Moon and Pollution

Moon & Pollution • The Box Borealis

Moon and Pollution is the new electronic pop duo combining singer Molly Dean’s haunting, operatic vocals with producer Graham O’Brien’s (No Bird Sing) hard-hitting beats and rich, melodic textures. M&P debuted at the Bayfront Festival where Slug of Atmosphere asked them to play after hearing an unreleased track. Shortly thereafter, their song Alter Eagle was featured on the Season 4 premiere of MTV’s Teen Wolf. Moon and Pollution’s debut album The Box Borealis (F I X) will be released on January 27th, 2015.

I had the great pleasure of playing on a couple of these songs and got a chance to sit down and talk with Graham and Molly about the process:

What is your songwriting process?

GOB: I send Molly some in-progress musical pieces that I create using synths and samplers, and she picks out the ones that interest her. Then we experiment in the studio at length, trying different vocal approaches and bringing in a slew of musicians to augment the ideas. It’s a very studio-based process- the songwriting and production/recording process merge.

MD: I’ll listen through the tracks that Graham sends me and go with what initially jumps out at me. I know if it jumps because I’ll begin writing right away, random descriptive words that the music sounds & feels like to me.  These usually become the basis for the lyrical body down the road. This process can take some time, with absorbing the textures and sounds and sort of massaging my way into the song with vocals sounds or words. Some tracks call for a lot of sparsity with the vocals as the tracks themselves are so beautiful and composed already.  Graham and I will then schedule a session and record vocals, try out new effects and sounds and work on the overall structure.  Then Graham goes into a creative cave for weeks at a time to work his production magic.  When he re-emerges, we meet up for another session to talk about the direction of where things are going, who could be brought in to play additional instrumental parts, etc.. Then we have a song. Or ten songs.
 
Who would you consider a major influence?

GOB: Portishead producer Geoff Barrow may be the biggest influence for me on this project. Portishead records feel like soundtrack music. I wanted that same effect with this record, like an accompaniment for the movie in your head.

MD: LAMB (electronic duo from London), Lou Rhodes as a singer and songwriter (for LAMB), Portishead, Goldfrapp and Massive Attack would all be influential artists for me in the M&P project.  Listening to these artists (and many others) brought forth a new interest in exploring the creation of this sort of haunting soundscape in music, and configuring it into live performance.
 

Has music placement (MTV’s Teen Wolf) helped create tangible momentum for the group?

GOB: Definitely. The TV placements have been exciting and encouraging. There are a lot of different audiences and niches for bands now, but they can be hard to find. Getting a few TV placements reminded us that we’re onto something that’s resonating with people.

 
What is the next step for you? Tours, another album…
GOB: Right now, just focused on getting the live show ready and getting this record into as many people’s ears as possible. I’d really like to do another record down the road.
 
What are you listening to right now?

GOB: Rainforest  (Clams Casino)
MD: The Mission (Ennio Morricone)
          Overgrown (James Blake)
          My Brightest Diamond

 

Moon and Pollution will be playing an album release show at Icehouse MPLS on January 31st with special guests Damage Controller (Jeremy Ylvisaker / dosh / Mike Lewis) + Joe Horton
$8 Advance / $10 Door / 21+ / 11pm

More Press:
http://inyourspeakers.com/content/news/292-introducing-moon-pollution-01082015

Album available here:
https://moonandpollution.bandcamp.com/

 

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Vita.MN / Tom Surowicz

GhostdanceProbably best-known around town as the rock-solid, hard-driving bassist of the ebullient Sonny Knight & The Lakers, Casey O’Brien is an improvising jazz man at heart. He proves it on a spare and beautiful new trio release called, “Ghost Dance,” co-starring the simpatico drummer, Davu Seru, and Fantastic Merlins saxophonist, Nathan Hanson. The often folksy-sounding, accessible “Ghost Dance” truly seduces the listener. It should find favor with fans of world jazz heroes Don Cherry, David Bond, and Yusef Lateef, also with older listeners hip to the Jimmy Giuffre 3, and with young hometown fans of Happy Apple’s gentler, more contemplative tracks. “Ghost Dance” is a low-key gem.

Tom Surowicz – Vita.MN

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Jazz Favorites of 2014 / David Cazares / MPR

Ghostdance“One of the best surprises of the year came in December, when bassist Casey O’Brien announced a new recording that includes Nathan Hanson on saxophones and Davu Seru on drums.On “Ghost Dance,” the trio performs eight original compositions by O’Brien, the house bass player for the soul and R&B label Secret Stash. On the album’s moody and flowing tracks, the musicians produce sounds that dance in the air.”

David Cazares – MPR

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Our Two Cents / Bebopified / Pamela Espeland

Ghostdance“Because this came as such a sweet end-of-year surprise. It almost didn’t make the list; I learned about it second-hand and listened at the last possible minute. (It wasn’t officially available until December 14. The CD release is set for January 5 at Icehouse.) So glad I did, because it’s a beauty. O’Brien on bass, Nathan Hanson on saxophones and Davu Seru on drums play eight of O’Brien’s original compositions. This is music of seeking and finding, pensiveness, tenderness, and a spirituality reminiscent of Charles Lloyd. Even when the tempo speeds up, it takes its time.”

Pamela Espeland – Bebopified

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Picks / Jazz Police / Andrea Canter

Ghostdance

Casey O’Brien // Ghost Dance

Given his background and recent projects, as well as his cohorts on the new recording, it’s reasonable to expect the unexpected on Ghost Dance. Overall, the mood and collaborative interactions suggest ECM has set up a Minnesota outlet; the all-original music (written by O’Brien) flows like a series of incantations. The Gods must be pleased.

“Sawai” provides a brief opening with just bass and drums, as if an introduction to a dance suite. Even in the short span, Casey conjures guitar and bass with two distinct lines, perhaps using a looper. Nathan Hanson adds soprano sax to “Dayton,” melodically wandering but not aimlessly, rather truly exploring the terrain, which is largely gentle with some valleys created by O’Brien’s bass lines. “Ghost Dance Part 1” (separated from Part 2 by several tracks) is marked by a constant, bubbly bass vamp and alternating clicks and clangs from Seru. The composition is like an African folk dance; Hanson (on soprano) is a talented storyteller creating multiple voices, O’Brien unwavering, Seru the energy source. “Part Two” has a similar yet distinctive bass vamp covering a wider range of tones, creating a more ominous feel, a more urgent storyline with more assertive percussion. Hanson’s adventure kicks up more sonic (cosmic?) dust as if climbing a mountain, reaching a point where the Gods are closer, only to stop in awe, falling somewhere between Coltrane and Lloyd.

“2 Bells” is simply beautiful . Hanson (on tenor and maybe more) suggests Chris Potter’s most recent work. O’Brien’s solo creates bell tones against the gentle slapping of Seru’s brushes. A dark energetic bass introduces “Mpls,” with soprano sax singing atop what becomes a vamping bass in cahoots with the gentle tapdancing of drums. The  energy gradually builds, O’Brien taking over as rhythmic storyteller in multiple voices, closing with Hanson’s final prayer. “So” finds Hanson back on tenor, with more acrobatic lines from O’Brien, and you can visualize the elastic movements from Seru. The closing “Polyhistor” benefits from a steady bass and varied percussion effects over Hanson’s tenor. It’s a relatively lively work that feels like a spontaneous improvisation among three kindred spirits

Andrea Canter – Jazz Police
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