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viewing 1 To 14 of 14 items
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2LP
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DC 933LP
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"The High Llamas' classic '90s output comes back to life on vinyl for the first time in over twenty years. The vibrant and colorful sweep of their remarkable six-album arc shines in new pressings of the original masters, which include the first-ever vinyl pressing for their debut album, Santa Barbara. The High Llamas were founded by Sean O'Hagan, Jon Fell, Marcus Holdaway, and Rob Allum. One year after the release of Hawaii, Cold And Bouncy delivered again, organically incorporating the glitch, dub and electronic inspirations burbling up from the underground into the Llamas signature sound. Respect here is due to co-producer Fulton Dingley's contributions as programmer, engineer and mixer. Without shifting away from their pop-rooted songwriting, Cold And Bouncy was also a grand example of the emerging electro-exotica of the late '90s."
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2LP
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DC 932LP
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"The High Llamas' classic '90s output comes back to life on vinyl for the first time in over twenty years. The vibrant and colorful sweep of their remarkable six-album arc shines in new pressings of the original masters, which include the first-ever vinyl pressing for their debut album, Santa Barbara. The High Llamas were founded by Sean O'Hagan, Jon Fell, Marcus Holdaway, and Rob Allum. During the emerging electro-exotica trend of the late '90s, O'Hagan conceived another shift for the next album -- a stripped-back sound, with lots of acoustic guitars, influenced by folk movements in Latin and world music. Stereolab's Mary Hansen (forever remembered) and Laetitia Sadier were drafted in to sing vocals, and sessions were split between London and Chicago, where Jim O'Rourke and Bundy K. Brown engineered at Electrical Audio, and Tortoise's John McEntire mixed it down at Soma. Snowbug was a lovely album, with great songs and sounds pirouetting away from the Hawaii/Cold & Bouncy phases with ease and elegance. It suffered the indignity of being released at the time that V2 had nothing more to offer to the band, and it passed under the radar as the Llamas passed out the door. Reissuing Snowbug for the 21st-century listeners is one of Drag City's great pleasures in this reissue campaign."
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2LP
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DC 928LP
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"The High Llamas' classic '90s output comes back to life on vinyl for the first time in over twenty years. The vibrant and colorful sweep of their remarkable six-album arc shines in new pressings of the original masters, which include the first-ever vinyl pressing for their debut album, Santa Barbara. The High Llamas were founded by Sean O'Hagan, Jon Fell, Marcus Holdaway, and Rob Allum. Looking for greater distribution, The High Llamas signed to V2 -- an arm of Universal -- and produced two widescreen epics for the '90s: Hawaii and Cold And Bouncy. Hawaii (1996) charted an alternative path to and through America, discovering fresh iterations of exotica, soundtrack expressionism and jazz, forming a singular conception of neo-Americana in its exquisite sweep. It was not simply gorgeous; it utterly elided any concept of aggro; this was hand-made, non-heavy music at a new level of purity."
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LP
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DC 929LP
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"The High Llamas' classic '90s output comes back to life on vinyl for the first time in over twenty years. The vibrant and colorful sweep of their remarkable six-album arc shines in new pressings of the original masters, which include the first-ever vinyl pressing for their debut album, Santa Barbara. The High Llamas were founded by Sean O'Hagan, Jon Fell, Marcus Holdaway, and Rob Allum. Following their earlier releases, The High Llamas' popularity was ascendant. They toured America in 1996-97, experiencing great heights on the indie charts, but without producing 'hits' of the proportion that V2 required. O'Hagan's arrangement skills were called upon by groups like Saint Etienne, Super Furry Animals, Doves, and Sondre Lerche. A remix album was mooted -- to reach another growing audience demographic, perhaps? With Lollo Rosso (1998), the assembled remixers -- Mouse On Mars, Jim O'Rourke, Kid Loco, Schneider TM, Stock, Hausen & Walkman, Cornelius, and The High Llamas themselves -- provided a scintillating trip through the cutting edge of avant electronics -- yet another unique set of variations for the Llamas' sound to filter though."
