RCRD LBL

The Physics of Meaning

MusicPhotos

"Lemme 'splain. There is too much. Lemme sum up."

Location: Durham, NC

Website: http://www.thephysicsofmeaning.com/

Bio: The Physics of Meaning is a chamber rock band from North Carolina, spearheaded by multi-instrumentalist songwriter Daniel Hart. Daniel is a member of St. Vincent ... (more) and John Vanderslice's band, as well as a frequent contributor to The Polyphonic Spree.

Much in the same way that Daniel splits his time now between several different projects, Daniel split his time growing up between two passions. He started playing the violin when he was only three years old and continued to study classical music throughout his adolescence. The weeks were spent practicing Bach sonatas and partitas; Saturdays rehearsing "Peer Gynt" and "The Firebird Suite" in citywide youth orchestra.

But Daniel also loved plays, taking up the role of Mercutio in a high school summer Shakespeare festival, reading the work of modern greats like Sam Shepard and Samuel Beckett. At college, Daniel delved into playwriting, examining human motivation as it translates from the written word to the stage, writing his own plays and performing them with his classmates.

So The Physics of Meaning is the culmination of these two influences: Daniel's love of classical violin and his love of dialogue-driven storytelling. Physics songs are narratives, character sketches, soliloquies, arguments, secret wishes and unsolved mysteries, all accompanied by strings which slide and sear and tremble and distort. The music evokes the sweet earnestness of John Vanderslice, the technical beauty of St. Vincent, and the charging energy of the Spree, while the effects of a youth spent listening to Led Zeppelin and Yes are also evident.

The Physics of Meaning just finished recording its fully-orchestrated second album, "Snake Charmer and Destiny at the Stroke of Midnight", which is slated for release in Fall 2008. The album was engineered by Mark Paulson (Bowerbirds, The Rosebuds) and Alex Lazara (The Prayers and Tears of Arthur Digby Sellers), and features strings, winds, horns, harp and a choir, with help from Adam Baker (Annuals) and Annie Clark (St. Vincent). (less)