Hammock (band)
Encyclopedia
Hammock is an American two-member post-rock
band from Nashville, Tennessee
. With music created in between production and songwriting projects over the course of two years, Hammock combines live instrumentation, electronic beats, and droning guitar into atmospheric music similar in style to the work of Boards of Canada
, Explosions in the Sky
, and Stars of the Lid
.
and Andrew Thompson that developed out of informal recording sessions between songwriting projects. Hammock initially had no intention of releasing their studio efforts. After building up a collection of almost 40 songs, however, they changed their minds.
Hammock has released 5 LPs and 2 EPs since 2005. Hammock gave their first live performance at a private event at Chuck Dodson's Gallery@404B in Hot Springs, Arkansas
on August 3, 2007, to honor Jónsi & Alex, the artistic collaboration between Jón Þór (Jónsi) Birgisson
(lead singer and guitarist of Sigur Rós
) and Alex Somers
(graphic designer and member of the band Parachutes), on the night of their United States premier, which was also their first-ever exhibition outside of Iceland
. This performance eventually became the inspiration for Maybe They Will Sing for Us Tomorrow (featuring cover art by Riceboy Sleeps), which was recorded live in its entirely, save for a few overdubs.
In May 2010, Hammock released their fourth full-length album Chasing After Shadows...Living with the Ghosts under their own label, Hammock Music
, which is distributed through Redeye
.
That same year, Hammock released their second EP titled Longest Year in December exclusively through their website and was released digitally everywhere else. It contains 5 new songs and was released as a CD in January, 2011.
Hammock collaborated with singer/songwriter Matthew Ryan and released a single called 'Like New Year's Day' which was released on January 1, 2011. There are 3 versions of the song, a Matthew Ryan mix, a Hammock mix and an edit of the song.
Articles
Professional Reviews
Post-rock
Post-rock is a subgenre of rock music characterized by the influence and use of instruments commonly associated with rock, but using rhythms and "guitars as facilitators of timbre and textures" not traditionally found in rock...
band from Nashville, Tennessee
Nashville, Tennessee
Nashville is the capital of the U.S. state of Tennessee and the county seat of Davidson County. It is located on the Cumberland River in Davidson County, in the north-central part of the state. The city is a center for the health care, publishing, banking and transportation industries, and is home...
. With music created in between production and songwriting projects over the course of two years, Hammock combines live instrumentation, electronic beats, and droning guitar into atmospheric music similar in style to the work of Boards of Canada
Boards of Canada
Boards of Canada are a Scottish electronic music duo consisting of brothers Mike Sandison and Marcus Eoin...
, Explosions in the Sky
Explosions in the Sky
Explosions in the Sky is an American post-rock band from Texas. The band has garnered popularity beyond the post-rock scene for their elaborately developed guitar work, narratively styled instrumentals, what they refer to as "cathartic mini-symphonies," and their enthusiastic and emotional live shows...
, and Stars of the Lid
Stars of the Lid
Stars of the Lid is a duo specializing in drone-based ambient music. They list among their influences minimalist and electronic composers such as Arvo Pärt, Zbigniew Preisner, Gavin Bryars, and Henryk Górecki, as well as Talk Talk , post-rock artists Labradford, and ambient innovator Brian...
.
Biography
Hammock is a collaboration between Marc ByrdMarc Byrd
Marc Byrd is an American musician, writer, and producer best known as one-half of the post-rock/ambient duo Hammock, along with former Common Children band-mate Andrew Thompson....
and Andrew Thompson that developed out of informal recording sessions between songwriting projects. Hammock initially had no intention of releasing their studio efforts. After building up a collection of almost 40 songs, however, they changed their minds.
