Bear in Heaven
Encyclopedia
Bear in Heaven is a Brooklyn
-based rock band
formed by Jon Philpot. The sound of the band incorporates influences from psychedelic music
, electronic music
, and krautrock
.
Jon Philpot has previously released music as part of the duo Presocratics
, in collaboration with guitarist and composer Need Thomas Windham. Presocratics
released two albums on the record label Table of the Elements
in 2001
; both were produced by Philpot.
The first Bear in Heaven release (Tunes Nextdoor to Songs, Eastern Developments
2003
) was an EP of solo recordings by Philpot, with guest musicians performing on various instruments. Shortly after the release of Tunes Nextdoor to Songs, Philpot joined with guitarist
Adam Wills, keyboardist
/guitarist
Sadek Bazarra (a graphic designer
with Brooklyn
design
collective
GH avisualagency), guitarist
David Daniell
(of San Agustin), and bassist
James Elliott
(Ateleia, School of Seven Bells
). Eventually drummer
Joe Stickney (formerly of Perpetual Groove
, drummer with Paul Duncan
, Rhys Chatham
's Essentialist project, and current touring drummer with Panthers
) was added to the lineup. Daniell
left Bear in Heaven in 2005 to focus on his solo project. In 2006 they did a Take-Away Show video session shot by Vincent Moon
.
Red Bloom of the Boom, Bear in Heaven's first full-length album with the full band, was released in 2007
by the Hometapes record label
.
Elliott
left the band after the completion of the recordings of Red Bloom of the Boom to focus on School of Seven Bells
and his solo project, Ateleia. Bear in Heaven now performs as a four-piece with Philpot on vocals
, guitar
and keyboards
; Wills on guitar
and bass
; Bazarra on bass
and keyboards
; and Stickney on drums
.
Their most recent album, Beast Rest Forth Mouth, received the "Best New Music" award from Pitchfork Media, with the reviewer stating: "Beast Rest Forth Mouth is as familiar-feeling as it is difficult to pinpoint. Mostly made up of textural, spacious three- to four-minute pop anthems with towering choruses, BRFM is a welcome reminder that an album doesn't have to be bombastic to feel huge and important. Take out the earbuds and let it fill a space: This is music that's bigger than your iPod—music you'll want to feel all around you. Though not quite coming out of nowhere, BRFM seems like a surprise gift—a striking consolidation of the spiky psych-prog tendencies of their debut into a pop framework."
Brooklyn
Brooklyn is the most populous of New York City's five boroughs, with nearly 2.6 million residents, and the second-largest in area. Since 1896, Brooklyn has had the same boundaries as Kings County, which is now the most populous county in New York State and the second-most densely populated...
-based rock band
Rock Band
Rock Band is a music video game developed by Harmonix Music Systems, published by MTV Games and Electronic Arts. It is the first title in the Rock Band series. The PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360 versions were released in the United States on November 20, 2007, while the PlayStation 2 version was...
formed by Jon Philpot. The sound of the band incorporates influences from psychedelic music
Psychedelic music
Psychedelic music covers a range of popular music styles and genres, which are inspired by or influenced by psychedelic culture and which attempt to replicate and enhance the mind-altering experiences of psychedelic drugs. It emerged during the mid 1960s among folk rock and blues-rock bands in the...
, electronic music
Electronic music
Electronic music is music that employs electronic musical instruments and electronic music technology in its production. In general a distinction can be made between sound produced using electromechanical means and that produced using electronic technology. Examples of electromechanical sound...
, and krautrock
Krautrock
Krautrock is a generic name for the experimental music scenes that appeared in Germany in the late 1960s and gained popularity throughout the 1970s, especially in Britain. The term is a result of the English-speaking world's reception of the music at the time and not a reference to any one...
.
Jon Philpot has previously released music as part of the duo Presocratics
Presocratics (band)
Presocratics is an American experimental music duo of Need Thomas Windham and Jon Philpot.Multi-instrumentalist, vocalist and electronic music composer Need Windham met producer Jon Philpot in Atlanta, Georgia in the middle 1990s...
