Archie Pelago

The time has come. Straight up NYC vibes coming through. Our favorite “band” is about to release their first EP on 12? wax and we couldn’t be happier, prouder or more excited. That’s right, Archie Pelago has teamed up with Mister Saturday Night to bring you a limited batch of 150g vinyl sporting three Archie originals. Pressed in Brooklyn, hand stamped by the band in Brooklyn, this is the type of local effort we strive to champion at OTS. Get yours on September 10th here (and don’t sleep as the rumors state the first pressing of 500 is already sold out to distributors).

Honestly, just given the names around this release, and the fact that the physicial release was made in Brooklyn, should be enough for any NYC “bass” fan to bag on sight, but in case you aren’t quite convinced, we’ve got a track by track review for you. Major thanks to Dan, Justin, and the rest of the team who graciously allowed us to hear these tunes before their release.

The A side sports two tracks. First up, “Brown Oxford.” Within the first few bars, the sound on this release sets itself apart. Listen to the air! It breathes! In a day and age of computer generated sounds, looped on computer based audio workstations, bounced to .mp3 and then played in dances on computers, it’s both refreshing and almost disorienting to hear electronic music in this way. While we know Archie runs things on Ableton (as they are seemingly booked more for Ableton workshops than performances (something you should be addressing with your local promoters)) they have managed to maintain the life of their acoustic instruments within the record’s only groove.

Because of this fact, A1 almost feels as though we are descending into an impromptu jam session that is already underway; listening in for 4 and a half minutes until it drifts away into the wind. Plucky cello loops lead the tune along over top a 4×4 kick drum beat. Saxophone stabs accent the groove alongside sparse snare fills until the cello gives out. This allows the sax and drums to take charge heading into some dub inspired territory. Like a jazz solo breakdown, once these two elements get their chance to shine, the bass line picks right back up and brings the focus back to the groove for the rest of the track.

A2 goes by “Alice” and she’s a sultry one. A simple 2 steppin’ rhythm carries some lovely halftime saxophone play and loops sounding like that same sax in reverse. When the beat drops out, the saxophone picks up the pace, then rejoined by the snares and hi hats until crashing into a saxophone led jackin’ groove. Halfway through the sax fades into the background, while I’m assuming it’s Alice herself who “ooos” and “ahhhs” us into the second half of the tune. It’s the third drop that really shines when you get to experience just how well all these elements play off each other. This one is a slow burn and exhibits the trio’s writing prowess just as well as their live show exhibits their improv chops.

The B side sports the longest track on the release, clocking in at almost eight and a half minutes. ”Frederyck Swerl” seems to be a fitting name, as the lengthy intro on this tune feels like a swirl of cello, snares and saxophone lulls performing in a round, with some heavy syncopation provided by craft delay work. Arguably the most psychedelic and dub inspired track on the release, this one bleeds emotion. Personally, I could get lost in this track, as the cello draws me into some introspective territory until the saxophone arrives and disrupts the mood, only to inspire some tension and anxiousness for the final drop. When that drop comes, we are transported into a world where the washy soundscape of minutes earlier provides a bed for shuffling snare rolls, accented by one drop snares with big reverb. More dub vibes over a house template and we aren’t complaining. - On The Sly

The time has come. Straight up NYC vibes coming through. Our favorite “band” is about to release their first EP on 12? wax and we couldn’t be happier, prouder or more excited. That’s right, Archie Pelago has teamed up with Mister Saturday Night to bring you a limited batch of 150g vinyl sporting three Archie originals. Pressed in Brooklyn, hand stamped by the band in Brooklyn, this is the type of local effort we strive to champion at OTS. Get yours on September 10th here (and don’t sleep as the rumors state the first pressing of 500 is already sold out to distributors).

Honestly, just given the names around this release, and the fact that the physicial release was made in Brooklyn, should be enough for any NYC “bass” fan to bag on sight, but in case you aren’t quite convinced, we’ve got a track by track review for you. Major thanks to Dan, Justin, and the rest of the team who graciously allowed us to hear these tunes before their release.

The A side sports two tracks. First up, “Brown Oxford.” Within the first few bars, the sound on this release sets itself apart. Listen to the air! It breathes! In a day and age of computer generated sounds, looped on computer based audio workstations, bounced to .mp3 and then played in dances on computers, it’s both refreshing and almost disorienting to hear electronic music in this way. While we know Archie runs things on Ableton (as they are seemingly booked more for Ableton workshops than performances (something you should be addressing with your local promoters)) they have managed to maintain the life of their acoustic instruments within the record’s only groove.