Hammock has released 5 LPs and 2 EPs since 2005. Hammock gave their first live performance at a private event at Chuck Dodson's Gallery@404B in Hot Springs, Arkansas
Hot Springs, Arkansas
Hot Springs is the 10th most populous city in the U.S. state of Arkansas, the county seat of Garland County, and the principal city of the Hot Springs Metropolitan Statistical Area encompassing all of Garland County...
on August 3, 2007, to honor Jónsi & Alex, the artistic collaboration between Jón Þór (Jónsi) Birgisson
Jón Þór Birgisson
Jón “Jónsi” Þór Birgisson is the guitarist and vocalist for the Icelandic post-rock band Sigur Rós. He is known for his use of a cello bow on guitar and his falsetto voice. He is also blind in his right eye and is openly gay. His boyfriend Alex Somers has done much of the graphic design for...
(lead singer and guitarist of Sigur Rós
Sigur Rós
Sigur Rós is an Icelandic post-rock band with classicaland minimalist elements. The band is known for its ethereal sound, and frontman Jónsi Birgisson's falsetto vocals and use of bowed guitar. In January 2010, the band announced that they will be on hiatus. Since then, it has since been announced...
) and Alex Somers
Alex Somers
Alex Somers is an American visual artist and musician from Baltimore, Maryland. He is currently living in Reykjavík, Iceland with his boyfriend, Jón Þór Birgisson, the vocalist and guitar player for the Icelandic post-rock band Sigur Rós. Somers is a founding member of the now defunct band...
(graphic designer and member of the band Parachutes), on the night of their United States premier, which was also their first-ever exhibition outside of Iceland
Iceland
Iceland , described as the Republic of Iceland, is a Nordic and European island country in the North Atlantic Ocean, on the Mid-Atlantic Ridge. Iceland also refers to the main island of the country, which contains almost all the population and almost all the land area. The country has a population...
. This performance eventually became the inspiration for Maybe They Will Sing for Us Tomorrow (featuring cover art by Riceboy Sleeps), which was recorded live in its entirely, save for a few overdubs.
In May 2010, Hammock released their fourth full-length album Chasing After Shadows...Living with the Ghosts under their own label, Hammock Music
Hammock Music
Hammock Music, based in Nashville, Tennessee, is the label imprint owned and operated by the band Hammock. The label is distributed in the US by Redeye.-Imprint Releases:* Kenotic * Stranded Under Endless Sky EP...
, which is distributed through Redeye
Redeye Distribution
Redeye Distribution is an independent music distribution company founded in 1996 in Chapel Hill, North Carolina. Redeye currently distributes such labels as Marsalis Music, Barsuk Records, Warp Records, Daptone Records, Luaka Bop Records, Kill Rock Stars, Sargent House, Hydra Head Records, The...
.
That same year, Hammock released their second EP titled Longest Year in December exclusively through their website and was released digitally everywhere else. It contains 5 new songs and was released as a CD in January, 2011.
Hammock collaborated with singer/songwriter Matthew Ryan and released a single called 'Like New Year's Day' which was released on January 1, 2011. There are 3 versions of the song, a Matthew Ryan mix, a Hammock mix and an edit of the song.
Discography
- KenoticKenotic (album)Kenotic is the debut album of the American post-rock band Hammock. It was released in March 2005 by Hammock Music. Reception of the record was generally positive, and cemented their musical reputation before their Stranded Under Endless Sky EP released later that year.Kenotic is regarded as a...
(2005, Hammock MusicHammock MusicHammock Music, based in Nashville, Tennessee, is the label imprint owned and operated by the band Hammock. The label is distributed in the US by Redeye.-Imprint Releases:* Kenotic * Stranded Under Endless Sky EP...
) - Stranded Under Endless Sky EP (2005, Hammock MusicHammock MusicHammock Music, based in Nashville, Tennessee, is the label imprint owned and operated by the band Hammock. The label is distributed in the US by Redeye.-Imprint Releases:* Kenotic * Stranded Under Endless Sky EP...
, Vinyl Republic of Texas Recordings) - The Sleepover Series, Vol. 1 (2006, Hammock MusicHammock MusicHammock Music, based in Nashville, Tennessee, is the label imprint owned and operated by the band Hammock. The label is distributed in the US by Redeye.-Imprint Releases:* Kenotic * Stranded Under Endless Sky EP...
