Vetiver

Nearly two years on from the release of Vetiver's highly acclaimed second album, To Find Me Gone, this surprising 12-inch--which features remixes of two of that album's tracks--breaks the silence and announces a new year and exciting new period of activity for the band. 
 
During the recording and mixing of To Find Me Gone, producer Thom Monahan and Vetiver mainman Andy Cabic talked about attempting something more "deconstructive and electronic" than what the two had previously done. For this, they selected the album's initial two songs, "You May Be Blue" and "Been So Long." 
 
"The beginning of 'You May Be Blue,' the delayed Wurlitzer organ figure," says Cabic, "on its own suggests what might follow could be quite different from the song that does.... [It also] promises some kind of electronic shuffle, and the remix is an opportunity to follow through. My favorite parts of 'Been So Long' are the harmonies of Nathan, Rachel and myself, and I wanted to create an instrumental drone dub version of that song which focuses on the backing harmonies." 
 
Long-time studio partners, Cabic and Monahan--a.k.a. Neighbors--built these remixes in spurts between their busy schedules. After a lot of layering and ProTooling, practically nothing of the original "You May Be Blue" remains; the bulk of the dark and danceable instrumentation consists of keyboards played by Cabic and Otto Hauser, and electronic drums played live by the both. Cabic and Monahan also reordered the basic tracks of "Been So Long" and added powerful new droney parts on the melodica and pedal steel by Farmer Dave Scher and the breathily intoned flute-playing of Alissa Anderson. Much additional editing wizardry on the part of Monahan helped complete the metamorphosis of these tracks with new, unique characters that sit alongside the original versions. 
 
While this is their first release in a long time, it's not that Vetiver hasn't been incredibly busy--the band has toured the US and Europe numerous times, including opening on Shins' recent US tour; Cabic has also written/recorded with and regularly toured North and South America and Europe as a key member of Devendra Banhart's band. 
 
Besides this new 12-inch, Vetiver has just finished work on a new album (and singles) comprised entirely of cover versions of their influences, which is set for release in spring '08 on Gnomonsong. An album of all-new Vetiver material is also currently being written which will be recorded shortly and is set for release in 2009. The band will be touring all through 2008.