Last year, Of Montreal mastermind Kevin Barnes spoke up about his band's upcoming EP, which will round out the trilogy that he started with Skeletal Lamping (2008) and False Priest (2010). Now, we finally have some concrete details about the release.
The EP is called thecontrollersphere and it will come out through Polyvinyl on April 26. The five-song collection clocks in at 23 minutes, and a press release suggests that it will be folkier than the band's recent electro-funk forays.
Barnes offered this description of the EP:
Here's your folk record, I hope you like that I've carried on the tradition of such folk luminaries as Abu Bakr Khairat, Benny Moré and Nawal Al Zoghbi. These songs were written in Sunlandia, that's where most of the folk songs are written now a days, and they were recorded up there, as well as in LA with Jon Brion, with no small contribution from Matt Chamberlain (drum du lum and yerba matte enthusiast) and K Ishibashi (my most modern classical friend). It is my hope that you can tolerate listening to this short EP in one sitting and appreciate it like a fine dining experience. Furthermore, the force that threw the green fuse anointed this protest album. It is a protest statement against the pneuma possessive. In fact this album is the voice of a desirous spirit that is aware of its positive zero chance of fulfillment or salvation or respite. There are many noisy moments that represent my attempt to communicate, in a sub human language, all that cannot be expressed with our earth tongue and all manners of mouth mechanisms. This little EP is a freak out record, have you ever seen anyone dancing to folk music? Well, like my fellow folk singing brother Bob Dylan once said, 'I'd dance with you Maria, but my hands are on fire.' Though, in this case, the world is roughly one year from extinction…or not.
You can download the opening track "Black Lion Massacre" for free right here. Despite Barnes's claim that this will be a "folk record," this song is a mangled explosion of noise with spoken word verses and squalling blasts of synth and distorted guitar. Polyvinyl calls it "a pulsing sonic freakout that is the darkest and noisiest song Barnes has ever written and serves as thecontrollersphere's mission statement." Scroll to the bottom of the page to see a promo video for the song.
The EP will be available on black or limited-edition blue vinyl, as well as on CD and digitally. Go here to pre-order, and see the tracklist below.
Also on April 26, Polyvinyl will put out an art book called What's Weird? by David Barnes. In addition to being Kevin's brother, David designs all of Of Montreal's artwork. The book will contain "over 100 paintings, hundreds of sketches and doodles, and funny, interesting, insightful comments about the pieces written by [David] Barnes." Go here to pre-order.
thecontrollersphere:
1. "Black Lion Massacre"
2. "Flunkt Sass vs. the Root Plume"
3. "Holiday Call"
4. "L'age D'or"
5. "Slave Translator"
The EP is called thecontrollersphere and it will come out through Polyvinyl on April 26. The five-song collection clocks in at 23 minutes, and a press release suggests that it will be folkier than the band's recent electro-funk forays.
Barnes offered this description of the EP:
Here's your folk record, I hope you like that I've carried on the tradition of such folk luminaries as Abu Bakr Khairat, Benny Moré and Nawal Al Zoghbi. These songs were written in Sunlandia, that's where most of the folk songs are written now a days, and they were recorded up there, as well as in LA with Jon Brion, with no small contribution from Matt Chamberlain (drum du lum and yerba matte enthusiast) and K Ishibashi (my most modern classical friend). It is my hope that you can tolerate listening to this short EP in one sitting and appreciate it like a fine dining experience. Furthermore, the force that threw the green fuse anointed this protest album. It is a protest statement against the pneuma possessive. In fact this album is the voice of a desirous spirit that is aware of its positive zero chance of fulfillment or salvation or respite. There are many noisy moments that represent my attempt to communicate, in a sub human language, all that cannot be expressed with our earth tongue and all manners of mouth mechanisms. This little EP is a freak out record, have you ever seen anyone dancing to folk music? Well, like my fellow folk singing brother Bob Dylan once said, 'I'd dance with you Maria, but my hands are on fire.' Though, in this case, the world is roughly one year from extinction…or not.
You can download the opening track "Black Lion Massacre" for free right here. Despite Barnes's claim that this will be a "folk record," this song is a mangled explosion of noise with spoken word verses and squalling blasts of synth and distorted guitar. Polyvinyl calls it "a pulsing sonic freakout that is the darkest and noisiest song Barnes has ever written and serves as thecontrollersphere's mission statement." Scroll to the bottom of the page to see a promo video for the song.
The EP will be available on black or limited-edition blue vinyl, as well as on CD and digitally. Go here to pre-order, and see the tracklist below.
Also on April 26, Polyvinyl will put out an art book called What's Weird? by David Barnes. In addition to being Kevin's brother, David designs all of Of Montreal's artwork. The book will contain "over 100 paintings, hundreds of sketches and doodles, and funny, interesting, insightful comments about the pieces written by [David] Barnes." Go here to pre-order.
thecontrollersphere:
1. "Black Lion Massacre"
2. "Flunkt Sass vs. the Root Plume"
3. "Holiday Call"
4. "L'age D'or"
5. "Slave Translator"
