Nearly 200 years ago, we reported on the newly formed duo of Ben Chasny (Six Organs of Admittance) and Elisa Ambrogio (Magik Markers), who were heading into the studio to record their lovemaking noises for all the perv world to hear. Apparently they got carried away with all that coitus, because only now are some of the details of that tryst being made available, with a recently announced release date of November 8 for their debut self-titled record on Drag City. (There’s also a second, “more abstract” release planned as part of the Grapefruit Record Club subscription series, though that’s been “release date TBA” for about 199 years.)
For people who’ve witnessed Ambrogio on stage at a Magik Markers show — writhing and incanting, crawling inside the bass drum, force-feeding audience members wine from a jug — it might be a shock to hear that 200 Years is a quiet, meditative collection of straight-up singer/songwriter material, but even more surprising is that the music is more gentle than even the average Six Organs song. In the words of Omar Little, BELIEVE: listen to a song from the album, “Solar System,” over on Drag City’s front page. Some real rolling-flaxen-hills shit right there.
As an aside, Chasny has posted a brief appreciation of Bert Jansch following today’s sad news. He calls Jansch “the singular, most influential musician on [his] own guitar playing.”
200 Years tracklisting:
01. Wild White
02. West Hartford
03. Dead Medicine
04. City Streets
05. Through the Trees
06. Partin Wayz
07. Thread
08. Solar System
09. Bees
10. More Than Alive
• 200 Years: http://www.dragcity.com/artists/200-years
• Drag City: http://www.dragcity.com
[Photo: Cam Archer]