June 28, 2011
The Campus Style: UGA
Enjoy the Silence
By Allegra Yeley
link to original article
Keeping up with the music scene in Athens is hard. If you took a survey of local musicians, you’d likely find that a large percentage of them are involved in more than one band or project. Maybe we have an unusually large population of folks with ADD. Maybe they’re hedging their bets, hoping that one of their three bands will hit it big. Or it could just be that Athens is incredibly lucky to be buzzing with more creative energy than it knows what to do with.
Enter OUR NEW SILENCE, one of the most original and visionary projects Athens has seen for some time. Described as “creative cultural diplomacy”, Our New Silence is a collective undertaking that links Athens and Java, Indonesia through music.
The fellows behind Our New Silence are Kai Riedl (MACHA) and Suny Lyons (HOPE FOR AGOLDENSUMMER), both of whom have been active in the local music scene for years. In the early 2000s the pair took multiple trips to Indonesia where they recorded dozens of hours of traditional music. After Kai and Suny mastered and assembled the songs into a 12-album series called JAVASOUNDS, they turned their attention towards Athens. The duo collaborated with different musicians in the Athens area to sample, loop and remix the raw field recordings, creating entirely new songs.
They’ve worked with some of Athens’ biggest names, including Maria Taylor and Orenda Fink (AZURE RAY), Peter Buck (R.E.M.), Kate Pierson (THE B-52′S), Graham Ulicny (REPTAR), Andy Lemaster (NOW IT’S OVERHEAD), JEREMY WHEATLEY, Andrew Reiger (ELF POWER), John Fernandez (THE OLIVIA TREMOR CONTROL), Bill Doss (THE APPLES IN STEREO; THE OLIVIA TREMOR CONTROL), KILLICK HINDS, Kyle Dawkins (MAPS AND TRANSIT), Barrett Martin (TUATARA), Heather McIntosh (THE INSTRUMENTS), Winston Parker (ATEM), Josh McKay (Macha/ATEM) and more!
Some of our FAVORITE TRACKS:
“You’re Not Just Anyone” and “Electrophoria”
Kai Riedl/Suny Lyons/Maria Taylor and Orenda Fink (Azure Ray)
Maria Taylor and Orenda Fink have truly gorgeous voices, and they’re in top form on two Our New Silence songs. There’s the deeply sensual “You’re Not Just Anyone” and “Electrophoria”, the title track of Our New Silence’s upcoming LP. Both tracks blend the duo’s sultry, breathy harmonies with Indonesian sounds. The Javanese influence is most apparent in the gamelan instrumentation of “Electrophoria”, making it a perfect sonic marriage between Athens and Java.
“Through The Breakdown”
Riedl/Lyons/Graham Ulicny (Reptar)
Take Graham Ulicny’s raw, expressive vocals. Lay them over an addictive electronic beat built from delayed gamelan sounds and dangdut drums. Add a drum kit, electric guitar, and a keyboard line by James Husband. Top it off with some sexy lyrics and you’ve got one of the catchiest and most accessible tracks in the ONS catalogue. We can safely guarantee that you’ll find yourself coming back for seconds…thirds…fourths.