Feels
Encyclopedia
Feels is the sixth studio album
by American freak folk
band Animal Collective
, released in October 2005 by FatCat Records. Initial copies contained a bonus disc of live material. It also appeared at #55 on Pitchfork Media's top 200 albums of the 2000s.
the band used. Geologist
explained how they created and used this tuning on the Collected Animals message board http://rerz.net/ac/messages/viewtopic.php?t=1191:
Feels is the first album to feature significant contributions from musicians outside its core members. Geologist described the contributions of Doctess
and the recording process on the Collected Animals message board
http://rerz.net/ac/messages/viewtopic.php?t=1790:
Geologist also described working with Eyvind Kang
on the Collected Animals message board http://rerz.net/ac/messages/viewtopic.php?t=1790:
Engineer Scott Colburn also provided a few details about recording Feels on the Collected Animals message board (under the username "Scooter")
"Feels started on tape and ended up in Nuendo...The vocals had effects on them, but they were no different than the effects used live. BUTT [sic], each vocal track was recorded with 6 microphones, thereby creating a whole new effect." http://rerz.net/ac/messages/viewtopic.php?t=271
. Its creator, the group's singer Dave Portner, has been a huge fan of Darger but didn't have Darger in mind while creating the cover art. He found a children's educational guide on the street and thought "the images fit the sound and the lyrics perfectly.".
Studio album
A studio album is an album made up of tracks recorded in the controlled environment of a recording studio. A studio album contains newly written and recorded or previously unreleased or remixed material, distinguishing itself from a compilation or reissue album of previously recorded material, or...
by American freak folk
Freak folk
Freak folk is a genre of folk music associated with contemporary artists such as Faun Fables, Animal Collective, Davenport, Devendra Banhart,CocoRosie, Panda Bear, Kelli Ali, Joanna Newsom, Bowerbirds, Woods, Greg Weeks, Hecuba, Akron/Family, Rio en Medio, Birdengine, Sufjan Stevens, Sean Hayes,...
band Animal Collective
Animal Collective
Animal Collective is an experimental psychedelic band originally from Baltimore, Maryland, currently based in New York City. Animal Collective consists of Avey Tare , Panda Bear , Deakin , and Geologist...
, released in October 2005 by FatCat Records. Initial copies contained a bonus disc of live material. It also appeared at #55 on Pitchfork Media's top 200 albums of the 2000s.
Recording
Feels is known for its interesting guitar sounds, which were obtained in part by the unique tuningGuitar tuning
Guitar tunings almost always refers to the pitch of the open string, though some tunings may only realistically be attained by the use of a capo on an unmodified instrument....
the band used. Geologist
Geologist (musician)
Geologist is a founding member of Animal Collective. He provides electronic sound manipulations and samples for the band.Geologist grew up in Philadelphia and Baltimore and currently lives in Washington DC....
explained how they created and used this tuning on the Collected Animals message board http://rerz.net/ac/messages/viewtopic.php?t=1191:
"All the songs on Feels are tuned to our friends piano which was out of tune to begin with. Dave and I made loops from recordings of him playing her piano and we used those loops in the early songwriting process for feels. So since those loops are premade and can't be tuned, the guitars have to be tuned to the loops. it's not out of tune in any tradional whole step/half step kind of way...we're talking microtonally out of tune after years of not being professionally tuned and subtle natural detuning. Kind of like if you played guitar in standard tuning for years but never once re-tuned it to make sure it was right. It would have its own unique out-of-tune tuning based on what strings you played most often, how hard you played it, the temperature in the room, the humidity, etc... When we went into the studio it ruled over everything we did. Even doctess's live piano playing required us bringing in a professional piano tuner, playing him a minidisc recording of our friend's out of tune piano, and having him try to de-tune the studio's piano in exactly the same way our friend's was. Without those recordings or the loops dave and i made, you wouldn't be able to get it exact unless you tune to the album while it's playing, and even then, you'd have to know which loop in the album we use to tune, which one chord it is, and because of the way we mixed the loop in, it is almost impossible to separate from dave's guitar. I'll never forget when the tuner finished (we had to wait to start recording until he finished) and he stood up from the bench and went 'there you go, the piano's perfectly out of tune.'"
Feels is the first album to feature significant contributions from musicians outside its core members. Geologist described the contributions of Doctess
Kristín Anna Valtýsdóttir
Kristín Anna Valtýsdóttir is an Icelandic vocalist and classically trained multi-instrumentalist. She is best known as a former frontperson of múm, and later on for collaborating with former husband David Portner as Avey Tare & Kría Brekkan....
and the recording process on the Collected Animals message board
http://rerz.net/ac/messages/viewtopic.php?t=1790:
"kristin plays on every song. she played live as we did the live tracking but there was often a lot of bleed into the piano mics from the other instruments so she often re-did or elaborated on her parts at night when she could have quiet in the studio. we all played in one room so there was so [sic] isolation, except josh's guitar amps which we stuck in a bathroom."