, in collaboration with guitarist and composer Need Thomas Windham. Presocratics
Presocratics (band)
Presocratics is an American experimental music duo of Need Thomas Windham and Jon Philpot.Multi-instrumentalist, vocalist and electronic music composer Need Windham met producer Jon Philpot in Atlanta, Georgia in the middle 1990s...
released two albums on the record label Table of the Elements
Table of the Elements
Table of the Elements is an American record label. It concentrates on re-released and specially recorded experimental music, including many of the great avant garde musicians of the 20th and 21st centuries — John Cale, Tony Conrad and La Monte Young, for instance — as well as...
in 2001
2001 in music
See also:* 2001 in music Record labels established in 2001-Events:*January 1**Comeback of Guns N' Roses in House of Blues**Hum disbands.*January 17 – Bass player Jason Newsted leaves Metallica after 14 years with the band....
; both were produced by Philpot.
The first Bear in Heaven release (Tunes Nextdoor to Songs, Eastern Developments
Eastern Developments Music
Eastern Developments Music is a music label formed by Scott Herren, Peter Rentz, Carolina Chaves, Ben Loiz, Carlos Niño, and Paz Ochs.-History:...
2003
2003 in music
-January:* January – following an investigation by The International Federation of the Phonographic Industry and London detectives, police raids in England and the Netherlands recover nearly 500 original Beatles studio tapes, recorded during the Let It Be sessions. Five people are arrested...
) was an EP of solo recordings by Philpot, with guest musicians performing on various instruments. Shortly after the release of Tunes Nextdoor to Songs, Philpot joined with guitarist
Guitarist
A guitarist is a musician who plays the guitar. Guitarists may play a variety of instruments such as classical guitars, acoustic guitars, electric guitars, and bass guitars. Some guitarists accompany themselves on the guitar while singing.- Versatility :The guitarist controls an extremely...
Adam Wills, keyboardist
Keyboardist
A keyboardist is a musician who plays keyboard instruments. Until the early 1960s musicians who played keyboards were generally classified as either pianists or organists. Since the mid-1960s, a plethora of new musical instruments with keyboards have come into common usage, requiring a more...
/guitarist
Guitarist
A guitarist is a musician who plays the guitar. Guitarists may play a variety of instruments such as classical guitars, acoustic guitars, electric guitars, and bass guitars. Some guitarists accompany themselves on the guitar while singing.- Versatility :The guitarist controls an extremely...
Sadek Bazarra (a graphic designer
Graphic designer
A graphic designer is a professional within the graphic design and graphic arts industry who assembles together images, typography or motion graphics to create a piece of design. A graphic designer creates the graphics primarily for published, printed or electronic media, such as brochures and...
with Brooklyn
Brooklyn
Brooklyn is the most populous of New York City's five boroughs, with nearly 2.6 million residents, and the second-largest in area. Since 1896, Brooklyn has had the same boundaries as Kings County, which is now the most populous county in New York State and the second-most densely populated...
design
Graphic design
Graphic design is a creative process – most often involving a client and a designer and usually completed in conjunction with producers of form – undertaken in order to convey a specific message to a targeted audience...
collective
Artist collective
An artist collective is an initiative that is the result of a group of artists working together, usually under their own management, towards shared aims...
GH avisualagency), guitarist
Guitarist
A guitarist is a musician who plays the guitar. Guitarists may play a variety of instruments such as classical guitars, acoustic guitars, electric guitars, and bass guitars. Some guitarists accompany themselves on the guitar while singing.- Versatility :The guitarist controls an extremely...
David Daniell
David Daniell (musician)
David Daniell is an American guitarist and composer active in experimental music, improvisation and electroacoustic composition.He has been active with the trio San Agustin since 1996...
(of San Agustin), and bassist
Bassist
A bass player, or bassist is a musician who plays a bass instrument such as a double bass, bass guitar, keyboard bass or a low brass instrument such as a tuba or sousaphone. Different musical genres tend to be associated with one or more of these instruments...
