S Duck
This is a brilliant album! All the poppy hooky jangliness of early REM, with all the fun of microtones for some extra spice. I highly recommend!
Stephen Weigel
What a brilliant xenharmonic twist on a classic album! Ben and Damon's interpretations of these tunes would be studied by music theorists if they were willing to put their money where their mouth is. Especially enjoy the use of 20-EDO!!!!!!!!
Favorite track: Carnival of Sorts (Boxcars).
Damon and I both love R.E.M., and their work has been a key influence on both of us. One day, the idea occurred to me that the spare, spidery spookiness of their earliest material could be fun to try in microtonal tuning. An experimental quarter-tone version of Wolves, Lower, soon followed. I thought it might just be a quick one-off for fun, but after hearing it, Damon suggested... what if we did the whole Chronic Town EP as one continuous suite of music? It seemed like an absurd undertaking, which is probably part of why it fascinated us.
Damon says: "I'm not usually one to fetishize first albums, but to me the essential ghost of R.E.M. was never so upfront as in their very earliest material, even as they grew as conventional songwriters in later years. There's always been something appealing and natural to me about going microtonal with R.E.M. -- something that almost enables us to grab and reanimate that original gothic hauntedness."
Climbing inside these songs and re-animating them in a new form, while trying to be true to their essence, was an incredibly illuminating experience. It gave us new respect for the alchemy the original foursome was able to create with this material. We hope that our new spins on these songs will twist your ears in new directions, as well as remind you how great the original music is!
credits
released August 20, 2022
Damon Waitkus - vocals, acoustic guitar (17, 22, 24), guzheng, hammer dulcimer, tongue drum, keyboards, bass, percussion
Ben Spees - vocals, bass, electric and acoustic guitar (17, 20, 22, 24), keyboard, percussion
Connor Reilly - drums
Oliver Campbell - bass (17 and 22) on tracks 2, 4 (second half) and 5
Recorded by Damon Waitkus and Ben Spees
Mixed by Ben Spees
Mastered by Myles Boisen
TRACK CREDITS
1) Wolves, Lower:
Damon - vocals, guzheng
Ben - vocals, bass, 24-edo electric guitar
Connor - drums
2) Gardening At Night:
Damon - vocals, 17-edo acoustic guitar, keyboard, tambourine
Ben - backing vocals, 17-edo electric guitar
Oliver - 17-edo bass
Connor - drums
3) Carnival of Sorts:
Ben - vocals, 24-edo electric guitar
Damon - backing vocals, keyboard, 24-edo bass, 24-edo acoustic
Connor - drums
4) 1,000,000:
Ben - vocals, 10- and 20-edo electric guitar, 10-edo bass, knee slaps
Damon - vocals, tongue drum, frame drum, guzheng, 22-edo acoustic guitar, melodica
Oliver - 22-edo bass
Connor - drums
5) Stumble:
Damon - vocals, hammer dulcimer, 22-edo acoustic, field recordings
Ben - spoken word, 22-edo electric guitar
Oliver - 22-edo bass
Connor - drums
Ventifacts is a microtonal songwriting duo comprised of Ben Spees (of The Mercury Tree) and Damon Waitkus (of Jack O' The Clock). This bicoastal collaboration has been developing since late 2019, and released a full-length album in September 2021.
One of the very few Math Rock acts that keeps it interesting and moving forward. Highly experimental, yes, but also smooth and easy to understand and enjoy if you've ever been into the genre. Bardo Morales
William Ryan Fritch's enthralling, doomy new CD comes housed in a gorgeous, panoramic gatefold sleeve with bewitching original artwork. Bandcamp New & Notable May 16, 2016
This rather astounding record can't really be categorized - musically, it's so full of everything and so original that a short description is impossible. It is superbly played. The words are FANTASTIC and I would have chosen The Butcher as my favourite if the app had allowed me to ;-) Tom Landon