Camp Revival

As much as Mason Lindahl’s album Serrated Man Sound defined 2009’s fall season for me, his visit on the weekend of November 21st, 2009 signaled the departure of this fleeting season and the arrival of the bitter cold in Seattle.

Mason was in town to play at Seattle’s Vera Project with local bands: Fences and Hey Marseilles. To escape the cold we stopped at the Capitol Hill Than Brothers for hot PHO. While stuffing our faces we were able to have good conversation with Mason and learn a great deal about the incredible music/musicians that he is surrounded by in his home city of Oakland, CA (Zach Hill / Ellie Fortune / Andy Morin / This list goes on).

After satiating ourselves with noodles and sodium we decided it was time to make some moving pictures. Oddly enough the location we had chosen to shoot at was a beautiful old brick apartment court yard in Capitol Hill. I write odd because it was the exact old brick apartment complex that Mason had lived in during his brief stint in Seattle years earlier; weird right? We were strongly convinced after this chance encounter that the creation of these videos was fate. Unfortunately the property manager did not share in our epiphany as he quickly told us to pack up our shit and be on our way so that we wouldn’t disturb his tenants. With our shit neatly packed we headed to Capitol Hill’s Volunteer Park to film.

As can be seen from the video, shooting outside was an act of pure affliction given the dexterity that is required of Mason to play his music. Despite this challenge Mason overcame and performed several songs for us in the frigid weather. The remainder of the day can be seen in the videos above. Don’t be surprised if you can see your breath while watching these videos.

Watch the other video we shot later that day with Mason.

In September Zac Nelson of the bands Hexlove and Chll Pll ————->

<—was nice enough to let me interview him about Chll Pll’s debut release: Aggressively Humble. This being Camp Revival’s debut interview, I didn’t plan out those um, hmm… what are they called? Oh yeah: logistics. I had recorded my conversation with Zac on my phone, but didn’t think about how I was going to pull that conversation off of my phone. After consulting these folks I was able to nab a very, very low quality version. Regardless, you can still hear Zac. He has cool things to say, which are occasionally interrupted by my coughs, chuckles, and Skype’s strange theremin like modulation.

Zac’s musical background

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How did you meet Zach Hill and how did Chll Pll come into existence?

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What was the process of making the record like?

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Was it intentional to only have people named Zac(h)(k) play on the record?

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What are you listening to?

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Didn’t catch all of that? Here’s a little assistance:
Trawler Bycatch
Art Zoyd
Von Zamla
Henry Cow
Aksak Maboul
Etron Fou Leloublan
Tim Hecker
The Work

What are your influences?

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Mason Lindahl’s upcoming release “Serrated Man Sound” has swept me away. This record is a collage of sound that is perfectly suited for its fall release date (10/20/09 / Porter Records). In the tradition of Avey Tare & Kria Brekkan and Phil Elverum Mason has woven together a unique assortment of instrumentation, tempo and melody that builds intrigue and intimacy for the listener. Perhaps the most enthralling aspect of Mason’s music is his voice and how purely it will cut through your speakers.

Fall is here; Mason Lindahl IS your perfect soundtrack. Go forth and listen!

“Serrated Man Sound”

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“Here Blows”

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“Dressed and Pleased”

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