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ARTANKER CONVOY “Lulls the listener into a stupor with slight shades of soul, krautrock, bossa nova, hip hop, psych, punk funk and New York noise. Prepare to be bowled over.” Philadelphia City Paper “Raw, ferociously funky stuff that nods towards 70s Miles, with Artanker driving the whole train from behind his kit.” Time Out New York Cozy Endings captures the finest moments so far of a two year experiment between the psychedelic rock group Artanker Convoy and the art collective MUX. This CD/DVD set offers the seeker the rare opportunity to catch a glimpse of the aural and visual experience that have only been available to live audiences in limited locations. Artanker Convoy generates the sound: alien waves punctuated by sly rhythms that accommodate a crowd whether it is dancing, watching the visuals or relaxing. MUX brings to bear the combined visual acumen of choreographers, lighting specialists and video artists to create an ethereal landscape through which the band dissolves and dancers flow through. Artanker entered into psychedelic rock when he and LCD Soundsytem’s James Murphy formed the Jinx Clambake Explosion in the early 90s. Joe Fiorentino joined soon after but the precocious band self-destructed after a single spectacular year. Artanker and Fiorentino reunited to form Stratotanker, and Murphy recorded most of the records that followed. The members, together now almost six years, have become attuned to each others thoughts, able to follow each other as they constantly redefine and sculpt their songs.. They are expert musical collagists who take strips of one genre and interpose them with swatches of others. What results are seamless dioramas that seduce the listener with light aural caresses, swinging melodies, and power flourishes that are layered on top of each other like thin silk sheets. On every one of Cozy Endings tracks there is an interplay between the instruments dropping in and then withdrawing. Sometimes taking the lead and other times dropping into a deep pocket. But those leads are not about virtuosity; every note serves the groove. The nine videos on the DVD featured here range from MUX-Convoy live performances to animation to abstract op-art, providing a constant flow of stimulation similar to the experience of one of their shows. The CD contains Convoy’s most fully realized studio compositions to date. MUX has performed with Artanker Convoy and their music at Symphony Space, Tonic, The Knitting Factory, CBGBs, Galapagos, and the Mercosur Theater Festival in Cordoba , Argentina. Their lighting and video artists have created work for the Juan Maclean, Electricculture Chicago, Maura Baiocchi and Transcultura, the Electronic Visualization Laboratory (EVL) at the University of Illinois at Chicago, and clothing designer Jhane Barnes. Choreographer and dancer Nicole Wolcot is the Associate Artistic. Director of Keigwin and Company, has danced in the Metropolitan Opera under Mark Dendy, worked with site specific choreographer Noemie Lafrance, and dances in a soon to be released Julie Taymor movie. She is featured on the cover of this CD/DVD set. |
Catalog Number: TSR029 CD Tracklisting: DVD Tracklisting: VISIT ARTANKER CONVOY'S MYSPACE All Tracks Listed In Blue Are Linked To A Downloadable MP3 |