Last year, British pop experimentalist Mica Levi scored the Scarlett Johansson sci-fi film Under the Skin, but now she's turned her focus back to her group Micachu & the Shapes. Their album Good Sad Happy Bad will be out on September 11 through Rough Trade.
The process in making the album began with an hours-long jam in a London studio. Drummer Marc Pell had a recording device with him, and without his bandmates' knowledge, he captured the entire thing. Instead of being angry about the stealthy recording, Levi and keyboardist Raisa Khan were so happy with the jam that it provided the basis for the new album.
Levi chose sections from the session to turn into songs, and she wrote all of the lyrics for Good Sad Happy Bad in a non-stop creative burst. According to a press release, the results "[combine] the lightness and bounce of their best singles with the sonic textures of field recordings, industrial effects alongside straightforward instrumentation." Rather than work out the songs and work quickly in a studio, the musicians tinkered with the mixes over a period of months.
For a taste of this, hear the cut "Oh Baby" at the bottom of this page. It's a plunking, hypnotically reverb-shrouded minimal experiment.
See the tracklist below, and Micachu & the Shapes' tour schedule below that; the band have a few North American shows in September, including a date in Montreal.
This is the band's first album since 2012's Never.
Good Sad Happy Bad:
1. Sad
2. Relaxing
3. Dreaming
4. Sea Air
5. Thinking It
6. Crushed
7. Oh Baby
8. Waiting
9. Unity
10. Peach
11. LA Poison
12. Hazes
13. Suffering
Tour dates:
07/15 Glasgow, UK - Broadcast
07/16 Newcastle, UK - The Cluny 2
07/20 Brighton, UK - The Green Door Store
07/27 Leicester, UK - Firebug Bar
07/28 Manchester, UK - Soup Kitchen
07/30 London, UK - Bold Tendencies
08/01 Sejerø, Denmark - Sejerø Festival
09/12 New York, NY - Le Poisson Rouge
09/13 Philadelphia, PA - Boot & Saddle
09/16 Montreal, QC - Bar Le Ritz
11/27-29 Prestatyn, UK - Pontins Holiday Centre (All Tomorrow's Parties)
The process in making the album began with an hours-long jam in a London studio. Drummer Marc Pell had a recording device with him, and without his bandmates' knowledge, he captured the entire thing. Instead of being angry about the stealthy recording, Levi and keyboardist Raisa Khan were so happy with the jam that it provided the basis for the new album.
Levi chose sections from the session to turn into songs, and she wrote all of the lyrics for Good Sad Happy Bad in a non-stop creative burst. According to a press release, the results "[combine] the lightness and bounce of their best singles with the sonic textures of field recordings, industrial effects alongside straightforward instrumentation." Rather than work out the songs and work quickly in a studio, the musicians tinkered with the mixes over a period of months.
For a taste of this, hear the cut "Oh Baby" at the bottom of this page. It's a plunking, hypnotically reverb-shrouded minimal experiment.
See the tracklist below, and Micachu & the Shapes' tour schedule below that; the band have a few North American shows in September, including a date in Montreal.
This is the band's first album since 2012's Never.
Good Sad Happy Bad:
1. Sad
2. Relaxing
3. Dreaming
4. Sea Air
5. Thinking It
6. Crushed
7. Oh Baby
8. Waiting
9. Unity
10. Peach
11. LA Poison
12. Hazes
13. Suffering
Tour dates:
07/15 Glasgow, UK - Broadcast
07/16 Newcastle, UK - The Cluny 2
07/20 Brighton, UK - The Green Door Store
07/27 Leicester, UK - Firebug Bar
07/28 Manchester, UK - Soup Kitchen
07/30 London, UK - Bold Tendencies
08/01 Sejerø, Denmark - Sejerø Festival
09/12 New York, NY - Le Poisson Rouge
09/13 Philadelphia, PA - Boot & Saddle
09/16 Montreal, QC - Bar Le Ritz
11/27-29 Prestatyn, UK - Pontins Holiday Centre (All Tomorrow's Parties)
