The Brooklyn, NY-based indie folk outfit In One Wind are set to release their first full-length album, How Bright a Shadow! on the Primary Records label. From a Wendell Berry poem of the same name, the title signifies the feeling of the album: through a harmonious optimism, there is a tautly stretched thread of despair.
The band is comprised of vocalist and guitarist Angelo Spagnolo, vocalists Mallory Glaser and Lily Claire Nussbaum, bassist Robert Lundberg, multi-reedist Steven Lugerner, and drummer Max Jaffe. How Bright a Shadow! draws on folk, indie rock, avant-garde, and pop influences. The band formed in February 2009, with Lugerner and Jaffe joining in the summer of that year. Anthony LaMarca (St. Vincent, Dean and Britta) produced the album, and played a critical role in its coming-to-be. “I have known and admired everyone in In One Wind well before recording with them,” says LaMarca. “My role as producer was a pretty easy one as the band already had incredible songs and arrangements. My main job was to be an external set of ears; I applaud the band for being comfortable with having someone not in the band help make some changes. This freedom allowed us to experiment with layering voices and woodwinds and adding some collage elements without holding the previous versions of the songs as precious.” Guests on the album include Rob Lee on tenor saxophone, Josh Henderson on violin and Tristan Cooley on alto flute.
The characteristic sound of In One Wind is defined by its instrumentation and the sudden rhythmic and dynamic shifts of the songs on How Bright a Shadow! Spagnolo’s writing process began with country and folk music built on storytelling, to which he applied guitarist Fred Frith’s concept of ”block melody.” Frith, in this method, understands melody to be a series of events in time. “[Drummer] Gerry Hemingway was a big influence to me in looking at compositional possibilities,” Spagnolo acknowledges. “He pointed me towards Fred Frith, John Zorn and many others.” Spagnolo’s juxtaposition of contrasting musical spaces imbue the simple themes of the music with a mysterious quality.
While Spagnolo is the primary composer for the group, the songs take on their own lives within the band. “The typical writing process begins with me writing the song in its basic form. I normally work with each individual on their parts and together we sculpt the music,” says Spagnolo. ”What I really enjoy about this is that it gives everyone some freedom to create within certain parameters and the sound of the band is the sum of six personalities. I’m continually surprised that we are still currently changing songs we’ve been playing for a long while.”
Each section of musicians takes turns at the forefront of How Bright a Shadow! The album’s use of space within a sometimes dense ensemble contributes to its special character. The combination of Lugerner’s English horn, female vocals and glockenspiel on the opening “Tuck Me In With Bells,” sounds like a breathing, human synthesizer. “What Seems to Be” presents a chamber orchestra of multiple woodwinds, violin and double bass over a steady, almost abrasive drumbeat. Jaffe and Lundberg are a powerful engine for the band. Along with Spagnolo’s guitar processing wizardry and some minimal electronic manipulations, the pastoral blend of woodwinds, strings and voices is disrupted.
The lyrical content of the album is rooted in far-flung influences. From protagonists in Franz Kafka short stories (“Death By Sea Air” is based on The Judgement), accounts from the Gospels (“Go Follow John”), and tales from the Brothers Grimm, for Spagnolo it all returns to relationships among faith, love and loss.
In One Wind’s debut reveals a group with strong pop sensibilities that fearlessly delves into the experimental.
In One Wind will tour select U.S. cities beginning in June, which will include Brooklyn, Pittsburgh, PA, Chicago, IL, Madison, WI and Cleveland, OH.
Release date: August 16, 2011
***
In One Wind Tour Dates:
For more information on In One Wind, please contact
Matt Merewitz at Fully Altered Media / (347) 384-2839 or matt@fullyaltered.com
