drawn on older traditions of English folk, which exist here side by side with the band’s more familiar bossa and pop elements. Mel Draisey’s contributions on piano and violin add beautifully to MacLean’s timeless, eerie songs. Instantly identifiable, the Clientele sound like no one else, although they are cited as an influence by bands as diverse as Spoon and the Fleet Foxes. It’s been said that the greatest bands always create their own individual sound; the Clientele have gone one further and created their own world.
Vetiver
Vetiver are an American folk band headed by songwriter Andy Cabic and often joined by Devendra Banhart, cellist Alissa Anderson, drummer Otto Hauser, violinist Carmen Biggers, guitarists Kevin Barker and Sanders Trippe, and bassist Brent Dunn. Vetiver released their debut album in 2004 on the small indie folk label DiCristina. Since the album's release Vetiver has toured extensively, opening for and collaborating with Banhart and Joanna Newsom. Before moving to San Francisco, Cabic was a member of the Greensboro, North Carolina indie rock band The Raymond Brake who released some records on the now defunct Simple Machines label. The band shared the bill with Vashti Bunyan on her US tour in early 2007. The band is named after the grass, vetiver. Their music has been described as 'surreal', 'lullingly pleasant', 'tender and accessible' and 'quirky and warm'.[citation needed]
The Clientele formed a long time ago in the backwoods of suburban Hampshire, playing together as kids at school, rehearsing in a thatched cottage remote from any kind of music scene, but hypnotized by the magical strangeness of Galaxie 500 and Felt and the psych pop of Love and the Zombies. Singer Alasdair MacLean still recalls a pub conversation where the band collectively voted that it was OK to be influenced by Surrealist poetry but not OK to have any shouting or blues guitar solos. From that moment on, they put their stamp on a kind of eerie, distanced pure pop, stripped to its essentials and recorded quickly to 4- ... [read more]track analogue tape. Bonfires on the Heath is in a sense a return to the Clientele’s roots; the dreamlike suburban landscapes first encountered in the early singles, their trippy sense of menace stronger now. Back in London, they’ve drawn on older traditions of English folk, which exist here side by side with the band’s more familiar bossa and pop elements. Mel Draisey’s contributions on piano and violin add beautifully to MacLean’s timeless, eerie songs. Instantly identifiable, the Clientele sound like no one else, although they are cited as an influence by bands as diverse as Spoon and the Fleet Foxes. It’s been said that the greatest bands always create their own individual sound; the Clientele have gone one further and created their own world.
Vetiver
Vetiver are an American folk band headed by songwriter Andy Cabic and often joined by Devendra Banhart, cellist Alissa Anderson, drummer Otto Hauser, violinist Carmen Biggers, guitarists Kevin Barker and Sanders Trippe, and bassist Brent Dunn. Vetiver released their debut album in 2004 on the small indie folk label DiCristina. Since the album's release Vetiver has toured extensively, opening for and collaborating with Banhart and Joanna Newsom. Before moving to San Francisco, Cabic was a member of the Greensboro, North Carolina indie rock band The Raymond Brake who released some records on the now defunct Simple Machines label. The band shared the bill with Vashti Bunyan on her US tour in early 2007. The band is named after the grass, vetiver. Their music has been described as 'surreal', 'lullingly pleasant', 'tender and accessible' and 'quirky and warm'.[citation needed]