Windy & Carl
Encyclopedia
Overview
Cited as "A leading light of the Michigan space-rock scene" by Allmusic, the minimalist group formed in 1993 around the core husband-and-wife duo of guitarist Carl Hultgren and bassist/singer Windy Weber. (Most of the band's pieces feature no vocals, however.) The band was prolific from the outset up to 2001, whereupon they took a hiatus of a few years.The music of Windy & Carl borrows heavily from the sounds of 1980s era bands on 4AD Records, specifically that of Robin Guthrie
Robin Guthrie
Robin Guthrie is a musician best known as co-founder of the Cocteau Twins. During his career Guthrie has played guitar, bass guitar, keyboards, drums and other musical instruments, in addition to programming, sampling and sound processing...
of the Cocteau Twins
Cocteau Twins
Cocteau Twins were a Scottish alternative rock band active from 1979 to 1997, known for innovative instrumentation and atmospheric, non-lyrical vocals...
and various other dream pop
Dream pop
Dream pop is a subgenre of alternative rock that originated in the United Kingdom in the mid-1980s, when bands like The Passions, Dif Juz, Lowlife and A.R. Kane began fusing post-punk and ethereal experiments with bittersweet pop melodies into dreamy, sensual soundscapes. The term was almost...
and shoegazer acts.
Unlike noteworthy prior drone/ambient artists (such as Cluster
Cluster (band)
Cluster is a German experimental musical group who influenced the development of contemporary popular electronic and ambient music. They have recorded albums in a wide variety of styles ranging from experimental music to progressive rock, all of which had an avant-garde edge. Cluster has been...
, Brian Eno
Brian Eno
Brian Peter George St. John le Baptiste de la Salle Eno , commonly known as Brian Eno or simply as Eno , is an English musician, composer, record producer, singer and visual artist, known as one of the principal innovators of ambient music.Eno studied at Colchester Institute art school in Essex,...
, Popol Vuh
Popol Vuh (German band)
Popol Vuh was a German electronic avantgarde band, in the mainstream-media so called Krautrock, founded by pianist and keyboardist Florian Fricke in 1969 together with Holger Trülzsch and Frank Fiedler...
, et al.), Windy & Carl's drones are primarily derived from guitar, particularly via usage of delay effect
Delay (audio effect)
Delay is an audio effect which records an input signal to an audio storage medium, and then plays it back after a period of time. The delayed signal may either be played back multiple times, or played back into the recording again, to create the sound of a repeating, decaying echo.-Early delay...
s, reverb
Reverberation
Reverberation is the persistence of sound in a particular space after the original sound is removed. A reverberation, or reverb, is created when a sound is produced in an enclosed space causing a large number of echoes to build up and then slowly decay as the sound is absorbed by the walls and air...
effects, and E-Bow
E-Bow
The EBow or ebow is a hand-held, battery-powered electronic device for playing the electric guitar, invented by Greg Heet in 1969...
, rather than synthesizer
Synthesizer
A synthesizer is an electronic instrument capable of producing sounds by generating electrical signals of different frequencies. These electrical signals are played through a loudspeaker or set of headphones...
s. Another noteworthy aspect of W&C's sound is the absence of drums.
History
They self-released their cassette-only debut album Portal on their label, Blue Flea, in 1992; it was later reissued on CD by BaDaBing owner Ben Goldberg.Windy & Carl then participated in Darla Records
Darla Records
Darla 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 :...
' "Bliss Out Series" in 1997, contributing the maxi-EP Antarctica. That year, they also issued the limited-edition album/maxi-EP A Dream Of Blue on U.K. label Ochre Records, with individually-painted cover art by Weber (on the 10" vinyl version). Depths was released by Kranky
Kranky Records
Kranky is an independent record label, located in Chicago, Illinois. It was started in 1993 by Bruce Adams and Joel Leoschke.The bands it houses are noted for combining experimental and often electronic influences with elements of more traditional rock structures, and many of the artists on Kranky...
in early 1998.
In 1999, the couple teamed up with synthesist Greg Gasiorowski to record under the name Five Way Mirror. They released a few singles under that moniker, in addition to "Transcendence", a 1999 full-length album. Consciousness came out on Kranky in 2001. The band then went on hiatus (after Weber's mom died), returning with Dream House/ Dedications To Flea in 2005. (Flea was their recently-deceased dog.) There was a singles compilation released in 2001 - Introspection, which is 3 cds of singles, live tracks and previously unreleased recordings.
In 2006, they released Akimatsuri, a one track (33:16 min) limited album under their label Blue Flea. It is recorded at their home between March and October 2006. The unique track is made up of 5 subtracks.
Windy & Carl have been a mainstay of the various Terrastock
Terrastock
Terrastock is a music festival organised periodically by Phil McMullen, formerly editor of the Ptolemaic Terrascope and since 2005 the publisher of the Terrascope Online website. The event typically features independent bands playing psychedelic rock....
music festivals. In the fall of 2000 they released a CD with The Lothars, titled & Windy & Carl & The Lothars that featured live performances by each band from the San Francisco Terrastock
Terrastock
Terrastock is a music festival organised periodically by Phil McMullen, formerly editor of the Ptolemaic Terrascope and since 2005 the publisher of the Terrascope Online website. The event typically features independent bands playing psychedelic rock....
festival as well as a 28 minute collaborative piece recorded at the London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
Terrastock
Terrastock
Terrastock is a music festival organised periodically by Phil McMullen, formerly editor of the Ptolemaic Terrascope and since 2005 the publisher of the Terrascope Online website. The event typically features independent bands playing psychedelic rock....
festival.
