PRICE:
$27.00
IN STOCK
ARTIST
TITLE
Knee Deep
FORMAT
LP

LABEL
CATALOG #
KOM 230LP KOM 230LP
GENRE
RELEASE DATE
4/26/2011

2022 repress. Danish trio Tomas Barfod, Tomas Høffding and Jeppe Kjellberg aka WhoMadeWho have paved an illustrious career spanning numerous singles and two acclaimed full-length albums. They have certainly been one of the few acts in the past decade to successfully redefine the term "crossover" in music, thanks to their genre-hopping creative tact. Now, WhoMadeWho team up with Kompakt to bring you this very special release. Following a long tour and still riding on the success of their last full-length The Plot (2009), in early 2010, the trio isolated themselves in several rooms of a semi-built hotel near the harbor of their hometown. The days at the hotel quickly evolved into a musical tour-de-chambre, with ideas being kicked back and forth between the band members working in separate rooms. During the writing process, two musical directions occurred and instead of trying to merge the two, the band decided to record two albums. First up is what we have here -- the mini-album Knee Deep. These tracks clearly show the band's love for electronic music in conjunction with '60s-inspired psychedelic vocal productions. The band has deliberately chosen to save the more melodic and radio-friendly songs for "the second album" though it's obvious that the single "Every Minute Alone" is one of the most brooding and greatest songs you've heard from them. As drummer and electronic handyman Tomas Barfod puts it, the mini-album came from the desire to create "a focused listening album that draws on a more abstract musical starting point." Even from the very first minute of the opening track, it becomes obvious that WhoMadeWho are painting with a darker palette than on previous records. With an intense use of bass clarinet and a forward-driving beat, the song reflects certainty and insecurity in search of answers. Throughout Knee Deep, this uncertainty culminates in the album-closer "We're Alive, It's A Miracle," which comments on not only the album title and thematic development, but also references the band's experiences and challenges which included losing a childhood home to fire, the winding roads of marriage, record label disputes, etc., all which have filled the band's consciousness and forced them to put their career under review. Luckily, they chose the band and the music. Produced by Michael Mayer. The download included with this vinyl mini-album includes five bonus tracks including remixes by Michael Mayer, Tomboy, Spleen United and Renaissance Man.