Geologist also described working with Eyvind Kang
Eyvind Kang
Eyvindur Kang , only child of Charles Shin-Chul Kang and Kristjana Gunnars, is an American composer, violinist, tuba, and erhu player...
on the Collected Animals message board http://rerz.net/ac/messages/viewtopic.php?t=1790:
"he was only there for an afternoon. we had sent him live recordings of the songs we wanted him on (daffy, bees, fickle cycle, and people) but he never had a chance to listen to them. so he came in and would listen to each track once, then talk with us about ideas, and then just improvise over the song. as scott [Colburn] predicted (he has worked with eyvind many times over the last 10 years), he never hit a wrong note. it was pretty mindblowing to watch. he played violin, viola, and tried some traditional chinese instrument, which we took out because it didn't mix so well. wish we had more time to jam because i'm sure it [would] have a lot of fun. dave [aka Avey Tare] and i had been thinking about who to ask to play violin on a few songs that we wanted violin on, and eyvind was our first choice. we'd been big fans of his since first hearing him play violin on a sun city girls record in the mid-90's. it was kind of just great luck that he was our first choice and that scott knew him and had recorded him a bunch, and that he lived in the seattle area. when i first asked him if he'd be interested his crucial question was what we wanted out of a violin part in a song. did we want it to stand out melodically so a listener would say, oh here comes the violin part, or did we want him to explore the violin and how it would fit into the song (i.e. doing noise, more textural parts)? i replied the latter and he was stoked. that was the ultimate reason we chose him. he's so good at exploring and pushing the limits of his instruments. he can master the pretty and melodic stuff, harsh noise music, trancey drones, etc."
Engineer Scott Colburn also provided a few details about recording Feels on the Collected Animals message board (under the username "Scooter")
"Feels started on tape and ended up in Nuendo...The vocals had effects on them, but they were no different than the effects used live. BUTT [sic], each vocal track was recorded with 6 microphones, thereby creating a whole new effect." http://rerz.net/ac/messages/viewtopic.php?t=271
Artwork
The cover art is reminiscent of the work of artist Henry DargerHenry Darger
Henry Joseph Darger, Jr. was a reclusive American writer and artist who worked as a custodian in Chicago, Illinois...
. Its creator, the group's singer Dave Portner, has been a huge fan of Darger but didn't have Darger in mind while creating the cover art. He found a children's educational guide on the street and thought "the images fit the sound and the lyrics perfectly.".
Track listing
Personnel
- Avey TareAvey TareAvey Tare is a musician and founding member of Animal Collective. Portner lives in Brooklyn, NY.-Animal Collective:...
- Panda BearPanda Bear (musician)Noah Benjamin Lennox also known as Panda Bear, is an experimental musician and a founding member of Animal Collective.-Early life:...
- GeologistGeologist (musician)Geologist is a founding member of Animal Collective. He provides electronic sound manipulations and samples for the band.Geologist grew up in Philadelphia and Baltimore and currently lives in Washington DC....
- DeakinDeakin (musician)Deakin is an avant-garde musician and a founding member of Animal Collective.-Animal Collective:Josh Dibb began writing and recording music with childhood friend Noah Lennox in 1991. While at The Park School in Baltimore, Josh met David Portner and Brian Weitz when they asked him to join their...
- DoctessKristín Anna ValtýsdóttirKristín Anna Valtýsdóttir is an Icelandic vocalist and classically trained multi-instrumentalist. She is best known as a former frontperson of múm, and later on for collaborating with former husband David Portner as Avey Tare & Kría Brekkan....
- PianoPianoThe piano is a musical instrument played by means of a keyboard. It is one of the most popular instruments in the world. Widely used in classical and jazz music for solo performances, ensemble use, chamber music and accompaniment, the piano is also very popular as an aid to composing and rehearsal... - Eyvind KangEyvind KangEyvindur Kang , only child of Charles Shin-Chul Kang and Kristjana Gunnars, is an American composer, violinist, tuba, and erhu player...
- ViolinViolinThe violin is a string instrument, usually with four strings tuned in perfect fifths. It is the smallest, highest-pitched member of the violin family of string instruments, which includes the viola and cello.... - Scott Colburn - EngineerAudio engineeringAn audio engineer, also called audio technician, audio technologist or sound technician, is a specialist in a skilled trade that deals with the use of machinery and equipment for the recording, mixing and reproduction of sounds. The field draws on many artistic and vocational areas, including...