Because of this fact, A1 almost feels as though we are descending into an impromptu jam session that is already underway; listening in for 4 and a half minutes until it drifts away into the wind. Plucky cello loops lead the tune along over top a 4×4 kick drum beat. Saxophone stabs accent the groove alongside sparse snare fills until the cello gives out. This allows the sax and drums to take charge heading into some dub inspired territory. Like a jazz solo breakdown, once these two elements get their chance to shine, the bass line picks right back up and brings the focus back to the groove for the rest of the track.

A2 goes by “Alice” and she’s a sultry one. A simple 2 steppin’ rhythm carries some lovely halftime saxophone play and loops sounding like that same sax in reverse. When the beat drops out, the saxophone picks up the pace, then rejoined by the snares and hi hats until crashing into a saxophone led jackin’ groove. Halfway through the sax fades into the background, while I’m assuming it’s Alice herself who “ooos” and “ahhhs” us into the second half of the tune. It’s the third drop that really shines when you get to experience just how well all these elements play off each other. This one is a slow burn and exhibits the trio’s writing prowess just as well as their live show exhibits their improv chops.

The B side sports the longest track on the release, clocking in at almost eight and a half minutes. ”Frederyck Swerl” seems to be a fitting name, as the lengthy intro on this tune feels like a swirl of cello, snares and saxophone lulls performing in a round, with some heavy syncopation provided by craft delay work. Arguably the most psychedelic and dub inspired track on the release, this one bleeds emotion. Personally, I could get lost in this track, as the cello draws me into some introspective territory until the saxophone arrives and disrupts the mood, only to inspire some tension and anxiousness for the final drop. When that drop comes, we are transported into a world where the washy soundscape of minutes earlier provides a bed for shuffling snare rolls, accented by one drop snares with big reverb. More dub vibes over a house template and we aren’t complaining. - On The Sly

Placing classical instruments into a dance music context is no new phenomenon. It was a friendship with musicians at the Detroit Symphony Orchestra that proved an inspiration for "Strings of Life," of course, and more recently Brandt Brauer Frick have blazed a trail across Europe with their coruscating live show.

Classically-trained New York trio, Archie Pelago, offer something a little different to their like-minded German counterparts—not least a jazzier, moodier outlook. As well as their instruments—trumpet, cello and sax—Archie Pelago use Ableton, Serato, decks and effects live. As a result, you can only imagine the work that goes into their recorded output.

"Brown Oxford" revels in luxurious plucked stand-up bass and sax/trumpet stabs; underpinned by Psycho-style violins and jerky live drum interjections, it builds to a relentless mid-tempo house groove, breaks down… and then revives the bassline again. With its broken beat vibe, "Alice" relies more on technology than the predecessor, with the sax looping back on itself like a child's round; the nine-minute "Frederyck Swerl" wanders down the dubstep path, with ghostly table tennis mood percussion, delayed guitars, trippy cosmic pulses and muted brass. Its final three minutes are a miasmic, swirling treat. - Resident Advisor

This year saw the hosts of some of New York’s finest weekend festivities branch out into the business of running a record label. With Anthony Naples’ Mad Disrespect EP, the oft-celebrated Mister Saturday Night (‘The Mister’ being Messieurs Justin Carter and Eamon Harkin) effortlessly brought the understated and soulful vibe that defines their parties into a physical entity – house music that you could not just feel, but touch. It was a logical step for Carter and Harkin who, since beginning the MSN project back in 2008, have continually demonstrated their passion for making people dance, feel good, and perhaps most importantly, feel part of something. That sense of involvement is what has long set them apart from your standard house night, and is what arguably links Naples’ EP closest to The Mister’s second release, the debut 12” from fellow New Yorkers Archie Pelago.

In the relatively short space of time Cosmo D, Hirshi and Kroba have been operating together as Archie Pelago, they have proven to be nothing short of a hack journalist’s nightmare. Unfortunately for today’s Newspeak-leaning writers, it is a discredit to the band’s efforts to attempt to condense what they are doing into a buzz word, be it ‘jazzstep’, ‘brass house’ or, god forbid, ‘organic techno’. At the most basic level, the trio’s music combines live instruments (cello, sax and trumpet; sometimes vocals) with various electronic music-inspired elements programmed in Ableton (percussion, effects, samples, bass – the usual suspects). Yes, the classically-trained-musician-meets-dancefloor approach isn’t extraordinary by itself – indeed, it’s the sort of premise that unfortunately screams ‘novelty’ thanks to countless half-baked efforts from artists with more ego than taste – but one need only look to the work of say, Floating Points or Four Tet, to understand how powerful it can be in the right hands. Archie Pelago are among the exceptional few to hit that sweet spot, and they continue to do so with aplomb on MSN002.

