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ART D’ECCO shares new single
Androgynous neo-glam art-rocker Art d’Ecco continues to offer up more music from his forthcoming new album, In Standard Definition coming out on April 23rd via Paper Bag Records with another track/video for “Desires” today.
“A tale born inside the dark underbelly of old Hollywood, then repackaged and reimagined as a rock and roll tragedy,” says d’Ecco. “Desires is about the entertainer at the end of their career – soon to be phased out by the next wave of rising talent, and shifting audience tastes. For the old guard, this spectre of change is a constant existential threat that will challenge their ability to keep up with the times and to remain relevant in this brutal industry of show business.”
Listen to “Desires” on other streaming services here:http://smarturl.it/o1s5eb
His new LP, In Standard Definition, ruminates on our endless fixation on TV and celebrity culture. It pulls back the curtain on our unhealthy obsessions, as illustrated by lead single/video for “TV God” released last month and second track/video, “Head Rush” that has made itself at home in the top 20 at Canadian Alt Radio for the last few weeks. And of course, the disco infused, latest single “I Am The Dance Floor.”
Like channels on an old television set, each of the twelve songs on In Standard Definition presents an episodic look into the world of entertainment, our obsession with celebrity and the power it holds over us. “No matter where you live or what language you speak, there’s an entertainment god for you,” d’Ecco continues. Working with producer/engineer Colin Stewart (Black Mountain, New Pornographers, Destroyer) in ocean-side studio The Hive, In Standard Definition sees d’Ecco packing his heftiest punch yet. Through Stewart’s vintage set up, a decoupage of authentic sounds was recorded to 2-inch tape on a 50-year-old console, forming a musical reflection of the era it evokes.
In Standard Definition struts with the striking tonal resemblance of ’70s glam, oscillating between new wave and new romantic via C86 infusions, or the simplicity of John Lennon’s Plastic Ono Band. Earning his producer stripes, d’Ecco played musical ringleader, building the tracks’ layers with a revolving door of hand-picked musicians: jazz and blues players on horns, Victoria Symphony Orchestra’s string players, soul singers, and his suited and booted live band. With shrewd attention to structure, the album’s episodic nature can be experienced in its entirety or dialed in and out, with instrumental interludes “Channel 7 (Pilot Season)” and “Channel 10 (Reruns)” aligning Lynchian drama with their sinister sounds, to capture actors’ struggles during Tinsteltown’s pilot season. “The enduring highs and lows of a performer struggling to be seen. I wanted to write from that vantage point as much as I wanted to illuminate what we’re all celebrating.”