EXCLUSIVE NEW DOWNLOAD: Ape School - The Underground (Demo) + Wail To God
You might know Michael Johnson from his time in Lilys and Holopaw, but after discovering the fourth-ever Moog in a music tech classroom in Philly, dude has been recording shapely electronic pop under the name Ape School. Ninjatune's Counter imprint releases the project's eponymous debut LP today, source of this swirly album opener, "Wail To God." Couple that with an exclusive demo version of the candlelight Rhodes tune "The Underground," which dates all the way back to 2003, and we've got you a pretty preview of the record. For those in search of more info, you can read Johnson's own thoughts on the songs after the links.
Sounds like: Passion Pit, Deastro, Daedelus
Ape School - The Underground (Demo)
Michael Johnson on "Wail To God": "One of the only songs to be fully formed prior to Ape School recordings got underway. Began essentially as a fuzz guitar romp and an attempt to lyrically incorporate (Ape School band member) Beachwolf Gensemer's propensity for the elusive "triple negative". Thus, the "Ain't nobody nowhere..." lyric was born. The first version of the song [included here], was recorded in 2006, marking along with early versions of Deathstomp my first foray into the world of EBow and glass slide. Echoplex also made its first appearance. Lyrically set the tone for an album later to include themes of armageddon and suffering, cheekily delivered via smiley pop melody."
On "The Underground": "The oldest of all songs here. First version came to be in the year 2000, as a wistful reminiscence for a good friend's film project. Second one [included here] came about in 2003 with the help of the Meatchild Orchestra. This one pays homage to Scott Walker's The Drift, as much as I could possibly hope to, with the melting bass parts of Scott Churchman. That short burst of controlled chaos is my absolute favorite sonic moment of the entire album. A song I'll never hate."
