This is a Process of a Still Life
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This is a Process of a Still Life

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Press


"Self Titled Review"

"The band performs passionate, guitar-led instrumentals that waver between heartbreaking rock and sweet sensitivity... At times it feels as if the world is crumbling; at other moments, it's twilight outside and everything is wonderful."
- Indieville
- Indieville


"Light Review"

written by: Mike Pearlstein (Issue #57)

Durutti Column, The Workhouse, Yellow6....and now I can safely add TIAPOASL to my list of 'essential', guitar-based instrumental bands. The second offering from this six-piece, Montana collective, is nothing short of awesome. I'd like to think that the group's environment helped inform theses absolutely sublime sounds.

This is the definition of 'organic' playing. Don't let that, for a moment, fool you into thinking this mere wallpaper music. Nothing could be further from the truth. It takes a rare synergy of talent to infuse 9 tracks (or 'suites, if you will) with melodies this alluring. As with great films, this record should be assimilated, sans spoilers.

TIAPOASL make elegant, graceful music; They reach for the divine and actually nail it. - The Big Takeover


"Self Titled Review"

written by: ? (8.04.2004)

Do you have annoying friends who like smooth jazz, the most evil form of contemporary music we know, because it helps them "relax?" At long last, This is a Process of a Still Life offers the indie-rockers' solution to smooth jazz. Welcome to halfway-to-new-age! This is what people should play when they're getting a massage, and they should burn incense, and we could all get into it. Blissfully zen out with their moody and evocative instrumentation; it's blissful without boredom, and intellectual without pretention. While it's difficult for a six-piece all-male instrumental art band to captivate my pop-rock lyric-lovin' ear, This is a Process has succeeded.

I played it for igLiz, who said, "I imagine it as the background music for the Mt St Helens documentary. "Earth. A majestic wonder. But also — the great avenger! Da Da DAH!" And then they show the lava. I'm saying, it's like that."

I'd be remiss not to point out the awesome song titles, all lowercase, including, "oh god, the lights are going dim," "pretty is predictable," and my favorite, "cross my heart, hope you die." This is the Process... could create "The Wall" for the new millenium, and I'd bet my Cure boxset that Michael X and other Mogwai/Building Press fanatics will lose their shit for them. Per their website, there's a tentative tour date in Seattle for mid-October 2004. We'll be sure to add any show dates we can find to our imaginary calendar. - Three Imaginary Girls


Discography

This is a Process of A Still life ST- CD, 2004 (Firefly Sessions)
Light- CD, 2005 (Firefly Sessions)

Photos

Bio

Seattle, Washington instrumental collective This is a Process of a Still Life writes songs with a focus on layered melodies and shifting tones. Formed in the spring of 2003 in Missoula,MT, current members Jason Ward (bass), David Totten (guitar, keys) , Scott Kennedy (guitar, keys), Baine Craft (percussion), Burke Jam (guitar, samples) strive for an organic, living feel in their sound and visual art. “They are the painters of the musical community, stretching song structures into an open canvas within which they paint their moods, emotions, thoughts, and feelings” (Delusions of Adequacy – August 23, 2004). 'Fans of Mogwai, Tortoise or Maserati will find plenty to admire in this band's work, which reveals new depths and moods with each listen.' (Eugene Weekly)

In the fall of 2003, Process traveled to Portland, Oregon to record their first album, which was released the following spring. “Their self-titled debut is a delicious selection of explosive peaks and meandering pathways. At times it feels as if the world is crumbling; at other moments, it’s twilight outside and everything is wonderful” (Indieville.com – November 29 – December 5, 2004). Combining ambient sounds with a variety of textural elements, the band’s first album strays from the now-typical build and release formula prevalent in much of the post-rock genre. “This is a Process of a Still Life are starkly original, as they blend the finer elements of instrumental rock to create something they can call their own” (30 Music – May 20, 2004). In support of the debut, the band toured the US a number of times with a focus on the West Coast. Process has shared stages with such acts as Xiu Xiu, Castanets, Voyager One, Maserati, Cloud Cult, Unwed Sailor, Tara Jan O’Neil, Sole, Cex and Nice Nice.

The band chose to stay in Missoula to record their follow-up, and began tracking in February of 2005; five months later they completed work on Light. Engineered by Dave Van at Penguin Studio and mastered by Chad Clark at Silver Sonya, the album was released in late September 2005.

Light explored a broader scope of style and mood, mixing experimental elements with pop, and the melancholy with the triumphant. “Blissfully zen out with their moody and evocative instrumentation; it’s blissful without boredom, and intellectual without pretension” (Three Imaginary Girls - August 4, 2004). Indicative of the band’s maturing sound, their second album further examines a delicately evolving sense of atmosphere and emotion. "Bottom line here is, if you dig on expertly played guitar music that cuts right to the gorgeousness, add this CD to your constant rotation pile... They continue to amaze with the melodies they pull out of thin air." (The Big Takeover - Issue #55 - Fall 2004). This is a Process of a Still Life toured the US in support of Light during the fall of 2005, joined on portions of the tour by The Drift and Early Day Miners.

Myspace: www.myspace.com/thisisaprocess