WILDBIRDS & PEACEDRUMS: Rivers (The Leaf Label)

themilkman on Sep 1st 2010 01:18 am

Wildbirds & Peacedrums: Rivers

WILDBIRDS & PEACEDRUMS
Rivers
BAY76
The Leaf Label 2010
10 Tracks. 44mins15secs

Amazon UK: CD | DLD US: CD | DLD Boomkat: CD | DLD iTunes: DLD

Earlier this year, Swedish duo Wildbirds & Peacedrums released two somewhat different EPs which have now been collected into one full length album. If the drummer/vocalist format has been a tad overdone in recent years, husband and wife Andreas Werliin (drums and percussions) and Mariam Wallentin (vocals and percussions) have developed quite a unique take on experimental pop music in the two years since their debut, Heatcore, was released. At once tribal and visceral on one side, and deeply emotional and oddly cinematic on the other, the duo’s songs have widened in scope ever since. Recorded in Reykjavik in just a few days last January, Retina and Iris, the two EPs making this album, gather some of the band’s most ambitious and impressive songs to date. Continue Reading »

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Wildbirds & Peacedrums, Coronet Theatre, Elephant & Castle, London, 5/06/2009

themilkman on Jun 9th 2009 12:49 am

Wildbirds & Peacedrums, Coronet Theatre, Elephant & Castle, London, 5/06/2009

On Friday night, Swedish duo Wildbirds & Peacedrums took part in A Ritual For Elephant & Castle, an event held at the Coronet Theatre, in the heart of Elephant & Castle, which also featured sets by Septic Heart and Chrome Hoof. For the occasion, Mariam Wallentin and Andreas Werliin invited amateur percussionists and drummers to join them for a one-off performance.

In just two albums, the brilliant debut Heatcore and its follow up, The Snake, published in as many years, vocalist Mariam Wallentin and drummer and percussionist Andreas Werliin, who are also a couple, have established their particular blend of primeval avant-pop based on Wallentin’s wonderfully warm and colourful vocal tones and Werliin’s omnipresent drumming, occasionally reminiscent of The Creatures. Their live sets have long gathered praises all over Europe, not only on the traditional rock circuit, but also in jazz circles. Continue Reading »

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WILDBIRDS & PEACEDRUMS: The Snake (The Leaf Label)

themilkman on Apr 9th 2009 12:02 am

Wildbirds & Peacedrums: The Snake

WILDBIRDS & PEACEDRUMS
The Snake
BAY65
The Leaf Label 2009
10 Tracks. 42mins59secs

Icon: arrow Buy: CD | LP

A year ago, the excellent Leaf Label delivered Heatcore, the debut album by Wildbirds & Peacedrums, a Swedish duo formed of husband and wife Andreas Werliin (drums/percussions) and Mariam Wallentin (voice). The album, originally released a year before in their homeland, had been gathering considerable praises in the whole of Scandinavia, resulting in the pair pocketing the prestigious Jazz In Sweden 2008 prize, a considerable honour for a band evolving outside of the jazz canon. In addition, the pair’s deeply organic and incendiary live shows helped established them as one of the hottest acts to have emerged from Sweden in a while.

The Snake, recorded in Gothenburg and originally released in Sweden a year ago, sees Wallentin and Werliin considerably developing the scope of their collaboration. Continue Reading »

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Wildbirds & Peacedrums, The Luminaire, Kilburn, London, 5/06/2008

themilkman on Jun 10th 2008 12:40 am

Urban Fauna: Wildbirds & Peacedrums

Swedish ensemble Mariam Wallentin and Andreas Werliin, whose debut album, Heatcore, was recently released outside of their homeland by Leaf, graced Kilburn’s Luminaire for a somewhat short but perfectly formed headlining set.

First to take to the stage was London-based Banjo Or Freakout, who has gained a bit of a reputation in recent months with the tracks posted on the act’s MySpace page and was featured on Drowned In Sound’s artists to look out for. Continue Reading »

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WILDBIRDS & PEACEDRUMS: Heartcore (The Leaf Label)

themilkman on Apr 2nd 2008 12:31 am

Wildbirds & Peacedrums: Heartcore

WILDBIRD & PEACEDRUMS
Heartcore
BAY61CD
Found You Recordings/The Leaf Label 2008
12 Tracks. 40mins50secs

Like a less exuberant Creatures, singer Mariam Wallentin and drummer Andreas Werliin piece together a surprisingly compelling collection of visceral vocal-and-percussion-based songs which find their feet somewhere between free jazz, afro beat and Nordic tribal tradition.

Formed in 2004 after Mariam and Andreas met at the Academy of Music and Drama in Gothemberg, Wildbirds & Peacedrums began performing live a year later, and, after publishing two limited edition CDR albums, started working on Heatcore in 2006, using a mobile studio, which allowed them to record in a variety of locations and use a wide range of sonorities to support their rudimentary formation. The album was originally published last year on Swedish label Found You Recordings, and now finally gets a well deserved worldwide release, just as they are gearing up for the release of their sophomore effort, The Snake, in their native land. Continue Reading »

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