impossible to get 'out of my head' : a q/a with shadows on stars

The best introduction you could possibly have to Shadows On Stars is the gritty, Santigold/M.I.A.-esque banger "Out Of My Head." It's two minutes and nine seconds of ear-worming beats, hyperactive synth lines, and crackling call outs. And if you watch even the first 20 seconds of the video for this track, you'll witness a polished sex appeal that's much more LA than PDX.

But that's the beauty of Portland's dynamic music scene: The duo of producer-vocalist Brian Vincent and singer Randa Leigh fit in just as well here as they would anywhere else. And now it's time for you to learn, know and remember their name.

The two PDX transplants met "in college nearly seven years ago. We were both songwriters and started creating music and writing songs in the dorms, most of them sucked," they joke. "In 2010, we decided to try and put some real demos together and that’s when Shadows On Stars was born."

Fast forward to July 2012 and Shadows On Stars are continuing efforts to promote their self-titled debut, which covers much more musical territory than the above dance cut. In fact, according the band, it's more of an “anything goes” effort; "more of an experiment than a studio album." And this ethos is clearly reflected in the mixture the two have concocted.

There's plenty of grit and tenacity, à la "Out Of My Head," on the record, but the depth and variety display hip-hop influences mixed with glittering indie rock as the harsh tracks give way, teetering towards indie rock beauty.

Tracks like "Pay The Rent"—with its minimalist beat and echoey, rapped vocals—and "Punk Kids"—which almost sounds like two songs laid on top of each other as the underlying guitar riff holds together the scattered beats and raps that fly across the surface—are jarring and brazen. The screaming guitars and muffled wailing of "Never Let Me Down" that precede these songs are almost reminiscent of a beat-focused, less-intense Sigur Rós.

And all of that is contrasted yet again but the beautifully soaring "Here," which pays homage to late '90s indie rock icons like Death Cab, or the delicacy of "I'll Be The Light," which combines a dance beat with wispy marimba tones.

The intensity of the headstrong jams and the diversity of placid yet danceable pop songs are tempered by a childish nature and the duo's immature exploits, like staying inside all day on "Sweat Pant Bandits" or young, carefree love on "Whiskey & Cigarettes."

While Shadows On Stars' record has been available streaming on their website since March 26th, the actual release date for purchase was this past Tuesday, June 26th, and the duo will celebrate the physical CD release at Dig A Pony on the Fourth of July with Street Nights.

The pair also just unveiled the new video for the latest single "Here" and say this about it:

"The video for 'Here' was filmed while we were in New York this past February. Most of the footage was captured at a restaurant in Manhattan called The Lion. It was probably one of the most lavish days of our young careers. Wonderful food, bourbon a plenty and absolutely incredible decor. The video was directed by Crooked Engine and they did an amazing job at capturing how beautiful the scenery was that day."

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Read the interview on OMN.

from dirty mittens to artifice : a band in transformation

OMN has fondly followed Portland's Dirty Mittens over the last few years, whether they've been playing Rigsketball or coveted stages at MFNW (two years in a row) or the Mississippi Street Fair.  We rejoiced when the quintet finally released their debut album, Heart of Town, this past summer after many years in the making and set out in October to tour behind the 12 tracks of indie-pop perfection they had definitively committed to record.

And now, just a handful of weeks later it seems that the band as we know it has conclusively come to an end.  Sad as it may be, the good news is many of the Mittens will be continuing under a new name: Artifice.

Former Mittens Patrick Griffin (bass), Noah Jay-Bonn (keys), Josh Hawley (keys/guitar), Ryan Hanzlik (drums), and Chelsea Morrisey (vox/guitar) "decided to continue working together to explore where this new approach goes," says Morrisey.  But on the surface, the choice seems to leave guitarist and longtime member Ben Hubbird as the odd man out.

Hubbird told OMN:

It's been a long time coming. They're really excited to be moving in a more electronic, sample-driven direction and I'm not really into all that stuff. On our last tour, for example, everyone was programming beats on their laptops in the van, and I was left strumming an acoustic guitar and writing sad bastard songs. There's always a certain melancholy to any ending, and certainly this is no exception. Sharing sweaty rooms, stinky vans, and cramped stages with those folks has been one of the best experiences of my life. But it's definitely time to move on.

I know they're going to sound fantastic, and I'm stoked to be able to go to shows as a fan and dance my ass off and not worry about playing guitar!

So, what will Artifice sound like?  Their Facebook profile doesn't offer much but it does simply proclaim: DARKDANCE.

Another Facebook note from Chelsea Morrisey describes the sound a bit more:

If Dirty Mittens was the Talking Heads meet Booker T and The MGs at Col Summers Park in summer 2002, Artifice is Portishead braving the '79 Berlin winter to meet ESG at a warehouse party DJed by New Order. It is drum heavy, there are electronic and synthesized elements, but this will take nothing away from the energy and spectacle that we will bring with our live show. The show will be a different kind of animal.

Before the above message was published, OMN conducted the following interview with Chelsea Morrisey via email on the break up and plans for the new act.

How would you describe the sound of Artifice? Will it be taking a different direction than the Dirty Mittens?

I imagine that people will be shocked to know that the same group behind the sunny, indie pop of Dirty Mittens are behind Artifice. Artifice is heavy, almost moody, and much less reliant on traditional approaches to band performance and songwriting. Our goal is to create danceable music with a focus on textures and soundscapes rather than a typical four-on-the-floor format. Similar to Dirty Mittens, we will hold our live performance to a very high standard.

Okay, so what happened with Dirty Mittens?  Why are you guys "disbanding"?

I wish I could give you one of those really interesting and dramatic break up stories, but the truth is that we just really felt like we needed to hit reset. We loved Dirty Mittens and we will always have nostalgia for the project, but we have grown up so much as people and more importantly as musicians and songwriters. Over the last year we've incorporated more and more computer-based approaches to songwriting, which have altered our sound in such a way that we really felt like our new material was a different band.

[There are] no personal problems whatsoever. I have viewed the band as family and have actually spent more time with these guys than my biological family in the last five years. I wouldn't take a day of that back.

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Read the rest on OMN.