Final Fantasy's Owen Pallett is officially on the up-and-up. Not only does the orchestrally-minded Canadian not have H1N1, but he now has his Heartland LP all in order and ready for release.
Via new label home Domino, word has come that Final Fantasy will release the long-awaited album on January 12, just as originally planned.
While Heartland is supposedly filled with a lot of looped violin and vocals, the record also features several guests, including Arcade Fire drummer Jeremy Gara, Gentleman Reg, Nico Muhly and the Czech Symphony. It also comes after nine months of slaving away on it in four different countries, and features some story about an "ultra-violent farmer" named Lewis.
In the press release, here's what Pallett has to say about record:
"The songs themselves form a narrative concerning a farmer named Lewis and the fictional world of Spectrum. The songs are one-sided dialogues with Lewis, a young, ultra-violent farmer, speaking to his creator.
"The album was compositionally modelled upon the principles of electronic music. The principles of analog synthesis informing symphonic writing, like an inversion of a Tomita record. These songs, too, were designed to be as dense with polyphony as the Final Fantasy live shows can become. While writing it, I kept an image in my head of putting so many notes on the page that the paper turned black.
"This record encapsulates a whole year of work for me, and was difficult to see through, but I'm immensely proud of the results. I hope you enjoy it."
Heartland:
1. "Midnight Directives"
2. "Keep The Dog Quiet"
3. "Mount Alpentine"
4. "Red Sun No. 5"
5. "Lewis Takes Action"
6. "The Great Elsewhere"
7. "Oh Heartland, Up Yours!"
8. "Lewis Takes Off His Shirt"
9. "Flare Gun"
10. "E Is For Estranged"
11. "Tryst With Mephistopheles"
12. "What Do You Think Will Happen Now?"
Tour dates:
9/30 Regina, SK - The Exchange *
10/1 Saskatoon, SK - Amigos Cantina *
10/2-3 Winnipeg, MB - West End Cultural Centre *
10/23 Halifax, NS - Rebecca Cohn Auditorium (Dalhousie University) ^
11/4 Grand Rapids, MI - Ladies Literary Club #
11/5 Chicago, IL - The Metro #
11/6 Madison, WI - High Noon Saloon #
11/7 Minneapolis, MN - Cedar Cultural Center #
11/10 Seattle, WA - The Showbox #
11/11 Portland, OR - Wonder Ballroom #
11/14 San Francisco, CA - The Fillmore #
11/15 Los Angeles, CA - Henry Fonda Theatre #
11/18 Austin, TX - Antone's #
11/19 Dallas, TX - Granada Theatre #
11/20 Nashville, TN - Mercy Lounge #
11/21 Atlanta, GA - The Variety Playhouse #
11/23 Orlando, FL - The Social #
11/24 St. Augustine, FL - Cafe Eleven #
11/27 Washington, DC - Nightclub 9:30 #
11/28 Philadelphia, PA - Theater Of Living Arts #
11/29 Boston, MA - Wilbur Theater #
12/1 New York, NY - Webster Hall #
12/2 Brooklyn, NY - The Bell House #
* with Timber Timbre
^ with Symphony Nova Scotia
# with the Mountain Goats
Via new label home Domino, word has come that Final Fantasy will release the long-awaited album on January 12, just as originally planned.
While Heartland is supposedly filled with a lot of looped violin and vocals, the record also features several guests, including Arcade Fire drummer Jeremy Gara, Gentleman Reg, Nico Muhly and the Czech Symphony. It also comes after nine months of slaving away on it in four different countries, and features some story about an "ultra-violent farmer" named Lewis.
In the press release, here's what Pallett has to say about record:
"The songs themselves form a narrative concerning a farmer named Lewis and the fictional world of Spectrum. The songs are one-sided dialogues with Lewis, a young, ultra-violent farmer, speaking to his creator.
"The album was compositionally modelled upon the principles of electronic music. The principles of analog synthesis informing symphonic writing, like an inversion of a Tomita record. These songs, too, were designed to be as dense with polyphony as the Final Fantasy live shows can become. While writing it, I kept an image in my head of putting so many notes on the page that the paper turned black.
"This record encapsulates a whole year of work for me, and was difficult to see through, but I'm immensely proud of the results. I hope you enjoy it."
Heartland:
1. "Midnight Directives"
2. "Keep The Dog Quiet"
3. "Mount Alpentine"
4. "Red Sun No. 5"
5. "Lewis Takes Action"
6. "The Great Elsewhere"
7. "Oh Heartland, Up Yours!"
8. "Lewis Takes Off His Shirt"
9. "Flare Gun"
10. "E Is For Estranged"
11. "Tryst With Mephistopheles"
12. "What Do You Think Will Happen Now?"
Tour dates:
9/30 Regina, SK - The Exchange *
10/1 Saskatoon, SK - Amigos Cantina *
10/2-3 Winnipeg, MB - West End Cultural Centre *
10/23 Halifax, NS - Rebecca Cohn Auditorium (Dalhousie University) ^
11/4 Grand Rapids, MI - Ladies Literary Club #
11/5 Chicago, IL - The Metro #
11/6 Madison, WI - High Noon Saloon #
11/7 Minneapolis, MN - Cedar Cultural Center #
11/10 Seattle, WA - The Showbox #
11/11 Portland, OR - Wonder Ballroom #
11/14 San Francisco, CA - The Fillmore #
11/15 Los Angeles, CA - Henry Fonda Theatre #
11/18 Austin, TX - Antone's #
11/19 Dallas, TX - Granada Theatre #
11/20 Nashville, TN - Mercy Lounge #
11/21 Atlanta, GA - The Variety Playhouse #
11/23 Orlando, FL - The Social #
11/24 St. Augustine, FL - Cafe Eleven #
11/27 Washington, DC - Nightclub 9:30 #
11/28 Philadelphia, PA - Theater Of Living Arts #
11/29 Boston, MA - Wilbur Theater #
12/1 New York, NY - Webster Hall #
12/2 Brooklyn, NY - The Bell House #
* with Timber Timbre
^ with Symphony Nova Scotia
# with the Mountain Goats
