Host Bodies

After that was Host Bodies. They took the performance up a step in energy, with a custom lighting kit that dazzled the crowd (so rare in local shows). Out of all the acts there, this duo of dudes felt the trendiest, the most in-line with what I’m seeing out at the big electronic music festivals. Think expertly suave lead guitar, layered over enthusiastic dance-y electronic, punctuated by the occasional hip hop and live drumming. It was like Tycho, with raps. - Balanced Breakfast SF

Not all music requires lyrics to speak to the soul.
by Cait McMahon

Sometimes, getting lost between tones and beats are exactly what our bodies need to relax. While each instrument’s tune and field recordings of nature and bustling cities are purposeful, Host Bodies do a great job of creating an atmosphere that feels incredibly natural in their newest single “Accept”. As beautiful tones burst with sunshine and warm rain, “Accept” from James Collector and Nick Hess brings listeners into a magic mindset of peace and acceptance.

“‘Accept,’ the single off Diamondfruit, begins with a slow build of layered strings that drops away into warm, restful ambience. When the lead guitar breaks through, the song hits its peak, a sonic vantage point where transcendence meets chill. The song title takes it name from one of Jack Kerouac’s writing essentials, ‘Accept Loss Forever.’ It’s a statement so crushing that the band felt it would be unjust to take out of context, but the sentiment pervades the song’s intermingling surrender and hope, as if the only way for new doors to open is to let old ones close.” – Host Bodies

As Jack Kerouac said himself, an essential writing technique harnesses “The unspeakable visions of the individual”, felt throughout this new single from Host Bodies, inspired by their home state of Colorado. Relax and enjoy. - Nü Sound

Today San Francisco-based live electronic duo Host Bodies premiere their new single “Accept” on Nü Sound.

STREAM: “Accept” on Nü Sound

“Accept” brings with it the same promise that a new day holds. Enveloping listeners in the scintillating colors of sunrise, “Accept” incorporates a diverse selection of alluring sounds and auditory textures, resulting in a soothing yet refreshing approach to a relatable theme: acceptance.

The track is an extraction off Host Bodies’ upcoming EP Diamondfruit and borrows its title from one of Jack Kerouac’s writing essentials, “Accept Loss Forever.” They reveal: “It’s a statement so crushing that the band felt it would be unjust to take out of context, but the sentiment pervades the song’s intermingling surrender and hope, as if the only way for new doors to open is to let old ones close.”

As the new year commences, “Accept” speaks to the raw part of us that desires to let go of the things we cannot change, acknowledge our losses, and to cling to the hope of tomorrow.

Beginning their creative journey together in 2006, Host Bodies have brought their vibrant energy to stages ever since, and, this year, they will share their latest release Diamondfruit, a dreamy electronic EP that finds calm and clarity amid hectic times. 100-percent self-recorded between California and Colorado and mixed and mastered with Ryan Kleeman (Overlap Studio) and Count Eldridge (Tycho, Radiohead),Diamondfruit provides a colorful panoramic soundtrack to heal our spirits to, ushering us into a state of welcome tranquility while helping us find our own personal refuge in a tumultuous, chaotic world.

Diamondfruit is set for release on February 8. - Vents Magazine

Alexander Graham Bell once said, “When one door closes another door opens, but we so often look so long and so regretfully upon the closed door, that we do not see the ones which open for us.”

This quote is embodied in Host Bodies’ latest track “Accept.” The airy, calming yet upbeat track reminds listeners to “accept” the things they cannot change and move forward: a great theme to carry with them in the new year.

The title for “Accept,” the single off of Host Bodies’ upcoming EP Diamondfruit, is inspired by one of novelist Jack Kerouac’s writing essentials, “Accept Loss Forever.” The duo shares: “It’s a statement so crushing that the band felt it would be unjust to take out of context, but the sentiment pervades the song’s intermingling surrender and hope, as if the only way for new doors to open is to let old ones close.”

“Accept” has optimism laced in its synth and guitar, waiting for listeners to take its word and use it for self-care. The small sentiment is a reminder to keep moving forward when times are tough or when things don’t seem to be going the way one thinks they should be.

