Windy & Carl

Infobox musical artist
Name = Windy & Carl


Img_capt =
Background = group_or_band
Origin = Dearborn, Michigan, U.S.
Genre = Space rock Ambient music Drone music Dream pop
Years_active = 1991 — Present
Label = Blue Flea
Burnt Hair
Ba Da Bing!
Icon
Darla
Kranky
Ochre
Associated_acts = Five Way Mirror, Fuxa, Landing, The Lothars
URL = http://www.brainwashed.com/wc
Current_members = Carl Hultgren
Windy Weber
Past_members = Randall Nieman
Brenda Markovich

Windy & Carl are an ambient space rock group based in Dearborn, Michigan, U.S.A..

Overview

Cited as "A leading light of the Michigan space-rock scene" by Allmusic, the minimalist group formed in 1991 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 of the Cocteau Twins and various other dream pop and shoegazer acts.

Unlike noteworthy prior drone/ambient artists (such as Cluster, Brian Eno, Popol Vuh, "et al"), Windy & Carl's drones are primarily derived from guitar, particularly via usage of delay effects, reverb effects, and E-Bow, rather than synthesizers. 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. In 1994, the duo briefly expanded to a quartet, featuring percussionist Brenda Markovich and guitarist/keyboardist Randall Nieman. They recorded under the Once Dreamt moniker, and 1996 they released the "Drifting" EP and "Drawing of Sound" LP. The "Drawing Of Sound" cd was released on Icon Records (Dennis Breton from Michigan), along with a number of 7" singles. After the release, both Markovich and Nieman departed, with the latter moving on to form Fuxa.

Windy & Carl then participated in Darla Records' "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 Records 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 passed away), 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 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 festival as well as a 28 minute collaborative piece recorded at the London Terrastock 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; 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 sees the release of Songs For The Broken Hearted on kranky records - their 4th album in 11 years for kranky.

Hultgren and Weber run a record store in Dearborn, [http://www.stormyrecords.com/ Stormy Records] .

Windy & Carl's influence can be heard in bands such as Amp, Landing, Kranky labelmates Stars of the Lid and Growing, and Yume Bitsu.

Discography

Albums

* "Once-Dreamt" (Blue Flea 1995)
* "Portal" (ba-da-bing 1995)
* "Drawing of Sound" (Icon 1996)
* "Antarctica" (Darla 1997)
* "Depths" (Kranky 1998)
* "Dream of Blue" (Ochre 1998)
* "Consciousness" (Kranky 2001)
* "Dedications to Flea" (Brainwashed 2005)
* "The Dream House" (Kranky 2005)
* "Akimatsuri" (BlueFlea 2006)
* "Songs For The Broken Hearted" (kranky 2008)

EPs, singles

* "Watersong/Dragonfly" (Blue Flea 1993)
* "Instrumentals EP" (Burnt Hair 1994)

Compilation

*"Introspection: Singles & Rarities 1993-2000" (2002, Blue Flea) (3 CDs of rarities, live tracks, etc.)

Various-artist compilation appearances

* "Seiche" on "Brainwaves" (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)

External links

* [http://www.brainwashed.com/wc/ Official Site with many mp3 excerpts]
* [http://www.epitonic.com/artists/windycarl.html Epitonic Page]
* [http://www.badabingrecords.com/windycarl.html Windy & Carl at Ba Da Bing! Records]
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