|
Event
BENJAMIN CARTEL (OF KAISER CARTEL) AND FRIENDS HOLIDAY SHOW
$8 IN ADVANCE / $10 AT THE DOOR
9PM DOORS / 9:30PM SHOWTIME
21+
BENJAMIN CARTEL
After earning a buzz as one of New York Citys up-and-coming songwriters, Benjamin Cartel put his solo career on hold in 2004, the year he co-founded the indie folk duo Kaiser Cartel. Years later, that band is still moving along... and Cartels solo career has earned a new set of wheels too, thanks to an EP that bridges the gap between Wilcos wry rock & roll and John Lennons classic pop.
Money and Love is Cartels first solo release. Like the musical influences that spawned it, the EP is a mix of old and new. Several songs, like the vintage pop/rocker No One, were written before Kaiser Cartels formation. Others, like the rave-up title track, are newer compositions. Julia, one of the albums harmony-drenched highlights, was written somewhere in the middle. Cartel looked everywhere for inspiration: relationships, the road, even old Alfred Hitchcock movies.
The recording process began at The End Studio in Greenpoint, Brooklyn, with Mike Cohen (Lucinda Black Bear). Cartel recorded the songs simply, strumming an acoustic guitar while two friends chimed in on bass and lead guitar. He then sent the bare-boned recordings to his friend and occasional tour mate Kristoffer Ragnstam, an indie pop musician living in Gothenburg, Sweden. Ragnstam, along with his bandmate Joel Lundberg, added layers and arrangements to Cartels songs, turning what began as a skeletal EP into something more fleshed-out and eclectic.
I let Kris and Joel add whatever they wanted, Cartel says, and didn't get in the way of their process. I felt good about the songs and my performance -- and as a fan of Kris band, Kristoffer and the Harbor Heads, I was honored that they wanted to contribute to my recordings.
Some finishing touches were added several months later, when Ragnstam and Cartel rendezvoused in L.A. at New Monkey Studio (originally owned by Elliot Smith), and then later at the home of Aqualungs Matt Hales, whod previously worked with Cartel on the Kaiser Cartel albums March Forth and Secret Transit. Together, the musicians added handclaps, backing vocals and piano.
The result is a recording rooted in honest, straightforward songwriting -- the sort of singer/songwriter fare that Cartel regularly performs at his solo shows, with nothing more than an acoustic guitar to back him up -- and dressed up with full, genre-spanning arrangements. Its an album that builds a bridge between opposites: between old and new, love and loss, rock and pop, solo songwriting and full-band recording.
|
|
 |
LocationIcehouse (View)
2528 Nicollet Avenue South
Minneapolis, MN 55404
United States
Categories
| Minimum Age: 21 |
| Kid Friendly: No |
| Dog Friendly: No |
| Non-Smoking: Yes! |
| Wheelchair Accessible: Yes! |
|
Contact
|
