Blondes - Blondes

* Pitchfork-tipped duo finally released on CD.

* Blondes journey of musical discovery is reflected in a companion disc featuring eleven remixes by friends, peers, and heroes including JD Twitch of Optimo, Dungeon Acid, SFV Acid, John Roberts, Andy Stott, Robert Miles (yes, that Robert Miles), Teengirl Fantasy, Bicep, Traxx, Laurel Halo, and Rene Hell.

* Pitchfork:
"Blondes are two jam-prone Brooklyn dudes who met at Ohio's Oberlin College and bonded over their love of musical improvisation and DFA. Both in their mid-20s, Zach Steinman and Sam Haar make spaced-out dance music that has roots in Giorgio Moroder synth workouts and Boards of Canada wispiness. Their songs are blissfully patient and tend to unfurl effortlessly, as if they have all the time in the world.”

* Haar and Steinman met at Oberlin College in 2003, where they studied electroacoustic composition and studio art respectively, and became collaborators in a smattering of short-lived experimental outfits. After graduation and stints apart in Oakland and NYC, Haar and Steinman regrouped in Berlin where Blondes was born, eventually settling on Brooklyn for home base.

* Blondes quickly evolved from a home studio project to a live experience built around a tactile assemblage of synthesizers, sequencers, and drum machines. The Touched EP (Merok, 2010) demonstrates Haar and Steinman's early interest in an improvisational process that remains embedded in their creative approach, while touching upon their adoration of German composer Manuel Göttsching and his seminal E2-E4 album.

* The basement and warehouse venues that curiously welcomed Blondes' syrupy, space-case dance music provided a reactive environment for the duo to develop their sound and work ethic. But as they started playing at nightclubs renowned for their sound systems and ecstatic dance floors, Haar and Steinman realized a potential for their music to resonate at a higher fidelity and deeper frequency, both sonically and spiritually. Blondes' heart aligned with house music in its most liquid form.
A 12” series on RVNG Intl. was initiated in 2011 to document Blondes' evolution. Each record contains a pair of tracks that explore the concept of duality through a personal lens intensely focused on moving the body. The a-side of Lover / Hater is centered upon a Meredith Monk sample, a primal scream signalling Blondes' rebirth. Business / Pleasure confronts the struggle of sustaining individuality in a sinister commercial world and stylistically references Blondes' time spent in the UK. The final 12", Wine / Water, swings on pendulum between excess and restraint while exhibiting the duo's most melodic and mature work thus far.

* Available as limited edition vinyl pressings, these six tracks are collected together in album form along with two new offerings, Gold and Amber. Almost entirely improvised and recorded in single takes, Gold and Amber are inspired by complexity and purity, which manifests in the manic energy and bliss of the parallel tracks.

* Disc 1 compiles three “duality” 12”s released on RVNG Int. over the course of 2011 and adds two new tracks.

* Prior to their relationship with RVNG, Blondes released the well-received Touched EP on Merok Records.

* Blondes have remixed the likes of John Talabot, Harald Grosskopf, and HEALTH

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