James Elliott
James Elliott (musician)
James Elliott is an American electronic musician, usually releasing solo material under the alias Ateleia. The name comes from Ateleia, a legume or from ancient Greek meaning tax-free. The music is electronic psychedelic minimalism.Elliott was the co-founder of the record label Antiopic...
(Ateleia, School of Seven Bells
School of Seven Bells
School of Seven Bells is a band formed by Benjamin Curtis of Secret Machines, together with identical twins Alejandra and Claudia Deheza, formerly of On!Air!Library!. The band is named after the School of the Seven Bells, a mythical South American pickpocket training academy.-History:Curtis and...
). Eventually drummer
Drummer
A drummer is a musician who is capable of playing drums, which includes but is not limited to a drum kit and accessory based hardware which includes an assortment of pedals and standing support mechanisms, marching percussion and/or any musical instrument that is struck within the context of a...
Joe Stickney (formerly of Perpetual Groove
Perpetual Groove
Perpetual Groove is an American jam band that originated in 1997 in Savannah, Georgia. PGroove incorporates a blend of traditional Southern rock, funk, jazzy improvisation, indie rock and synth loops...
, drummer with Paul Duncan
Warm Ghost
Warm Ghost is an American alternative music group based on the multi-instrumentalist Paul Duncan who specializes in eclectic sounds from a variety of music genres and who has a background is sound design. Duncan teamed with Oliver Chapoy and records music under the moniker Warm Ghost in 2011...
, Rhys Chatham
Rhys Chatham
Rhys Chatham is an American composer, guitarist, and trumpet player, primarily active in avant-garde and minimalist music. He is best known for his "guitar orchestra" compositions...
's Essentialist project, and current touring drummer with Panthers
Panthers (band)
Panthers is an American rock band from Brooklyn, New York. The Village Voice described them as "groundbreaking dissonant HC with Rolling Stones swagger." Three members were previously in the hardcore band Orchid. Panthers have released four records. The most recent two, The Trick and Things Are...
) was added to the lineup. Daniell
David Daniell (musician)
David Daniell is an American guitarist and composer active in experimental music, improvisation and electroacoustic composition.He has been active with the trio San Agustin since 1996...
left Bear in Heaven in 2005 to focus on his solo project. In 2006 they did a Take-Away Show video session shot by Vincent Moon
Vincent Moon
Vincent Moon is an independent filmmaker from Paris mainly known for his field work music videos of indie rock related musicians as well as some notable mainstream artists like Tom Jones, R.E.M. or Arcade Fire. Besides making music videos he also makes experimental films and documentaries...
.
Red Bloom of the Boom, Bear in Heaven's first full-length album with the full band, was released in 2007
2007 in music
This is a list of notable events in music that took place in the year 2007.-January:*January 1 - George Shearing is knighted for services to music in the Queen's New Year Honours List. Evelyn Glennie becomes a Dame...
by the Hometapes record label
Record label
In the music industry, a record label is a brand and a trademark associated with the marketing of music recordings and music videos. Most commonly, a record label is the company that manages such brands and trademarks, coordinates the production, manufacture, distribution, marketing and promotion,...
.
Elliott
James Elliott (musician)
James Elliott is an American electronic musician, usually releasing solo material under the alias Ateleia. The name comes from Ateleia, a legume or from ancient Greek meaning tax-free. The music is electronic psychedelic minimalism.Elliott was the co-founder of the record label Antiopic...
left the band after the completion of the recordings of Red Bloom of the Boom to focus on School of Seven Bells
School of Seven Bells
School of Seven Bells is a band formed by Benjamin Curtis of Secret Machines, together with identical twins Alejandra and Claudia Deheza, formerly of On!Air!Library!. The band is named after the School of the Seven Bells, a mythical South American pickpocket training academy.-History:Curtis and...
and his solo project, Ateleia. Bear in Heaven now performs as a four-piece with Philpot on vocals
Singing
Singing is the act of producing musical sounds with the voice, and augments regular speech by the use of both tonality and rhythm. One who sings is called a singer or vocalist. Singers perform music known as songs that can be sung either with or without accompaniment by musical instruments...
