Simian Mobile Disco have got something unusual up their sleeve for their new project and album, Whorl.
The analogue-fancying duo plan to record the new LP at a one-off gig just outside Joshua Tree National Park in California next month.
Abandoning computers and their usual racks of gear, the renamed pair will limit themselves to just one synth and one sequencer each.
“This forces us to commit,” explains SMD/Whorl’s Jas Shaw. “When we record with it, this is the system, and there can be no turning back.”
Whorl won’t be a straightforward live album like last year’s Live, however – all the parts will be separately recorded, allowing them to mix the album in the studio after the gig.
“Anything we record in the studio will essentially just be another take of a live performance – the system we’re using has limited ability to save patterns in the sequencer, but nothing like the flexibility of a computer,” explained Shaw.
Renaming themselves Whorl for the project was a necessity, added James Ford: “With this new set up, playing our old music will be impossible. We wanted to make clear to our fans what this performance and album will be– a set of totally brand new music, which will feature no vocals and no samples.”
The gig takes place on April 26 at Pappy & Harriet’s in Pioneertown, on the outskirts of Joshua Tree National Park in southern California. Support comes from awesome Seattle drone metallers Earth. Grab tickets here if you happen to be passing through the desert after Coachella.