Listen to “Accept” down below! - Music Notes Global

From the creative collaboration of MC/producer James Collector (aka Swoop) and multi-instrumentalist Nick Hess comes the live electronic duo, Host Bodies.

Beginning their creative journey together in 2006, the duo has brought their vibrant energy to stages ever since, and, in 2019, they will share their latest release Diamondfruit, a dreamy electronic EP that finds calm and clarity amid hectic times.

Incorporating guitar, bass, ukulele, charango, harp, and synthesizers, as well as inspiration from their home state of Colorado and new home of San Francisco, Diamondfruit provides a colorful panoramic soundtrack to heal our spirits to, ushering us into a state of welcome tranquility while helping us find our own personal refuge in a tumultuous, chaotic world. “We wanted to make a more mindful project, something at peace with itself yet swept into the wonder and mystery of the landscapes that inspire us,” they explain. “California and Colorado are both so close to our hearts, the elemental nature of them calls to us here in the city. The challenge is then translating that sense of refuge into electronic music, to say something beyond words.”

Diamondfruit was 100 percent self-recorded between California and Colorado and mixed and mastered with Ryan Kleeman (Overlap Studio) and Grammy-nominated producer and engineer Count Eldridge (Tycho, Radiohead, No Doubt). The EP will be released on February 8th. Their single “Accept” is out now and it envelopes listeners in the scintillating colors of sunrise. The track incorporates a diverse selection of alluring sounds and auditory textures, resulting in a soothing yet refreshing approach to a relatable theme: acceptance.

Learn more about Host Bodies in the following All Access interview:

Thanks for your time! What is on tap for the rest of your day for you both?

James: It’s Saturday morning, I’m on my second Americano and doing what I love doing on my day off: start the day writing, end it with music.

Nick: Hanging in the studio, working on some visual art. Then definitely some music later tonight.

How has 2019 been treating you guys? What is one musical goal that you have had for this year and how close are you to reaching it?

James: 2019’s been busy! Lots of changes for the best. ‘Diamondfruit’ is a huge release for us emotionally. We are just so grateful to be able to get these vibes out there into the world.

Can you recall the moment when you thought you could be in this duo together? Has anything surprised you about this ride so far?

James: For me, our origin story crystallized one summer afternoon in Nick’s basement in Boulder. We had two laptops, a keyboard, and a guitar. This was before Ableton Live came out. Somehow, we decided to sync the laptops by pressing space bar at the same time. I remember I had a fuzzy bass note droning real loud and a processed break-beat loop. Nick started ripping on the guitar and we looked at each other and knew Host Bodies had potential.

How do you think your hometown has influenced the sound and how you both carry yourselves in this band?

James: Growing up in Boulder was an amazing privilege. While it’s changed so much since we were kids, I think the presence of the touring bands that came through left an indelible imprint. Underground hip-hop had a huge influence on me growing up, as did electronic music like STS9, Bonobo, Tycho. The way those genres mixed in my formative years continues to inform how I blend genres in my music today. I want to hear instrumental solos on hip-hop beats, and synths blended with acoustic string instruments. I want to break down boundaries between genres and create what comes out, not a product that fits a preconceived format.

Nick: Yep, Boulder is a hub for music with Red Rocks a short drive away. Going to STS9 shows there definitely sculpted my idea of what electronic music could be. But locally there’s a lot of homegrown talent as well. We went to high school with Rose Hill Drive, a hard-hitting rock band that toured with The Who and Frank Zappa. If you haven’t heard of them definitely look them up. Big Gigantic was another act that came out of Boulder. I designed some gig posters for them back in the day.

What was the inspiration for your recent single, “Accept”? How would you say that it is different or similar to anything else that you have put out? How would you say that it prepares listeners for your upcoming EP, “Diamondfruit”?