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LP
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DC 927LP
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"The High Llamas' classic '90s output comes back to life on vinyl for the first time in over twenty years. The vibrant and colorful sweep of their remarkable six-album arc shines in new pressings of the original masters, which include the first-ever vinyl pressing for their debut album, Santa Barbara. The High Llamas were founded by Sean O'Hagan, Jon Fell, Marcus Holdaway, and Rob Allum. Gideon Gaye was written and recorded on a small budget with almost military resolve. Shifting to a piano-based sound and obsessively chasing retro aspects of '60s and '70s production to dizzying new heights, The High Llamas put a marvelously austere frame around O'Hagan's already-filmic song constructions. Light and accessible, the sound of Gideon Gaye gobsmacked grunge-soaked listeners with its new twist on classic art-pop design elements. Special note should be made of the work of Charlie Francis throughout the creation of the first three albums. As engineer/backing vocalist/synth player/and co-producer, his long hours of dedication and commitment earned him the title of honorary High Llama."
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LP
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DC 926LP
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"The High Llamas' classic '90s output comes back to life on vinyl for the first time in over twenty years. The vibrant and colorful sweep of their remarkable six-album arc shines in new pressings of the original masters, which include the first-ever vinyl pressing for their debut album, Santa Barbara. The High Llamas were founded by Sean O'Hagan, Jon Fell, Marcus Holdaway, and Rob Allum. After debuting as a tart and sweet guitar-pop act with a reasonably definable bent on Santa Barbara, Sean fell in with Stereolab. His adventures in their art-band collective, playing space-age batchelor pad music, profoundly influenced the delightful extremities that were to come."
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CD
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DC 901CD
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"High Llamas present Hey Panda -- a modern pop music/deep listening experience that could only issue forth from their personal quadrant of the galaxy. Hey Panda projects soulfully through an enervating abstract of today's popular music; the sound of the Llamas' stately melodies and expressive ditties laid open -- blissfully shattered -- with drums and vocals hitting different, burning sounds and contemporary production twists pulling the ear at every turn. For the past few decades, High Llamas have trafficked in contemporary pop sounds directed toward the avant end of the spectrum as much as not. But here the message was clear. Llamas' composer-in-residence Sean O'Hagan was determined to let go. Hey Panda does just that, with a set of tunes reflecting on multiple levels how definitions change over the course of a lifetime, radiating an optimism derived from the diverse conundrums of today. Hey Panda's wide reach is aided by two co-writes from Bonnie 'Prince' Billy, (who bonded with Sean over a shared love of gospel soul during writing sessions), guest vocals from Rae Morris and Sean's daughter Livvy, production twists from Fryars and the stalwart, flexible presence of High Llamas. For all of its sense of departure, Hey Panda is a movement in the High Llamas oeuvre that's been a long time in development. Aspects of soul music were addressed at the time of Can Cladders; similarly, aspects of electronic dance music were in the mix in the late '90s, around the time of Cold and Bouncy. But nothing up to now has refocused the music of High Llamas so completely. Sharing the impulse of late-period Miles Davis and Quincy Jones, with further inspiration from Steve Lacy, SZA, Sault, No Name, and Ezra Collective, among many others, Sean O'Hagan and High Llamas are living joyfully in the new and the now, with Hey Panda!"