, guitar
Electric guitar
An electric guitar is a guitar that uses the principle of direct electromagnetic induction to convert vibrations of its metal strings into electric audio signals. The signal generated by an electric guitar is too weak to drive a loudspeaker, so it is amplified before sending it to a loudspeaker...
and keyboards
Electronic keyboard
An electronic keyboard is an electronic or digital keyboard instrument.The major components of a typical modern electronic keyboard are:...
; Wills on guitar
Electric guitar
An electric guitar is a guitar that uses the principle of direct electromagnetic induction to convert vibrations of its metal strings into electric audio signals. The signal generated by an electric guitar is too weak to drive a loudspeaker, so it is amplified before sending it to a loudspeaker...
and bass
Bass guitar
The bass guitar is a stringed instrument played primarily with the fingers or thumb , or by using a pick....
; Bazarra on bass
Bass guitar
The bass guitar is a stringed instrument played primarily with the fingers or thumb , or by using a pick....
and keyboards
Electronic keyboard
An electronic keyboard is an electronic or digital keyboard instrument.The major components of a typical modern electronic keyboard are:...
; and Stickney on drums
Drum kit
A drum kit is a collection of drums, cymbals and often other percussion instruments, such as cowbells, wood blocks, triangles, chimes, or tambourines, arranged for convenient playing by a single person ....
.
Their most recent album, Beast Rest Forth Mouth, received the "Best New Music" award from Pitchfork Media, with the reviewer stating: "Beast Rest Forth Mouth is as familiar-feeling as it is difficult to pinpoint. Mostly made up of textural, spacious three- to four-minute pop anthems with towering choruses, BRFM is a welcome reminder that an album doesn't have to be bombastic to feel huge and important. Take out the earbuds and let it fill a space: This is music that's bigger than your iPod—music you'll want to feel all around you. Though not quite coming out of nowhere, BRFM seems like a surprise gift—a striking consolidation of the spiky psych-prog tendencies of their debut into a pop framework."
Discography
- Tunes Nextdoor to Songs - Eastern DevelopmentsEastern Developments MusicEastern Developments Music is a music label formed by Scott Herren, Peter Rentz, Carolina Chaves, Ben Loiz, Carlos Niño, and Paz Ochs.-History:...
CDEP, 20032003 in music-January:* January – following an investigation by The International Federation of the Phonographic Industry and London detectives, police raids in England and the Netherlands recover nearly 500 original Beatles studio tapes, recorded during the Let It Be sessions. Five people are arrested... - Red Bloom of the Boom - Hometapes CD, 20072007 in musicThis is a list of notable events in music that took place in the year 2007.-January:*January 1 - George Shearing is knighted for services to music in the Queen's New Year Honours List. Evelyn Glennie becomes a Dame...
- Beast Rest Forth MouthBeast Rest Forth Mouth- Personnel :* Jon Philpot - vocals, guitar and keyboards* Adam Wills - guitar and bass* Sadek Bazarra - keyboards, bass* Joe Stickney - drums* Artwork: Laura Brothers...
- Hometapes CD, 20092009 in musicThe following is a list of notable events and releases in 2009 in music. Susan Boyle's album I Dreamed a Dream became the biggest selling album in the world for 2009, selling 8.3 million copies in five weeks; more than any other artist's in the whole year... - Beast Rest Forth MouthBeast Rest Forth Mouth- Personnel :* Jon Philpot - vocals, guitar and keyboards* Adam Wills - guitar and bass* Sadek Bazarra - keyboards, bass* Joe Stickney - drums* Artwork: Laura Brothers...
UK release - Hometapes/Dreamboat RecordsDreamboat RecordsDreamboat Records is a British independent record label based in Bristol, England.-History:The label was founded in 2005, and released records on a small scale for a group of local artists. In 2009 it expanded to include releases of independent film soundtracks...
CD, 20102010 in music2010 in music may refer to:*2010 in American music*2010 in Australian music*2010 in British music*2010 in Canadian music*2010 in European music *2010 in Irish music*2010 in Japanese music*2010 in New Zealand music...
External links
- bearinheaven.com, official Bear in Heaven website
- Bear in Heaven's page at Hometapes, their record label.