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Following the release of the first installment of Black Anything in December 2014 titled ‘Crawl/On My Way’ 10″, IS TROPICAL have released the second part, ‘Cruise Control/Say’ via the band’s new label NYC based Axis Mundi Records.
Black Anything Part.2 was recorded in Europe and it is the product of them building up a large collection of field recordings on their extensive travels around the continent, which they then refined and constructed in the semi-desertic lands of southern Spain.
Speaking of the second track ‘Say’, the band say “the lyrics were written on a drive from London to Murcia, long drives can be lonely. The radio stations kept getting lost every couple of songs so the only CD in the car got played a lot, ‘Beautiful Maladies’ a selection of Tom Waits from the Island years. It’s an album that documents Tom’s crazy era, full of insane characters of travelling freak shows members, prostitutes, senile uncles, pirates and sailors on shore leave. ‘Say’ is a love story of two hopeless misfits that don’t fit with anyone else and don’t want to. It’s a song for the time they fall apart and get lost. Like a pair of socks.”
The video, which was premiered by French Les Inrockuptibles, is a very simple, DIY affair… “Whilst on tour in Milan we filmed an acoustic session for Rolling Stone magazine, we noticed they had a green screen room and did a quick one take with Kirstie in front of it. Slowly over the next 2 weeks, in between the playing and parties, we added a visual trip behind, in an attempt of hypnotising the viewer into saying they are also lonely. Watch in the dark on full screen for full effect.”
IS TROPICAL have just returned home from a tour that has taken them around Europe to New York via Beijing. They have already confirmed many festivals this summer, with many more dates to be announced soon:
26 JUNE – Mulafest – Madrid, SPAIN
11 JULY – Ephebia Festival – Terny, ITALY
18 JULY – Portamerica – Nigran, SPAIN
23 JULY – Soundgarden @ Mostra d’Oltremare – Napoli, ITALY
24 JULY – Sud Est Indipendente – Lecce – ITALY
28 JULY – Festival Arenal Sound – Castellon, SPAIN
31 JULY – Santander Music Festival – Santander, SPAIN
01 AUGUST – Cidade de Cultura – Santiago, SPAIN
21 AUGUST – Monkey Days 2015 – Gijon, SPAIN
22 AUGUST – London Fields Brewery – London, UK
23 AUGUST- Elektronischer Weberplatz – Essen, GERMANY
28 AUGUST – Soundpark Festival – ITALY
11 SEPTEMBER – Muelle Donostia – San Sebastain, SPAIN
LISTEN TO ‘BLACK ANYTHING – Pt.1’: https://soundcloud.com/istropical/sets/black-anything-pt-1
LISTEN TO ‘BLACK ANYTHING – Pt.2’: https://soundcloud.com/istropical/sets/black-anything-pt-2
IS TROPICAL are set to release their third album Black Anything this year. Originally formed in 2009 as a trio- Dominic Apa, Gary Barber and Simon Milner- the band has now added vocalist Kirstie Fleck, who was featured on the 2013 track “Dancing Anymore.” Working alongside producer and collaborator Luke Smith (Foals, Depeche Mode), IS TROPICAL set out in the summer of 2014 to record across five continents; North America, Africa, Europe, Asia and South America.
The result, Black Anything, will be released in five 10” transparent picture disc installments, containing 2 tracks per vinyl. The artwork is a visual representation of both the recording process and the release with each 10 vinyl displaying the continent in which the tracks were recorded.
The five vinyls when displayed on top of each other create the globe, unifying the concept as a whole with each vinyl existing as an art work and tribute to the continent it was recorded in. The band started the project in North America, building a studio during the label’s foundation in Brooklyn.
For more on IS TROPICAL:
www.facebook.com/ISTROPICAL
www.twitter.com/istropical
www.istropical.com
www.instagram.com/istropicalofficial
www.soundcloud.com/istropical
www.youtube.com/IsTropicalVEVO