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LP
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DC 901LP
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LP version. "High Llamas present Hey Panda -- a modern pop music/deep listening experience that could only issue forth from their personal quadrant of the galaxy. Hey Panda projects soulfully through an enervating abstract of today's popular music; the sound of the Llamas' stately melodies and expressive ditties laid open -- blissfully shattered -- with drums and vocals hitting different, burning sounds and contemporary production twists pulling the ear at every turn. For the past few decades, High Llamas have trafficked in contemporary pop sounds directed toward the avant end of the spectrum as much as not. But here the message was clear. Llamas' composer-in-residence Sean O'Hagan was determined to let go. Hey Panda does just that, with a set of tunes reflecting on multiple levels how definitions change over the course of a lifetime, radiating an optimism derived from the diverse conundrums of today. Hey Panda's wide reach is aided by two co-writes from Bonnie 'Prince' Billy, (who bonded with Sean over a shared love of gospel soul during writing sessions), guest vocals from Rae Morris and Sean's daughter Livvy, production twists from Fryars and the stalwart, flexible presence of High Llamas. For all of its sense of departure, Hey Panda is a movement in the High Llamas oeuvre that's been a long time in development. Aspects of soul music were addressed at the time of Can Cladders; similarly, aspects of electronic dance music were in the mix in the late '90s, around the time of Cold and Bouncy. But nothing up to now has refocused the music of High Llamas so completely. Sharing the impulse of late-period Miles Davis and Quincy Jones, with further inspiration from Steve Lacy, SZA, Sault, No Name, and Ezra Collective, among many others, Sean O'Hagan and High Llamas are living joyfully in the new and the now, with Hey Panda!"
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CD
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DC 469CD
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"For the past eighteen years, The High Llamas have been following their own lights, making records, and essentially occupying their own genre in doing so. Their music is timeless; elements of retro and modern share the space, creating a unique time and place that is outside the lines of history as we experience it. Talahomi Way is the latest evolution in their body of work, a record that will please those who enjoy their musical adventures while also providing a draft of their eternal mystery to neophyte listeners. With 2003's Beet Maize and Corn, Can Cladders (2007), and now Talahomi Way, their arrangements have breathed with acoustic space, giving the music a more intimate, personal resonance. Still, O'Hagan's lyric-writing is in the great traditions of the American and British 20th century songbook: story-songs, impressionistic feel-pieces, crafted without an aim towards personal exposition. Even so, their set and focus provide a view to the world as he sees it."
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LP
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DC 469LP
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CD
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DC 317CD
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"It's been three years and several months of fortnights since the world was last graced with the sounds of The High Llamas. The acoustic flavor of Beet, Maize & Corn remains present in the sound of Can Cladders -- a string quartet lays the harmonic bed of the material, joined there by a quartet of female vocalists. All of which lends the gospel truth to the Llamas traditional group profile of piano, bass and drums with vibes, organ and a bit of gut-string acoustic for good measure. Plus a few more touches and curves for extra-good measure and good flavor to boot -- after all, ear candy is the once-and-future name of the pop game that created Can Cladders, and The High Llamas have ever been explorers in search of that exotic spice. During the creation of this new music, O'Hagan channeled a lot of white soul into his writing, with inflections of Laura Nyro, the Laurie Records sound, Motown drum feels and late-'70s UK reggae. Listen for the Jerry Dammers bounce in 'Honeytrop' and you'll see how these sounds coalesce with The High Llamas' unsinkable sunshine pop. Equally eclectic in the lyric department, the songs of Can Cladders concern themselves with a number of different premises: a tour manager retiring to Derbyshire, an art theft in East Anglia, the exploration of the Arctic by a city fund manager and ruminations on the Canterbury scene and the life of jazz harpist Dorothy Ashby -- among several other humorous and poignant topics."
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LP
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DC 317LP
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CD
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DC 211CD
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"Don't worry -- the signature melodies, harmonic structures and sweetly flowing beauty of Highest Llama Sean O'Hagan's style are very much in evidence on Beet, Maize and Corn however, in a radical rethinking of songwriting and arrangement, they are presented in a starkly changed manner. Eschewing electronics in favor of an organic sound, dropping drums down in the mix and emphasizing the acoustics of stringed instruments, Beet, Maize and Corn is an striking new statement from a songwriter who's been pitching his tunes into the ring for over a decade. If that sounds like a daunting task, it is easily done here simply a matter of changing focus, drawing water from different wells, reaching a bit deeper."
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LP
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DC 191LP
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viewing 1 To 14 of 14 items
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