Categories
Reviews

Atoms and Void bring new life to prog rock

Atoms and Void cannot accurately be considered a “band,” although the music they produce is amazing and unequalled in today’s marketplace.  Rather, they are a unique collaboration of musicians with a joint mission to breathe new life into the indie music scene.

At the heart of Atoms and Void is a friendship and songwriting collaboration between guitarist and lyricist Arlie Carstens, formerly of the band Juno, and audio engineer Eric Fisher.

According to their official release, “the two began recording songs onto 4-tracks, answering machines, micro-cassette recorders, laptops and iPhones.  They recorded in cramped apartments, empty houses and tiny rehearsal spaces in Los Angeles. They recorded in real and make believe studios in Seattle, Shoreline, Sunland, Santa Monica, Studio City, Echo Park, Angelino Heights, Highland Park and downtown Los Angeles, (as well as) Portland, San Francisco, Boston, Austin, Mexico City and New York.”  In total they recorded 33 songs, of which they chose 12 for their debut album, And Nothing Else, which is being released on vinyl on May 20, 2016 on Artic Rodeo Records.

The list of musicians and audio engineers who have joined them on this album is impressive, and includes Nate Mendel (Sunny Day Real Estate, Foo Fighters, Juno, Lieutenant), Gabe Carter (Juno), Jay Clarke (Pretty Girls Make Graves, Jaguar Love), Cory Murchy (Minus the Bear), Morgan Henderson (Blood Brothers, Fleet Foxes, Cave Singers), Rosie Thomas (Sufjan Stevens), Eric Akre (Treepeople, Built To Spill, Juno), Joel Cuplin (Constant Lovers, Triumph of Lethargy), Josh Myers (The Fire Theft, Jeremy Enigk, Rosie Thomas), Drew O’Doherty (Ted Leo & the Pharmacists), Griffin Rodriguez (Icy Demons, Need New Body), Toshi Kasai (Melvins, Big Business, Lieutenant), Kory Kruckenberg (J. Tillman, The Revenant), Jenna Conrad (Avians Alight, Damien Jurado), and Lena Simon (Pollens, La Luz, Kairos).

The album has already spawned three videos, and “Feathers from a Bird” is worthy of inclusion at major film festivals as a true work of art.

If you are a true audiophile and love real music, we highly recommend you check out Atoms and Void.  For more info on them, check out their website and Facebook pages and most definitely subscribe to their YouTube channel.