James: I wrote the chords on an old piano in a farmhouse in rural Colorado. The harp is actually a modified autoharp I bought at the flea market in Alameda, CA. Earlier versions of the song featured 14 of my roommates at the time making “joyful noises”. It sounded like an aviary of crazy, happy birds. Then, Nick got a hold of the song and wrote the main melodic theme the very first time we jammed on it. I remember the exact moment he played those notes.

Nick: We actually didn’t record that take either, it only lived on my phone as a voice memo. But we cherished that rough audio snippet for months and worked tirelessly to recapture the emotion and excitement of that moment. My Les Paul Goldtop was instrumental to the process (pun intended). The song definitely prepares listeners for the rest of the EP, and yet none of the other songs sound quite like it. We’re excited for fans to hear the variety among the ambience.

How did it feel having the Grammy-nominated producer Count Eldridge mix and master “Accept”?

Nick: We’re so grateful to have him involved. Count became a friend through our relationship with Scott Hansen aka Tycho. Count had been shooting a documentary film about the music industry and asked for my help creating motion graphics, which is my day job. After working many hours on his documentary he was kind enough to offer help mixing and mastering a few songs on the EP. Easy to say yes to a Grammy-nominated engineer.

What has been one of your favorite shows ever? What do you think makes for an ideal show for this band? Where can people see you this year? Do you have a 2019 tour scheduled yet?

James: We played a kind of hybrid hostel/house-party on Haight Street last year with live projection and BYOB. It was very informal compared to traditional venues, but the energy was just magic. I think people got a taste of how vibrant DIY shows can be—there were all these international travelers staying at the hostel and they definitely went away with a San Francisco story.

Nick: Playing Noise Pop Fest in SF was another highlight. We’ve attended every year since we moved here, and it was a privilege to share the stage with Shallou, another electronic act we respect. The audience was mostly unaware of our band, which is a fun opportunity for a first impression. And when people have only heard us in headphones or house speakers, they can be surprised by the large sound we bring.

Where do you think you are both happiest- in the studio recording new music, on stage performing or elsewhere?

James: Tough question. Writing a new part for a song in the studio has a magic unlike anything else. It’s a personal experience, when the music visits you. But performing that is another level. When the sound comes together and you see your intention realized on a stranger’s face, that’s the apex for me. When the music belongs to other people, that makes me really happy.

Nick: Absolutely. I’m a performer at heart so I love digging into a song I already know and finding ways to make it new in the moment.

How do you think being musicians and in this band gives you all the most joy in life today?

Nick: Creative outlets are important for everyone, and for us it’s like breathing. Having fun and making art. Life can get in the way and we both have day jobs, but reserving time for music is imperative to our well-being. You can open yourself up to the universe and be a vehicle for something beautiful, something profound. That’s a part of where the name Host Bodies comes from.

We are currently living through a very trying and politically charged time right now so I am curious to know how your own music is reflecting this time period? If you don’t think it is, why is that? Would you say that other musicians are making music that has been influenced by this climate?

James: Agreed. This is a slow avalanche of a shitstorm. Every day something shocks me. It’s hard to resist becoming numb. ‘Diamondfruit’ is a response. It’s about turning away from the insanity, reconnecting with that quiet place deep inside. We all need to slow down and breath right now. I hope this EP can make some space for people to remember their joy and playfulness and serenity.

Nick: I think many artists are responding in their own way. We chose to go inward and try to concentrate on what we can control, our connection with the earth and one another. Like MLK said, “Hate cannot drive out hate, only love can do that.”

Who would you love to work with in the future? Who are some of your favorite artists right now? What do you think would be a dream collaboration for this duo?

Nick: A dream collaboration would be Yukimi from Little Dragon. We’re huge fans of her and her band. But realistically we want to continue to work with the peers that inspire us in the Bay Area. Favorite artists right now? Maribou State, DJ Koze, Chrome Sparks, Olafur Arnalds, Khruangbin, Anderson .Paak.

If you guys were all going to be stranded on a deserted island, what musical item would you want to take with you and why?

James: If Nick takes a guitar, I’ll take a djembe.

Nick: Deal.

What do you hope is the message of your music? What do you hope people continue to take away from your songs?

