Shimmerplanet

"Welcome To Shimmerplanet is one of the most original and enjoyable releases in recent memory. The pair take turns singing lead on the songs, and when they sing together, as they do on the exceptional “No Safe,” they complement each other like two planets in the same orbit. The variety of the material, from the keyboard and vocal on “I Am Still Looking For You” to revved- up rock of “Everything’s Perfect” to the deadpan vocals on “Happy” to the racing S&M heartbeat of “Beat Me” to humdinger “Envy,” kept my attention from start to finish (including the “I Sleep With The Radio On” coda) and made me yearn for travel to Shimmerplanet’s galaxy." (Gregg Shapiro) - Windy City Times

Pop groups come and go, but few sound anything like Shimmerplanet. The brainchild of singer/songwriter Soren Anders, Shimmerplanet has been turning heads with their album For The One Who Kills Tomorrow and its killer single, "Author". Evolution Of Media writer Candice Mays posed questions to Anders and he was gracious enough to respond to her queries.




Please introduce the members of Shimmerplanet.

Shimmerplanet is a collective of New York musicians; the creator and front-person is Soren Anders (that's me). I write and arrange most of the songs; some of them I write for me to sing, some for other voices. One voice in particular is the voice of Carolyn Eufrasio, and hers is the female voice you hear on all the Shimmerplanet
recordings (except for the cameo by Lesley Gore).

Everyone in Shimmerplanet is a professional musician with at least
one other project. Our guitarist is Oscar Rodriguez , our bassist is Rob Jost; Liam Hurley plays drums, Christo Logan plays cello, and our new keyboard player is Reuben Butchart. Google any of their names and you’ll see how busy they all are.


At what moment did you realize that forming the group Shimmerplanet was the right thing to do?

Do you mean, like, morally? Shimmerplanet has been evolving for five years now, and will continue to evolve, no doubt. It was my third
attempt at creating a band. I needed a group of musicians who could perform the music I write, which I daresay is a little complex, and this group needed to be incredibly versatile, incredibly good on stage, and incredibly good looking. :-)

There is already quite a list of people who have been a part of Shimmerplanet, either in concert or in the studio, who are no longer active collaborators. Every collaborator contributed something to the group that will always be a part of what we are - notably Blake Morgan, who produced our first two albums.

When and where did you first discover music? How long after that did you realize that music was always going to be a part of your life and possibly become your career?

My mother is a musician, so I discovered music (or music discovered
me) when I was very young, at home. I grew up Catholic, and sang and played for waaay more masses than anyone would believe.

I had a difficult and sometimes very lonely adolescence, and sometimes felt like my best friends were the rockstars I idolized. The impact that popular music had on me as a teenager was so huge that it must've been then that I knew I would be a musician for life.

Your album is an eclectic mix of sounds from around the world. How did you go about picking and choosing which sounds would best fit the album?

I write lyrics first, and often the lyrics dictate the style. And sometimes I just choose whatever strikes my fancy, I suppose.

One of the aspects of this album that is different lies in the fact that the vocals are evenly split between male and female leads. Were certain songs written specifically to be tailored to one singer or were the songs written first and then assigned?

Usually as I’m writing a song, it’ll become clear whether I think I should sing it or someone else should. I know Carolyn pretty well, so I’ll tailor a song to her history, and certainly to her vocal abilities.

I know that Soren Anders often writes songs for movies and TV shows, was there ever a time when you wrote a song and decided that it was a track you would rather use for you own album?

Once or twice, but usually if I’m writing specifically for another project I’ll keep things distinct.

Most of the lyrics on the album are very personal. Was there ever a time when you wrote down a line or about a subject and felt that it was too personal to be put on the album?

Yes.

Like with most musicians, I'm sure that your road to success has been a bumpy one. Was there ever a moment when you considered changing professions and how did you overcome the negativity?

I did veer off course at one point, and got a real job. I was miserable. When I finally quit, I was poor as hell, and depressed from the mess I’d made of things by “going down the wrong road”. I eventually got over it, though. Now I’m just poor.

Some musicians are more nervous than excited before shows and have certain rituals they do to calm themselves. What emotions do you feel before going on to stage and how do you channel them into a great performance?

I am easily distracted, so I need a few moments alone before a show. I usually listen to Bowie before I go onstage.

The song, "Author", has had some early success on satellite radio, does this raise your level of expectations even higher for album sales?

Absolutely! Go buy the album!

Some music groups fear breaking into the mainstream because oftentimes, record companies force them to dilute their music in order to gain a wider audience. Do you fear that the same will happen to you if this album crosses over?

I have no idea what the mainstream is. If I manage to break into it, I don’t think I’d recognize it. But I’m really writing for my own benefit, and my record label isn’t the type to try and tell me what I should write.

And finally, what is your take on the state of the record business today? Is it getting easier for independent artists to get noticed by audiences, because of the Internet? Do you have any advice for other independent musicians?

