Blog: Lost in the '80s

"And I've just about had enough of the sunshine, hey!"

May 27, 2008, 11:23am Lost in the '80s
the blow monkeys - it dosent have to be that way
In a nice bit of blog synergy, it seems everyone is talking about blue-eyed soul…which leads me to one of the sadder stories of the also-rans (at least in the States) in this genre – Dr. Robert and the Blow Monkeys. First off, that name. Is it a coke reference? A funny, random lark? Whichever, it certainly didn't help their chances with radio programmers. Secondly, the Blow Monkeys had the misfortune of being signed to RCA Records in the United States, a fate I wouldn't wish on my most hated enemy. [...]

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You know what's good just about any time of the day?HAD Mix Of The Month: Dead Air By NabocoughMax Martin And Dr. Luke Share ASCAP Songwriter Of The Year AwardRecord Store Day is tomorrow and we can now hear one of the most...What Was It You Said About Luck, one of the b-sides to James...Tour Dates: 08.19.11 – Seattle, WA @ Fremont Abbey for Songs About Books 08.20.11 – Davis, CA @ Sophia’s Thai Kitchen 08.21.11 – San Francisco, CA @ Hemlock Tavern 08.22.11 – Los Angeles, CA @ Bardot 08.24.11 – Tucson, AZ @ Plush 08.27.11 – Denver, CO @ The Meadowlark 08.28.11 – Salt Lake City, UT @ Urban Lounge 08.29.11 – Boise, ID @ Visual Arts Collective 08.30.11 – Seattle, WA @ Comet Tavern Bright Archer’s music is as hypnotic as snow falling on water. Sounding at once vast and muted, the music centers on the voice and ornate piano playing of Johanna Kunin. Growing up in Minneapolis, Kunin grew attached to piano playing at an early age. Childhood afternoons spent poring over field guides and summers whiled away exploring the Boundary Waters also cultivated an early fascination with the natural world and her place in it. But instead of becoming a naturalist, Kunin gravitated toward music, singing with the Minnesota Opera Company as a child and getting a jazz education during her college years in Seattle. She was in her twenties by the time she discovered songwriting, a medium through which she could combine her interest in the natural world with music. After her first couple demos earned her a grant, Kunin met Tucker Martine who went on to produce her first full-length album, Clouds Electric (released in 2006). The making of her second album, Hidden Systems, marked a turning point for Kunin. Quickly immersing herself in the rich musical community of Portland, OR – which she would eventually join – and at the production helm for the first time, she chose a new musical moniker, Bright Archer, to better reflect her music’s evolving sound. On a series of winter weekends, Kunin co-produced the album with Skyler Norwood at his studio outside Portland and found 70s-rock inspiration on the radio dial while commuting from Seattle. Kunin and Norwood fashioned arrangements in the studio, borrowing a french horn player here and a bass player there from the bevy of bands Kunin plays in (Loch Lomond, AgesandAges, Velella Velella). Though all songs still center on Kunin’s lush voice and piano; a chorus of orchestral instruments, vibraphone and playful keyboard sounds allow each of the new songs to take on ornate lives of their own. The resulting music is rife with surreal atmospheres, melodic vocal lines and rhythmic piano backdrops. Lyrically, songs proceed in a wide-eyed, dreamlike fashion with the subject matter drawing portraits of the ephemeral, the ambiguous, and the fragile. Bright Archer will capture your imagination and remind you what it’s like to look at the world with eyes anew. Hidden Systems is out on July 5th, 2011 from Bear Island Records!

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