movietone “the sand and the stars” long playing record

• the sand and the stars (2:43)
  
• ocean song (5:02)
  
• in mexico (5:00)
  
• pale tracks (4:05)
  
• let night in (3:52)
  
• we rode on (3:48)
  
• snow is falling (4:25)
  
• not even close (1:47)
  
• red earth (4:08)
  
• beach samba (2:57)
  
• near marconi's hut (1:25)

drag city press release...

movietone the sand and the stars dc260 lp it’s been over three years since movietone’s previous sound echoed out into the world. the blossom filled streets was a turkish delight of albums — gelatinous, earth-toned, shot through with chunks and strings, offering an elegant, exotic sweetness grounded with natural flavor. this is the fourth movietone lp (3rd on drag city) since their formation in 1994. it finds them in a new phase, having taken their approach down to the pins. here stand movietone, pure and simple — and yet, with their sensual, hallucinogenic air in full bloom. from mists of grey comes a sound derived from ... somewhere. but where? taking its trigger from a review of the blossom filled streets, the sand and the stars is explicitly intended to sound like “a jazz record being played from across the bay.” “we found the perfect bay in which to play the music, near land’s end,” recalls movietone’s vocalist/guitarist kate wright, “the sand shelved gently and the waves were loud even on calm days. we found a house to rent above the bay. the path down to the beach was steeper than i remembered and fairly difficult to navigate in the dark. but there were clear nights under the stars. we recorded on the beach with two microphones.” inspired by the likes of nina simone, jefferson airplane, the carter family, the band and sandy denny, movietone also referenced the field recordings of late ethnomusicologist, record producer and radio producer alan lomax as a specific inspiration for the recording of the sand and the stars: “we wanted to capture all the sounds of life outside the silent walls of the recording studio. the locations were chosen to suit the songs.” “snow is falling” demanded the sepulchral, resonant sound of a church, “ocean song” needed a warehouse, “near marconi’s hut” was recorded on a cliff path near a gorge where the seagulls swooped and cried. movietone’s understated music has been compared to “exercises in painting rather than in composing: the elements are carefully orchestrated on the canvas, with consistency of colour a clear mandate.” it’s an intriguing and effective comparison that acknowledges movietone’s deft and considered deployal of their instruments and the power of the band to evoke specific imagery. like the mythological sirens who would lure sailors into the sea with their sweet voices, the band even recorded “beach samba” as a deliberate attempt to “make everyone listening want to rush to the beach for a dip - the light sparkling on the blue sea, the sand between your toes, the swell of the cool green water, staring at the cliffs from the sea.”

movietone “the sand and the stars” compact disc

• the sand and the stars (2:43)
  
• ocean song (5:02)
  
• in mexico (5:00)
  
• pale tracks (4:05)
  
• let night in (3:52)
  
• we rode on (3:48)
  
• snow is falling (4:25)
  
• not even close (1:47)
  
• red earth (4:08)
  
• beach samba (2:57)
  
• near marconi's hut (1:25)