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Talkhouse

Bartees Strange was born in Ipswich, a town in Suffolk, England. His family did stints in Germany, Greenland, and a number of states across America before he hit his 12th birthday when they settled in Mustang, Oklahoma. Bartees began producing music for friends with a small project studio he built out of a Tascam 388, the family computer and a pirated copy of FL Studio. Through AOL instant messenger, Bartees connected with old friends in the UK, who brought him up to speed on a new world of sonic influence led by Bloc Party, Burial, Robyn and Skream. College, and a half-decade stint in Brooklyn connected him with the rising indie scene — particularly favorites like Bon Iver, TV on The Radio, Frank Ocean, James Blake, King Krule, Japanese Breakfast, Mt. Kimbie, Mitski, Thao Nguyen, and The National, giving him a crash course in lyrical intrigue and textural brilliance.
Say Goodbye to Pretty Boy is a summary of his influences and the first commercial release by an artist who we truly think can go on to become a cultural influencer in his own right. Bartees resides in Washington, DC — where makes music and works at a non profit fighting against climate change and poverty.
(Photo Credit: Bao Ngo)

Bartees Strange

Music

Best of 2020: Bartees Strange Talks Vivarium

John Calvin Abney will return with his fifth studio album, Familiar Ground, on November 20, 2020 via Black Mesa Records. Co-produced with longtime collaborator John Moreland during the country’s pandemic lockdown, the nine-song set often contemplates the acceptance of our own mortality, as well as the strength it takes for us to weather the storms of life.
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Abney serves as Moreland’s touring guitarist and when the shows around Moreland’s new record LP5 were canceled in March, Abney spent his extra time off the road writing the songs that would soon comprise Familiar Ground. He shaped each track using a ten-year-old iMac, writing on guitar, piano, and Mellotron, then sent them over to Moreland, who would add drums and bass. They bounced the songs back and forth remotely between their home studios, with Abney playing piano and synthesizers and composing the strings that lend the record a dreamy, expansive feel.
Though Abney’s influences are far-reaching, from the Bohemian-Austrian poet Rainer Maria Rilke to contemporary peers like Laura Marling and Christian Lee Hutson to the surreal writing of Haruki Murakami, his art has the intimacy of a conversation with an old friend. Pulled by pangs of steel pedal guitar and buoyed by his gentle vocals, the record takes us on a meandering journey through cities of the mind as Abney mulls over what it means to fully experience our fleeting lives on earth.
(Photo Credit: Ian Hanson)
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John Calvin Abney

Hear First: John Calvin Abney’s Familiar Ground

Here’s Some Great Music to Buy on Bandcamp Today

Introducing: Bartees Strange’s “About Today”