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 Over
one year in the making, Plays is Secret Mommy's crowning achievement. Although
written in a vernacular native to Secret Mommy, a language of splintered electronic
mischief and jarring digital edits, Plays is no doubt an outing from previous
work. Unlike the rigid and regimented creative processes of previous work (Very
Rec, 2005, created entirely from recordings of public recreational centres,
or Hawaii 5.0, 2004, created from the sounds of tropical areas), Plays is looser
in this area, focusing instead on achieving warmth and personality.
In
January 2006, Andy Dixon, AKA Secret Mommy, booked time at The Hive, a studio
owned and operated by his long-term friend and ex band mate, Jesse Gander. Dixon
had decided that it was time to showcase his experience as a guitarist, songwriter,
and lyricist, and take advantage of the fact that, due to this experience, his
core group of friends consisted almost entirely of other musicians and writers.
Dixon invited an assembly of fellow musicians (Juno award winning violinist,
Jesse Zubot; Todd Macdonald, Tyr Jami, and Paul Patko of THE WINKS; Shane Krause
and Ryan McCormick of THEY SHOOT HORSES, DON’T THEY?; Sean Maxey, Berry Higginson,
and Sarah Jane of THE DOERS, and many more) to record hours of material, sometimes
expanding on riffs and motifs pre-written by Andy, but more often the group
embraced the magic of improvised chance. The
one stipulation of the recording process was that no instrument was allowed
to be electrified. No electricity would be used at all (except of course, to
operate the recording gear). The idea was to create the most anti-electronic
electronic album, free of any synthetic sounds (no electric guitar, let alone
synths or drum machines), opting for an earthiness and soulful charm. The
result is just that. Plays swells with human warmth. Strings, brass, and woodwinds
form a veil of lush and vivid melodies over top of Mr. Mommy’s brand of jolting
and meticulous electronics. Since the composing stage was done primarily after
the recording process, Plays has a jarring cut n’ paste feel to it, as if it where
a remix album of phantom songs, composed and then scientifically dissected and
rearranged into newer more exciting forms. Balancing the precise and disciplined
characteristics are moments in which the velvet curtains of structure pull back
to reveal the original free-improv recordings, illustrating the vast talent of
all the musicians lucidly.
Track
Listing
1) String Lake
2) Grand About The Mouth
3) Deciduism
4) Kool Aid River
5) Trust Me, Cub
6) To Burry A Tent
7) Inch Up To Fur
8) Plays
9) The Tale Of A Bird Hit By Lightning
10) I Can't Get Down
11) Up On Mt. Okay
12) A Bear At Hotel Cuba
13) Bottom Fan Mail (Japanese Version Only)
Released in February, 2007
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