The group has issued several other split recordings as well as a 3-CD box set, Introspection: Singles & Rarities 1993-2000. They embarked on a national tour in the summer of 2001 with Landing
Landing (band)
Landing is an indie rock outfit from Connecticut, USA. Terms used to describe the music created by Aaron Snow and Adrienne Snow include ambient, shoegaze, slo-core, and space rock...
; the bands released a split tour-only EP to commemorate it. A highlight of this tour was being able to perform a private audience show for Sonic Youth.
October 2008 saw the release of Songs For The Broken Hearted - their 4th album in 11 years for Kranky.
Hultgren and Weber run a record store in Dearborn, Stormy Records.
Windy & Carl's influence can be heard in bands such as Amp
Amp (band)
Amp is an electronic space rock band formed in London by Richard F. Walker in 1992, after collaborating with David Pearce on the The Secret Garden and the Distance projects...
, Landing, The Sight Below
The Sight Below
The Sight Below is an electronic music/shoegaze act from Seattle, Washington. Its main member is American post-minimalist composer Rafael Anton Irisarri....
, Kranky labelmates White Rainbow
Adam Forkner
Adam Forkner is a musician from Portland, Oregon who, since 2003, has performed as White Rainbow.-as White Rainbow:*"Humidifier Plaza" digital, self-released via whiterainbowpizza.bandcamp.com 2011...
and Growing
Growing (band)
Growing is a drone music/ambient music/noise music band formed in Olympia, Washington, and currently based in Brooklyn, New York. The group was founded in 2001 by Kevin Doria , Joe Denardo , and Zack Carlson...
, and Yume Bitsu
Yume Bitsu
Yume Bitsu , was a psychedelic rock/space rock band from Portland, Oregon active between 1995 and 2002.Their debut Giant Surface Music Falling to Earth Like Jewels From the Sky was self-released in 1998 and was re-released by BaBaBing! Records in 1999...
.
Albums
- Portal (Ba Da Bing!, 1995)
- Drawing of Sound (Icon, 1996)
- Antarctica (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 :...
, 1997) - Depths (KrankyKranky RecordsKranky is an independent record label, located in Chicago, Illinois. It was started in 1993 by Bruce Adams and Joel Leoschke.The bands it houses are noted for combining experimental and often electronic influences with elements of more traditional rock structures, and many of the artists on Kranky...
, 1998) - Dream of Blue (Ochre, 1998)
- Consciousness (Kranky, 2001)
- Dedications to Flea (BrainwashedBrainwashed (website)Brainwashed is a not-for-profit online music publication offering news and reviews of eclectic music. Over fifty people contribute to the archives of Brainwashed. Brainwashed hosts websites for many bands, artists and record labels...
, 2005) - The Dream House (Kranky, 2005)
- Songs for the Broken Hearted (Kranky, 2008)
- Instrumentals For The Broken Hearted (Blue Flea, 2009)
EPs, singles
- Watersong/Dragonfly (Blue Flea, 1993)
- Instrumentals EP (Burnt Hair Records, 1994)
- Left Without Air (split single with FuxaFüxaFüxa was a space rock duo, consisting of Detroit musicians Ryan Anderson and Randall Nieman . Füxa was created in 1994 and their music has been described as psychedelic and experimental...
) (Blue Flea/Mind Expansion, 1995) - Green (split single with Hopewell) (Burnt Hair Records, 1996)
- Emeralds/Fragments Of Time And Space (Enraptured, 1996)
- Christmas Song (split single with Grimble Grumble) (Enraptured, 1996)
- Crazy In The Sun (split single with Silver Apples) (Rocket Girl, 1997)
- Dream of Blue/Kate EP (Ochre, 1997)
- Near and Far (split EP with AmpAmp (band)Amp is an electronic space rock band formed in London by Richard F. Walker in 1992, after collaborating with David Pearce on the The Secret Garden and the Distance projects...
) (Blue Flea, 1998) - Antarctica (Live)/Instrumental (Live) (split 12" with Saddar Bazaar) (EarwormEarworm RecordsEarworm Records was a London-based independent record label, with its first release by the band Hood in 1997. Other bands to release music on the label include Yo La Tengo, Of Montreal, Stars of the Lid, Windy & Carl, Portal, The Besnard Lakes, Fridge, Damon & Naomi and Magnétophone....
, 2001) - Untitled (split tour CD with LandingLanding (band)Landing is an indie rock outfit from Connecticut, USA. Terms used to describe the music created by Aaron Snow and Adrienne Snow include ambient, shoegaze, slo-core, and space rock...
(Music Fellowship, 2001) - Akimatsuri (Blue Flea, 2006)
- Intelligence In Evolution (split LP with Heavy Winged) (Music Fellowship, 2008)
Compilation
- Introspection: Singles & Rarities 1993-2000 (Blue Flea, 2002) (3 CDs of rarities, live tracks, etc.)
Various-artist compilation appearances
- "Seiche" on BrainwavesBrainwaves (compilation)Brainwaves is a compilation album put together by Brainwashed.com to commemorate the Brainwaves festival. The album is a 3 CD set, limited to 500 copies and comes with a Brainwaves logo badge...
(2006) - "3rd Stage" (live collaboration with The Lothars), "Through the Portal" (live), and "Ballast" (live) on & Windy & Carl & The Lothars (2000)
- "Beyond Asleep" on Disco Sucks (compilation) (1996)