Opening with the pulsating ‘Brown Oxford’, the group continue to draw from a handful of bass music tropes in their instrumentation and song-structure. Here, it’s Untold-esque minimalism as Cosmo’s cello arpeggios, which melodically oscillate from the optimistic into the somewhat sinister, are met with Kroba’s softly hanging stabs of sax, rolling drum fills and instances of inexplicable electronic weirdness. The appreciation of space and air is impossible to ignore; it’s almost as if you can breathe the very same oxygen displaced by every cello string plucked. Likewise, on the final section of ‘Frederyck Swerl’, space becomes an instrument in itself, channeling eyes-down dubstep into an unashamedly emotional and cinematic environment that’s more Central Park than small pitch-black club room.

That last line may give the impression that Archie Pelago have removed themselves from the bustling dancefloor that defines Mister Saturday Night completely. Rest assured, that’s far from the case. The band’s live elements on ‘Alice’ are intoxicated with swirling effects, settled only by a constant rhythm somewhere between 2-step and UK Funky which gently and inconspicuously reaches the sort of elation reserved only for 1AM. And although ‘Frederyck Swerl’ occasionally evokes situations more likely to be experienced by characters in sentimental films than those occupying a sweaty club room, it remains – like every track on this EP – rooted in creating that universally accepted ‘feeling’ associated with the most enjoyable dance music. Ultimately, despite the complicated recording process, this is music tailored exclusively for the social gathering – a catalyst for people to interact with each other and temporarily free themselves from their ordinary lives. What else are Saturday nights meant for? - Fact Magazine

This year saw the hosts of some of New York’s finest weekend festivities branch out into the business of running a record label. With Anthony Naples’ Mad Disrespect EP, the oft-celebrated Mister Saturday Night (‘The Mister’ being Messieurs Justin Carter and Eamon Harkin) effortlessly brought the understated and soulful vibe that defines their parties into a physical entity – house music that you could not just feel, but touch. It was a logical step for Carter and Harkin who, since beginning the MSN project back in 2008, have continually demonstrated their passion for making people dance, feel good, and perhaps most importantly, feel part of something. That sense of involvement is what has long set them apart from your standard house night, and is what arguably links Naples’ EP closest to The Mister’s second release, the debut 12” from fellow New Yorkers Archie Pelago.

In the relatively short space of time Cosmo D, Hirshi and Kroba have been operating together as Archie Pelago, they have proven to be nothing short of a hack journalist’s nightmare. Unfortunately for today’s Newspeak-leaning writers, it is a discredit to the band’s efforts to attempt to condense what they are doing into a buzz word, be it ‘jazzstep’, ‘brass house’ or, god forbid, ‘organic techno’. At the most basic level, the trio’s music combines live instruments (cello, sax and trumpet; sometimes vocals) with various electronic music-inspired elements programmed in Ableton (percussion, effects, samples, bass – the usual suspects). Yes, the classically-trained-musician-meets-dancefloor approach isn’t extraordinary by itself – indeed, it’s the sort of premise that unfortunately screams ‘novelty’ thanks to countless half-baked efforts from artists with more ego than taste – but one need only look to the work of say, Floating Points or Four Tet, to understand how powerful it can be in the right hands. Archie Pelago are among the exceptional few to hit that sweet spot, and they continue to do so with aplomb on MSN002.

Opening with the pulsating ‘Brown Oxford’, the group continue to draw from a handful of bass music tropes in their instrumentation and song-structure. Here, it’s Untold-esque minimalism as Cosmo’s cello arpeggios, which melodically oscillate from the optimistic into the somewhat sinister, are met with Kroba’s softly hanging stabs of sax, rolling drum fills and instances of inexplicable electronic weirdness. The appreciation of space and air is impossible to ignore; it’s almost as if you can breathe the very same oxygen displaced by every cello string plucked. Likewise, on the final section of ‘Frederyck Swerl’, space becomes an instrument in itself, channeling eyes-down dubstep into an unashamedly emotional and cinematic environment that’s more Central Park than small pitch-black club room.

That last line may give the impression that Archie Pelago have removed themselves from the bustling dancefloor that defines Mister Saturday Night completely. Rest assured, that’s far from the case. The band’s live elements on ‘Alice’ are intoxicated with swirling effects, settled only by a constant rhythm somewhere between 2-step and UK Funky which gently and inconspicuously reaches the sort of elation reserved only for 1AM. And although ‘Frederyck Swerl’ occasionally evokes situations more likely to be experienced by characters in sentimental films than those occupying a sweaty club room, it remains – like every track on this EP – rooted in creating that universally accepted ‘feeling’ associated with the most enjoyable dance music. Ultimately, despite the complicated recording process, this is music tailored exclusively for the social gathering – a catalyst for people to interact with each other and temporarily free themselves from their ordinary lives. What else are Saturday nights meant for? - Fact Magazine

There are plenty of examples of acts in the recent history of dance music who brought the group dynamic to club informed ends. From Mount Kimbie to Elektro Guzzi and on to the likes of Brandt Brauer Frick, there’s something undeniably thrilling about the stark originality and blossoming ideas that spring from collectives that move the rigid structures and formulas away from the singular ego of the one-man band.

