They say it ain't bragging if it's true -- but last time we wrote about someone's Kickstarter project, big things happened. Now I know that we aren't the sole reason Shawn Demumbrum's Smiths comic met and exceeded its goal. It's a great idea on its own, and the fact that The Guardian, Paste, and Entertainment Weekly all picked up on it certainly helped.
Anyhow, all this grand standing was building toward something...oh yeah, In a Quiet Way by Phoenix-based noise-master Good Amount (a.k.a. Christian Filardo). Last week Filardo sent me a digital copy of the new record, and it's fascinating. Layers of repeated sound, odd cassette tape samples, noise collages and snippets of glitchy melody. Fans of mainstream indie will hear some Animal Collective, and fans of minimalist composition will certainly hear elements of Steve Reich, especially on closing track "Affection Fact."
You can download the album and donate at the Holy Page BandCamp site, but Filardo's Kickstarter goal is to press the album physically, though he's not sure on what format yet.
"Although the record is largely influenced by fusion jazz it is a weird mix of ambient, experimental, and unconventional pop structure," writes Filardo on his site. "For the album art I was lucky enough to have photographer and friend Chikara Kakizawa come over and do some portraits in the vein of Davis's work In A Silent Way. "
"[I sample] In a Silent Way for the first two seconds," Filardo says. "Otherwise it's all me, playing and stuff throughout the record, and some cassette samples of speakers."
"I would like to put out my new record In A Quiet Way in any physical form wether it be cassette, compact disque, or on wax. With the money raised by this project I will make the decision of what format to put it on," Filardo writes. His goal is a modest $300, and at press time, $132 has been pledged.
Filardo describes the record as "a complete flip of my first record as Good Amount, Impulse Try. While Impulse Try was conceptually the acknowledgment of despair, this new record titled In A Quiet Way is more of a meditative rise from darkness into peace and tranquility. Dedicated largely to the later fusion work of Miles Davis, New York City, and my love."