James: We wanted to make a more mindful project, something at peace with itself yet swept into the wonder and mystery of the landscapes that inspire us. California and Colorado are both so close to our hearts, the elemental nature of them calls to us here in the city. The challenge is then translating that sense of refuge into electronic music, to say something beyond words.

Is there anything else that you would like to share with our readers about your music?

James: ‘Diamondfruit’ is the crystallization of some of our most, peaceful healing tracks. But it’s just one side of Host Bodies. Our first album ‘Daily Apparatus’ showcases the variety of our sound. ‘Diamondfruit’ followed up on the melodic instrumental side. Next up, we are excited to explore our hip-hop and blues influences. We’ve got some bangers and some dance jams in the pipeline. Look for more of that later this year and in our live sets. - All Access Music

I got the chance to chat with electronic band Host Bodies about music, their upcoming release ‘Diamondfruit’ (due out February 8th) and much more. The band blends beautiful soundscapes, live instruments and electronic beats to create a sound that is uniquely their own. Their latest song ‘Accept’ is out now and you can check out my interview with them below!

THE RECLUSIVE BLOGGER: I always start out with an easy ice breaker question. CD or Vinyl?

HOST BODIES: Vinyl.

THE RECLUSIVE BLOGGER: I tend to never ask a follow up to this but how big is your Vinyl collection?

NICK HOST BODIES: Ah, it’s growing. We’ve been collecting for years. We’ve got our first record on vinyl and thinking about pressing this new EP on vinyl. Not for the release day, but soon after.

JAMES HOST BODIES: Here’s the reason why vinyl is better. It’s apocalypse proof. Everything goes down and the CD players don’t work anymore. You can turn a crank on some kind of apparatus for your vinyl records.



THE RECLUSIVE BLOGGER: See, I never thought of that …. That was a new concept to me. But yeah, I started collecting vinyl recently too. And it’s great.

TRB: So for my readers who don’t know about Host Bodies how did you guys come to be? How did you guys get the band together? Was this something that had just organically come together?

NICK HOST BODIES: James and I had been friends since middle school and then high school. We would play rock and roll and garage band type of stuff. He was the drummer and I was the guitarist. Then we lived together in college and that was the first time we collaborated on more electronic music. James was making a lot of beats and he was inviting me to collaborate on some of the writing and some of the recording and yeah, that’s essentially how Host Bodies got started. It was a name that James had for himself and luckily I was able to become a collaborator on it. And ever since then we’ve been creating songs together and releasing music. We’ve had other collaborators over the years but it’s mainly been this core duo of James and me.

TRB: Were there any bands from the early electronic music days that you guys both bonded over?

HOST BODIES: Chemical Brothers, Daft Punk, Sound Tribe Sector 9 (STS9). Early Tycho and Bonobo.

“You know we live in such a crazy time development and modernization that you’re always sort of seeking an asylum or refuge in nature”

– Host Bodies
TRB: How do you transfer your sound from studio to stage when touring? How is that entire process like?

NICK HOST BODIES: Real instruments are a big part of our recording process so we try to incorporate them on stage as much as possible. Of course, we still use computers, pretty much everybody does these days. But electronic music is almost more of a technique for us than a genre, even though we still identify with the electronic genre. So on stage we have electric guitars, bass, analog synthesizers, stuff that we can touch and play with. James has live rap vocals on the hip-hop style tunes. Then the backing tracks fill in whatever we as two people can’t do live.

TRB: Since you guys specifically mentioned that a lot of the EP is inspired by the sounds of California and Colorado. How so? How are the soundscapes used for each state differ from each other?

JAMES HOST BODIES: We try to spend a lot of time outdoors getting out of the city. Getting to the beaches and the mountains. And there’s something about being in nature that is inspiring, that out of that silence, out of just those kind of natural sounds, bird songs, wind, the hushed silence walking on fresh snow or pine needles or rushing water in a river, that really kind of flows into you like a well. And when you get back into the studio and get on an instrument, it passes through you into the sound. So there were definitely specific places in mind in Colorado and California that inspired the music.



