D.C.’s Beauty Pill (multi-instrumentalists Basla Andolsun, Jean Cook, Drew Doucette, Devin Ocampo and founding member Abram Goodrich) return with their work cut out for themselves. Not content simply putting out a record, they will be embarking on the Immersive Ideal project. Inspired in part by the famous Abbey Road Studio Two window, the group will be creating its new album in full view of the public eye at the Artisphere. Curated by Artisphere's New Media Curator Ryan Holladay, one half of longtime Beauty Pill pal Bluebrain, the residency runs July 16 to August 2 , with the installation slated for December/January of this year.
"Artisphere is excited to be partnering with Beauty Pill on this groundbreaking project. As far as I know, there really hasnt been a band to do something like this nor can I think of a place better suited for this kind of artistic experiment," says Holladay. "This is exactly the sort of thing we want to be doing. We're not sure what will happen but we're glad it's going to be happening at Artisphere."
Beauty Pill’s Chad Clark says this about the Immersive Ideal project, "The way that we make music involves a lot of stumbling in the dark." Clark adds, "Making that process accessible and visible to the outside world will, if nothing else, be an exercise in vulnerability.” - Courtesy of Terrorbird
We've always been big fans of Luke Temple, and it's good to see that, together with the Here We Go Magic crew, the man is keeping at it with increasingly beautiful records and videos. The band's new album "A Different Ship" (stream it here) will be out on May 8, and betrays at least a partial return to Luke Temple's more intimate and melodic sound from his solo repertoire - in this regard, lend a ear to "Hard to Be Close," "Alone but Moving" and "Over the Ocean". This is welcome news for fans like us who always thought that in most HWGM material Luke's noteworthy songwriting skills seemed a little sacrificed on the altar of textural experimentation. This doesn't mean that the band's signature hypnotic, impressionistic sound is lost - it's just that these two elements work together better than they did in past records, and this is what makes this album one of the NYC highlights of the year so far. Indeed, this collection also features songs more in line with the band's past releases ("Make Up your Mind", "I Believe in Action"), which follow on the steps of brainy-pop icons like Brian Eno and The Feelies, but there's definitely a balance here, also betrayed by the almost perfect alternation of melodic songs and less traditional ones.The just released video of "How Do I Know," telling the story of a rejected dancing robot that ends up revitalizing an older man's appreciation for life, seems to reflect on this brain/heart, mechanic/organic dichotomies and somehow bring them to unity. - PDG