) - Raising Your Voice...Trying to Stop an Echo (2006, Hammock MusicHammock MusicHammock Music, based in Nashville, Tennessee, is the label imprint owned and operated by the band Hammock. The label is distributed in the US by Redeye.-Imprint Releases:* Kenotic * Stranded Under Endless Sky EP...
) - Maybe They Will Sing For Us Tomorrow (2008, DarlaDarla RecordsDarla Records is an independent record label founded by James Agren while he was in New York. Darla Record's first release was a 7-inch by Grifters, an indie rock/lo-fi band from Memphis.- Background :...
) - Chasing After Shadows... Living with the GhostsChasing After Shadows... Living with the GhostsChasing After Shadows...Living with the Ghosts is the fourth studio album by American ambient band Hammock. It was released on May 18, 2010 by the band's own label, Hammock Music....
(2010, Hammock MusicHammock MusicHammock Music, based in Nashville, Tennessee, is the label imprint owned and operated by the band Hammock. The label is distributed in the US by Redeye.-Imprint Releases:* Kenotic * Stranded Under Endless Sky EP...
) - Outtakes: Chasing After Shadows...Living with the Ghosts EP (2010, Hammock MusicHammock MusicHammock Music, based in Nashville, Tennessee, is the label imprint owned and operated by the band Hammock. The label is distributed in the US by Redeye.-Imprint Releases:* Kenotic * Stranded Under Endless Sky EP...
) - North West East South EP (2010, Hammock MusicHammock MusicHammock Music, based in Nashville, Tennessee, is the label imprint owned and operated by the band Hammock. The label is distributed in the US by Redeye.-Imprint Releases:* Kenotic * Stranded Under Endless Sky EP...
) - Longest Year EP (2010, Hammock MusicHammock MusicHammock Music, based in Nashville, Tennessee, is the label imprint owned and operated by the band Hammock. The label is distributed in the US by Redeye.-Imprint Releases:* Kenotic * Stranded Under Endless Sky EP...
) - Asleep in the Downlights (2011, Hammock MusicHammock MusicHammock Music, based in Nashville, Tennessee, is the label imprint owned and operated by the band Hammock. The label is distributed in the US by Redeye.-Imprint Releases:* Kenotic * Stranded Under Endless Sky EP...
)
See also
External links
Resources- HammockMusic.com - Official website
- Maybe They Will Sing For Us Tomorrow - Official Site for Release
Articles
- Part Seventy-Two: Hammock - Interview with Hammock at erasingclouds.com
- Interviews 2007: Hammock - Interview with Marc ByrdMarc ByrdMarc Byrd is an American musician, writer, and producer best known as one-half of the post-rock/ambient duo Hammock, along with former Common Children band-mate Andrew Thompson....
at Press Play, Record - Endless Sky: an Interview with Hammock - Interview with Hammock at Trap Door Sun
- Two and a Half Questions with Hammock - Interview with Hammock at Headphone Commute
- Interview: Hammock 08.26.10 - Interview with Hammock at AbsolutePunk
- Hammock // The 405 Interview - Interview with Hammock at The 405
- Trying to Feel the Winter - A Conversation with Hammock - Interview with Hammock at Synconation
Professional Reviews
- [ Kenotic] - Allmusic
- [ Stranded Under Endless Sky (EP)] - Allmusic
- [ Raising Your Voice...Trying to Stop an Echo] - Allmusic
- Raising Your Voice...Trying to Stop an Echo - Pitchfork Media (7.6/10)
- Raising Your Voice...Trying to Stop an Echo - PopMatters
- [ Maybe They Will Sing For Us Tomorrow] - Allmusic
- Maybe They Will Sing For Us Tomorrow - Pitchfork Media (7.2/10)
- Maybe They Will Sing For Us Tomorrow - PopMatters
- [ Chasing After Shadows...Living with the Ghosts] - Allmusic
- Chasing After Shadows...Living with the Ghosts - BBC Music
- Chasing After Shadows...Living with the Ghosts - Pitchfork Media (7.3/10)
- Chasing After Shadows...Living with the Ghosts - The Silent Ballet