TRB: If you could collaborate with any musician? Who would you choose and why?

NICK HOST BODIES: Little Dragon, that’s easy we’re huge, huge fans of them. And Yukimi Nagano especially is one of our favorite female vocalists. She’s magic. She worked with Gorillaz too. And they’re another band that’s all live but in the electronic genre.

TRB: Yeah, I could see that being something that would work. It doesn’t seem like a stretch or where did this collaboration come from?!

TRB: Are there any artists that have been “On Repeat” for you guys lately? What music have you guys been digging?

HOST BODIES: Christopher Willits, Tycho, Snuise, some of our local electronic music makers. At the gym lots of Run The Jewels and Disclosure. And in 2018 Chrome Sparks, DJ Koze, Maribou State and Ólafur Arnalds put out amazing albums.

TRB: Throwing in a fun one here… What’s your favorite ’90s jam?

JAMES HOST BODIES: The Romeo and Juliet Soundtrack, Annie Lennox and the Eurythmics.

NICK HOST BODIES: Fatboy Slim, Chemical Bros, and really early Daft Punk.

TRB: And what’s next for Host Bodies?

JAMES HOST BODIES: Our album release show at a really special venue in San Francisco that I won’t name yet! Also a remix or two.

NICK HOST BODIES: I’m a graphic designer myself so I am really interested in more video stuff for the band.

TRB: Anything else you guys would like to add? Thank you for your time!

NICK HOST BODIES: We’ve been in SF a while and have been looking for this kind of community and family of electronic musicians. We feel lucky that we found some talented peers to play local shows with and they continue to inspire us at the same time.

JAMES HOST BODIES: Also I think we need to mention the EP ‘Diamondfruit’ drops February 8th. It’s really coming from an intention to provide our community and listeners with music that’s a refuge and a healing resource. Whenever they just want to chill out, whenever they want to dive deep into what they have been going through, or reconnect with joy—that’s what the EP is for.

TRB: Congratulations on the upcoming release. I love the album you guys and it was nice talking to you about it.

Listen to Host Bodies below! You can also pre-order ‘Diamondfruit’ as well - The Reclusive Blogger

Hi guys, welcome to VENTS! How have you been?

James: Busy bodies, not enough hours in the day. Really hit the ground running in 2019.

Can you talk to us more about your latest single “Accept”?

James: Accept is an instrumental journey. I highly recommend listening to it on a bike ride or a drive in the country. There’s movement in the song. It takes you somewhere, gives you access to places. Nick and I are just really grateful to finally be able to release this song for our listeners. It’s a bit of departure from some of the hip-hop and gritty electronica we’ve released before. Accept is chill, but also transcendent.

Nick: It’s a song of many dichotomies — peaceful yet energetic, patient yet driving, both ambient and melodic at the same time.

Did any event in particular inspired you to write this song?

James: I wrote the chords on an old piano in a farmhouse in rural Colorado. The harp is actually a modified autoharp I bought at the flea market in Alameda. Earlier versions of the song featured 14 of my roommates at the time making “joyful noises”. It sounded like an aviary of crazy, happy birds. Then, Nick got a hold of the song and wrote the main melodic theme the very first time we jammed on it. I remember the exact moment he played those notes.

Nick: We actually didn’t record that take either, it only lived on my phone as a voice memo. But we cherished that rough audio snippet for months and worked tirelessly to recapture the emotion and excitement of that moment. My Les Paul Goldtop was instrumental to the process (pun intended).

Any plans to release a video for the single?

Nick: We have always had a nostalgic relationship with an educational film from the 70s called “Powers of Ten”. It was shown to us in elementary school. Every ten seconds the camera zooms out by a factor of ten into outer space, then travels inward microscopically. It was the very first film to portray the large-scale “zoom out” effect that has been replicated countless times in movies and TV. During the final mastering stage for Accept we randomly decided to play it over the video. The pairing of the two seemed meant for each other and synced perfectly with the various changes. It’s our favorite way to experience the song.

Unfortunately the film’s copyright is still valid so it remains an unofficial music video. We hope to find a way to release it publicly.

