White Rabbits and Diego Garcia at Zanzabar next week!!
Lizi Hagan
concerts & events
White Rabbits signed to TBD Records (US home to Radiohead/Other Lives/Hatcham Social) and erected a makeshift studio in their basement rehearsal space to demo new material. Band members popped in and out over the course of several months lending ideas and personality to a new batch of songs that defy instant categorization. After enlisting tourmate, friend and songwriter Britt Daniel (Spoon) as producer, the pair began the process of exchanging demos between Brooklyn and Portland. White Rabbits recorded It’s Frightening over the course of four weeks, only taking a break to play the Transmusicales Festival in Rennes, France. The sessions were recorded by visionary engineer Nicholas Vernhes (Animal Collective, Deerhunter) at Rare Book Room in Brooklyn, NY. Taking special care to recreate the unhinged nature of the original demos, the band utilized the wide range of tools in the analog-friendly studio to shape the personal spirit infused in the new tracks.
It’s Frightening plays like a classic reel of tape from start to finish. Opening with the visceral drums of “Percussion Gun,” it is clear that time-off from the road has served the band well. The many highlights include the emotional centerpiece “Company I Keep,” the new sonic territory of “Lionesse” and the macabre lyrics of “Right Where They Left.” Fans of Fort Nightly will find much to go weak in the knees over and new listeners are in for an awakening as White Rabbits flip the switch on an already impressive beginning. It’s Frightening is a journey into the playfully dark musings of Everyman.
The band recently finished work on their third album in Austin, TX.
Diego Garcia was born in Detroit to Argentine parents and on his new solo album, ‘Laura,’ he traces his roots. Garcia was inspired by the loss of love and the classic troubadour movement.
“Artists like Sandro, Roberto Carlos and Julio Iglesias were early pioneers in what I like to refer to as a movement of romanticism in music. It only made sense for me to pick up where they left off,” he says.
It is the fusion of these Latin influences with the era’s “anglo” visionaries, artists like David Bowie, Leonard Cohen, and Bryan Ferry, which makes this project truly special. With lush string arrangements, delicate Spanish guitars, and distinctly Latin flavor, the new album is worlds apart from Garcia’s former band Elefant. What remains a constant is the romantic within.
“For the last four years, I’ve been following my instincts in search for a new sound,” Garcia continues. A sound that could properly deliver my message on love, or I should say, the ‘malady of love.’ Minor keys, cello, nylon classical guitars, light drums, and wooden tambourines helped create a vibe for me to whisper the words in her ear.”
“So with each new song came a little healing until I eventually started feeling ‘better.’ The irony is that as soon as I accepted closure, my heart opened up and the sound was born. I was ready to love again.”
Garcia’s first solo single, “You Were Never There,” paved a foundation for the new project to come. RCRD LBL pledged its support early on, saying, “With a flickering, old school touch, Diego Garcia’s croon is one for the bedroom. “You Were Never There” is today’s aural aphrodisiac— a gentle flush of guitars and strings, yelping hooks, and love-worn lyrics.” PAPER Magazine raved, “Diego Garcia has a new single, "You Were Never There," and I can't stop listening to it… The tune has lush string arrangements, guitars and vocal intonation. It's romantic and blissful.”
Billboard Magazine praised Garcia for his “melodic pop sensibility” and “stellar solo debut.” While NPR said, “García’s most brilliant songs are his most anguished ones... at once immense and completely intimate.” The new album shot up the charts, breaking into the iTunes Alternative Top 15 albums, alongside new releases from artists like The Strokes and Death Cab For Cutie.