The internet has done wonders for Shimmerplanet, but so has word-of-mouth. I guess that there really is no predicting where the music industry is going, but my hope is to just keep doing what I do – experimenting with new sonic ideas, exploring and putting my own spin on every genre I can.

- Evolution of Media

It is made clear that Shimmerplanet sets out with their latest release, "For The One Who Kills Tomorrow", to record an album unlike anything on the market today....


Is it rock, is it folk, is it classical? These are the questions I tried to answer while listening to this record. After several tries, I have concluded that this album exceeds all categories....


Overall, this album is a breakthrough creatively and if you are sick of being able to accurately predict an entire album after hearing the first song, then "For The One Who Kills Tomorrow" will definitely be the answer to your long awaited prayers.


Written By: Candice Mays - Evolution of Media

CD Review: Welcome to Shimmerplanet

Shimmerplanet – Welcome to Shimmerplanet

As reviewed by Brandon Charles

I wanted something memorable for my first review for the illustrious VibeRate ezine. I wanted a disc with a backbone, something that would make me sit up and take notice from the everyday doldrums that have become the state of music as we know it. I received a disc from a duo called Shimmerplanet aptly named ‘Welcome to Shimmerplanet’. It met my every expectation, and then some. Let me start off my saying Carolyn Eufrasio has the voice of an angel. She is the shimmer in Shimmerplanet. According to their bio, Carolyn is “the mean one”. I can’t imagine anything remotely nasty coming from someone possessing such a vocal gift. Her stunning vocals give life and breadth to partner [Soren Anders’] unique lyrics and music. I should mention that Soren is no slouch in the vocal department either. From his dark vocal turn on ‘Happy’ to the dream-like state of ‘No Safe’, Soren’s ability to move from dark to light and understand the subtleties in between is clearly evident. A first listen to the track ‘Beat Me’ would lead the listener to believe Soren is merely giving voice to a rhythmic instrument, when in fact it could be a reference to the abuse that exists within all relationships. My personal favorites on this disc would be the rocked out ‘Everything’s Perfect’, the hook-laden ‘Radiant’ that so beautifully displays Carolyn’s vocal abilities, the seductive ‘No Safe’, and the delicate balance of ‘I Believe I’m Going Home’. ‘Welcome to Shimmerplanet’ is a roller coaster ride of talent, depth and emotion from start to finish, and one that I was happy to take. - Vibe-Rate

First, I must admit that Shimmerplanet's "Welcome to Shimmerplanet" really took me by surprise. For some unfounded reason, I was expecting some sort of folky, new-agey guy-and-girl duet singer nonsense. While there are duets found within, they arent the syrupy kind. Instead, I was delighted to listen to a dark, lush, beautifully crafted album with overtones of trip-hop, Kid A Radiohead, and Moby. Shimmerplanet is the brainchild of songwriter/lyricist/keyboardist/vocalist [Soren Anders], who formed the group with vocalist Carolyn Eufrasio. Other instruments on the record (guitars, drums, bass) are provided by producer Blake Morgan and an array of other studio musicians. The result is a fascinating journey/conversation between a man and a woman caught in the mind games and fallout of the end days of a relationship.

The trip-hop influence can be heard in several songs that contain sparse arrangements, jungle drum rhythms, atmospheric mood effects, and soaring female vocals. Often the sparseness of the verse contrasts a more powerful chorus that wallops the listener with a big, beautiful melody. Great examples include Happy, Radiant, and No Safe, all of which are dark, moody and atmospheric but ultimately memorable due to the grandeur and beauty of their choruses. Each of these songs also contains thoughtfully creative instrumentation. Happy has rhythmic Latin percussion accentuating the refrain, Radiant has a trombone mixed into the background, and No Safe has an appropriately mournful cello carrying the melody.

Everything's Perfect is Shimmerplanet's version of a big rock song, and it shows how rock radio might benefit from embracing the idea of playfully tinkering with the structure of the traditional rock song (instead of mindlessly playing only songs that sound exactly the same all day long). It has a big, meaty rock guitar riff that periodically crashes in around Eufrasios vocals, which often stand alone over a great drum pattern. The chorus adds cello to a gently swelling melody as Eufrasio tries to convince herself of the stability of her failing love affair.

Other standouts include the most hopeful song on the album, I Believe Im Going Home, a slow-burning ballad reminiscent of Moby with a beautiful female voice singing over slowly building keyboard patterns and a chorus featuring U2-style emotive guitar play. The duet, Envy, for the Anders-sung verses, sounds like Tears for Fears before the big bombastic Nnnnnnnnnnnnnnnn-V! chorus and a very satisfying conclusion as the victim of the bad relationship documented over the course of the album finds self-confidence and thumbs her nose at her former lover.

The ending coda to the album is a repeat of the hypnotic keyboard pattern from the introductory I Am Still Looking for You, as Eufrasio repeats a line from that song - I sleep with the radio on. So would I if it meant radio would play such deliciously moody, dark, intelligent music.

-Matt Sherman
8/4/03 - Left Off The Dial