The single comes off your new album Diamondfruit – what’s the story behind the title?

James: I first typed the word Diamondfruit on a typewriter one morning after staying up all night playing music with Nick in our former jam space in the Inner Richmond of San Francisco. I think it was Easter. Everything was green and blossoming and the city had that kind of rare, dramatic, peaceful emptiness that early in the morning. It’s hard to put into words what Diamondfruit originally meant—it’s changed so much over the years. At the time, I remember thinking that diamondfruits were the final result of a kind of sacred intention. They came from diamondblossoms, which grew from the seeds of pure-hearted focus and concentration, that the mind can grind individual moments into a fine, shimmering powder, the tiny seeds which become Diamondfruits.

How was the recording and writing process?

James: Slow, patient, a labor of love. ‘One Under Won Over,’ the third track, was written in 2012. ‘Accept’ and ‘A Humble Student’ took more than a year to record. The way Nick and I work is, we will write a ton of song ideas and then slowly develop them all until a few emerge ahead of the pack, so to speak. Another metaphor might be buckets. We have buckets for different vibes and subgenres. The Diamondfruit bucket was all our tracks that feel like spring in California, when the pace is quick but the vibrations are healing and full of renewal.

What was it like to work with Count Eldridge and how did that relationship develop?

Nick: Count became a friend through our relationship with Scott Hansen aka Tycho. Count had been shooting a documentary film about the music industry and asked for my help creating motion graphics, which is my day job. After working many hours on his documentary he was kind enough to offer help mixing and mastering a few songs on the EP. He’s a Grammy nominated engineer so that’s not something you can say no to.

How much did he get to influence the album?

Nick: Honestly the songs had gone through many iterations already so we were confident with how we wanted it to sound, but a couple of the mixes were dense and challenging. Count’s expertise in that arena was extremely valuable. His sonic intuition is effortless so we let him do his thing and we’re thrilled with the results.

What role did CA and Colorado play in your music?

James: Most of the songwriting was directly inspired by specific places in CA and CO. Wildcat Beach, the second track on the EP, is a real beach in Point Reyes where you can stand on the cliffs and listen to the suck and roar of the waves below. Orange Marble was inspired by memories of my childhood in Colorado. I actually found an orange marble in my parent’s garage while I was home visiting. I must have lost that marble at age five or six, then found it over two decades later.

Nick: 2 years ago we stayed in my family’s cabin in Winter Park, CO for New Years, and brought some recording gear with us. That was another condensed session where we focused on this group of songs. It was snowing all around us while we developed the ideas, and it was a week of pure joy and relaxation. I think you can hear that in the music.

Where did you find the inspiration for the songs and lyrics?

James: No lyrics on this EP. I’m still writing rap verses but for Diamondfruit, we wanted to make music that was universal and timeless. Lyrics have a way of dating songs. One thing about instrumental is that it meets everybody where they are at. You can be young, old, speak a different language, whatever. It doesn’t ask you to follow a storyline or understand references. It’s just notes and we all have strings inside us waiting to be resonated.

Any plans to hit the road?

James: We would love to go on tour. Once we’ve made sure Diamondfruit has had its proper release, we’ll switch gears and focus on performance. We’ve been perfecting our live set for years and one of the new goals is to create a stripped-down version. From a gear standpoint, electronic music can be quite cumbersome. That’s why we want to see how minimalist we can get, in order to bring our music to venues where the only sound system is an amp or two. In the Bay Area, venues are in demand (some of our favorites have recently closed. RIP Hemlock). So it’s exciting to think outside the traditional box and see how we can bring our music to new listeners.

What else is happening next in Host Bodies’ world?

Nick: We have many visual ideas in the works, so there will be more video content released this year. Live concert graphics are something we want to make happen as well. But like James said, we want to strip it down before we build it up.

James: There might be a remix on the horizon, there might be some new collaborations with rappers and vocalists. But for now, go listen to Diamondfruit outside somewhere. Take a walk. Take some time for you. - Vents Magazine