Archie Pelago are another one of these groups, except as with the aforementioned, it’s a gross disservice to lump them in with anyone else. As much as a solo artist can forge their own path away from the trends of their peers, the conflict and collision that go into a group action when applied to electronic music production opens a staggering world of possibility. This is essentially a long-winded way of explaining that Archie Pelago stand proudly on their own, and in this EP for fledgling New York label and better established party Mister Saturday Night, they have demonstrated why they’re a very exciting proposition.

The fun begins with “Brown Oxford” a track defined by a double bass line, although judging by the set up of the band and the sound’s prevalence in most of their output it may well be Cosmo D’s cello being plucked in a low register. On top of this come poignant stabs of trumpet and saxophone, clearly played live, while the drums work around a house-of-sorts template. The kick is one of the few elements behaving itself, as the snares and toms rumble and tumble their way through in a jazzy, freeform manner, all feeding into a loose-limbed and warm embrace of a track.

“Alice” is a breezier affair, quicker in tempo but also a little more wistful in its melodic content, replete with females oohs and aahs that wind around a myriad layering of melodic flutters, building towards a crescendo of exuberance and fulfillment that comes in no small part from the abundance of purpose-recorded organic matter. Languishing on the B-Side is “Frederyck Swerl”, which seems to revel in its laconic ambience as the beat gets left to one side to allow found sounds to clatter quietly in the background, while sax and other indefinable elements chase each other around an amorphous bed of contented musicality. It’s a cosy concoction that soothes as it surprises, steeped in proficiency for playing but also controlled enough to steer away from self-indulgence. - Juno Plus

There are plenty of examples of acts in the recent history of dance music who brought the group dynamic to club informed ends. From Mount Kimbie to Elektro Guzzi and on to the likes of Brandt Brauer Frick, there’s something undeniably thrilling about the stark originality and blossoming ideas that spring from collectives that move the rigid structures and formulas away from the singular ego of the one-man band.

Archie Pelago are another one of these groups, except as with the aforementioned, it’s a gross disservice to lump them in with anyone else. As much as a solo artist can forge their own path away from the trends of their peers, the conflict and collision that go into a group action when applied to electronic music production opens a staggering world of possibility. This is essentially a long-winded way of explaining that Archie Pelago stand proudly on their own, and in this EP for fledgling New York label and better established party Mister Saturday Night, they have demonstrated why they’re a very exciting proposition.

The fun begins with “Brown Oxford” a track defined by a double bass line, although judging by the set up of the band and the sound’s prevalence in most of their output it may well be Cosmo D’s cello being plucked in a low register. On top of this come poignant stabs of trumpet and saxophone, clearly played live, while the drums work around a house-of-sorts template. The kick is one of the few elements behaving itself, as the snares and toms rumble and tumble their way through in a jazzy, freeform manner, all feeding into a loose-limbed and warm embrace of a track.

“Alice” is a breezier affair, quicker in tempo but also a little more wistful in its melodic content, replete with females oohs and aahs that wind around a myriad layering of melodic flutters, building towards a crescendo of exuberance and fulfillment that comes in no small part from the abundance of purpose-recorded organic matter. Languishing on the B-Side is “Frederyck Swerl”, which seems to revel in its laconic ambience as the beat gets left to one side to allow found sounds to clatter quietly in the background, while sax and other indefinable elements chase each other around an amorphous bed of contented musicality. It’s a cosy concoction that soothes as it surprises, steeped in proficiency for playing but also controlled enough to steer away from self-indulgence. - Juno Plus

Brooklyn-based trio Archie Pelago, strive to combine their varied musical backgrounds of jazz and classical, and apply the ideas to the endless possibilities of electronic beat music. On June 22nd, 2012, The group preformed live in Brooklyn’s Public Assembly, utilizing all of their instruments: a trumpet, saxophone, cello, turn-tables (Serato), and Ableton live. The result is a fantastic, hour-long genre-melting groove which is appropriate to be rinsed at almost any occasion. My favourite moment in the mix is Archie Pelago’s own track, Brown Oxford, coming in roughly at the 9 minute mark. - Low Life

Brooklyn-based trio Archie Pelago, strive to combine their varied musical backgrounds of jazz and classical, and apply the ideas to the endless possibilities of electronic beat music. On June 22nd, 2012, The group preformed live in Brooklyn’s Public Assembly, utilizing all of their instruments: a trumpet, saxophone, cello, turn-tables (Serato), and Ableton live. The result is a fantastic, hour-long genre-melting groove which is appropriate to be rinsed at almost any occasion. My favourite moment in the mix is Archie Pelago’s own track, Brown Oxford, coming in roughly at the 9 minute mark. - Low Life