this is not the follow-up to adventures. this is a trimmed-down, edited and remastered version of an album i wrote and released last year.
all donations for this album will go to Make A Better World Kenya (MABWOK), a non-profit organization located in the Mukuru slums of Nairobi. my sister has been working with this organization for the past six months; any donations (even a few dollars) will go to providing early childhood education, promoting adult literacy and offering computer training.
after this album, i'll be taking a break from music for a while. i want to get back to creating the way i did a few years ago when i started this project. i don't like feeling like the blog music scene is a competition, and i don't want my personal happiness reliant on musical success.
i'm still working on a lot of [creative] things, i just need some time.
jessica morgan: vocals on signals, radiowave
benjamin mott: piano on 120
victoria jago: vocals on 120
lauren hillman: vocals on dntel cover
new order: kick sample on river
drew harris: music, vocals, drums on rain
graham keehn: drums on bloc party cover
Video for Take Me Home: vimeo.com/22354003
Video for Natural: vimeo.com/24286728
Music production is like analog photography - I'm always excited by the opportunities for creativity in experimentation, and I always prefer to create something unique rather than something perfectly produced through formulas and digital precision.
Adventures is like this - as represented by the album art, it's not clean and spotless... it is how I want it to sound but that doesn't mean that it's always perfect. The DIY aesthetic has always been fundamental to this project and by that definition, Adventures nearly sums up all that is Germany Germany. The past synth-pop, electro, ambient, etc. sounds have all been combined into 2 sides, 17 songs, 60 minutes.
I grew up listening to The Postal Service. Not since I was a child, but since the time when my music tastes stabilized (probably around 15) I've loved The Postal Service. It's no secret and I know that it shows in my music sometimes... I hope that rather than an Owl City-esque creative theft you see this as inspiration. I actually sent Jimmy Tamborello an e-mail a few weeks ago thanking him for all he's done as Dntel and The Postal Service... I've yet to receive a reply but I'm optimistic.
I hope that you enjoy this record. I've spent a long, long time on it and I hope that that shows. This is far from my full-time occupation but lately I find that it occupies most of my thoughts... though in the end this is just a hobby for me, and I like it that way.
It might be worth noting a few things...Transatlantic is all put together from samples of a short laptop-recorded guitar/vocal track that my friend Emily put together. Adventures II is sampled (almost exclusively) from tapping a wineglass and recording it on an iPhone. Take Your Time is the same, only with a full acoustic piano. A few of the samples at the end of Cold Hands are from Home, a track from one of my previous albums (the sampled vocals in Reflections are from Dreams That Pass).
Thanks to all the bloggers, musicians, friends and family that have helped me out through the past couple of years.
Natural - Donne Tor: vocals, sample of Donny Hathaway's "You Were Meant For Me"
Dance - Matt Adler: vocal sample (from Dedication)
Take Your Time - Tim Walters: piano
Transatlantic - Emily Michiels: guitar/vocals (sampled)
Just Go - Steffaloo: vocals, sample of Brian Eno/Harold Budd's "Against the Sky"
Album art by Vincent Munoz of m48v.com - frequently posts on Distorted Disco Visual, distorteddisco.com/visual
Written, recorded and produced by Drew Harris
Too Much To Say, Electric, Last Summer - Jessica Morgan: vocals
Written, recorded and produced by Drew Harris
Signals, Radiowave, Moon, Meteor - Jessica Morgan: vocals
120 - Benjamin Mott: piano, Victoria Jago: vocals
Written, recorded and produced by Drew Harris
Ocean Tides, Home, We Are Friends, Electrolove, Ceremony, Exit - Jessica Morgan: vocals
Ceremony - Joy Division/New Order cover
Written, recorded and produced by Drew Harris
Voices, Dreams That Pass, Symmetry - Jessica Morgan: vocals
Written, recorded and produced by Drew Harris