The Field (musician)
Encyclopedia
Axel Willner, better known by the stage name The Field, is a techno
artist based in Stockholm
, Sweden
.
and was subsequently signed. He released his first 12", a demo mixtape of Annie's "Heartbeat" in 2005 as well as a 12" featuring the track "Things Keep Falling Down". In 2006, "Sun & Ice" 12" was released.
Later in 2007, Willner became the first musician to take part in the Nordic Light Hotel's "Sound of Light" concept. After staying at the hotel, Willner used the experience as the basis for his EP of the same name.
Willner uses the software Jeskola Buzz
and live instrumentation, mixing and recording tracks live for each album, although he uses a live band for live performances.
"The Field" is not Axel Willner's only moniker. He also writes music under stage names Lars Blek, porte, Cordouan and James Larsson. He was also a member of Speedwax. In January 2012, Willner will release a new full length under the guise "Loops Of Your Heart".
His second LP was released on May 18, 2009 called 'Yesterday & Today'. It features six new tracks including a collaboration with Battles
drummer John Stanier. Willner released "Looping State Of Mind", his third album as The Field, in October 2011.
So to 2011 and the release of third album Looping State Of Mind, a record that in many ways recalls his previous work but also pushes on in new directions. “It’s been evolving and it will keep on doing so,” says its creator, “people come and go, adding their things to it, you change as well and so will the sound.” A release that comes across as Axel’s most accomplished to date; it feels like a culmination of sorts in that it could be a compilation of both its protagonists work and, indeed, life to date. “All the old influences are still there,” he admits, “but we’ve made a real attempt to grow the sound;’ this involved the most prominent use of live instruments yet, bass jutting through opening track ‘Is This The Power’ and wandering piano keys slinking in and out of view of the albums landscape.
As ever though The Field transcend their mere components, Looping State Of Mind could almost be a manifesto for them. Certainly for Axel there is no beginning and end to the impact of what he sees and experiences in every day life, things will always come back around; the challenge for him is to adapt and alter them when they do in order to create something that understands and re-defines them in a new way each time. For Kompakt, meanwhile, it’s a record that plays on their long held principals of progression through emotion and recollection, married with an openness of mind. It’s the most definitive answer yet as to what makes they and The Field fit so well, providing as it does some of the best work the label’s ever released. Only through past experiences can one move forward; it’s something that, in 2011’s turbulent times, many could do with remembering.
The Field has been chosen by Battles
to perform at the ATP Nightmare Before Christmas
festival that they co-curate in December 2011 in Minehead, England.
Techno
Techno is a form of electronic dance music that emerged in Detroit, Michigan in the United States during the mid to late 1980s. The first recorded use of the word techno, in reference to a genre of music, was in 1988...
artist based in Stockholm
Stockholm
Stockholm is the capital and the largest city of Sweden and constitutes the most populated urban area in Scandinavia. Stockholm is the most populous city in Sweden, with a population of 851,155 in the municipality , 1.37 million in the urban area , and around 2.1 million in the metropolitan area...
, Sweden
Sweden
Sweden , officially the Kingdom of Sweden , is a Nordic country on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. Sweden borders with Norway and Finland and is connected to Denmark by a bridge-tunnel across the Öresund....
.
Background
In 2005, Willner submitted a demo tape the German indie label KompaktKompakt
Kompakt is a Cologne-based electronic music record label and vinyl/CD distributor, owned by Wolfgang Voigt, Michael Mayer and Jürgen Paape. They specialize in microhouse and minimal techno, and are known for their Total compilation series which reached its eleventh installment in 2010.Kompakt...
and was subsequently signed. He released his first 12", a demo mixtape of Annie's "Heartbeat" in 2005 as well as a 12" featuring the track "Things Keep Falling Down". In 2006, "Sun & Ice" 12" was released.
Later in 2007, Willner became the first musician to take part in the Nordic Light Hotel's "Sound of Light" concept. After staying at the hotel, Willner used the experience as the basis for his EP of the same name.
Willner uses the software Jeskola Buzz
Jeskola Buzz
Jeskola Buzz is a freeware modular software music studio environment designed to run on Microsoft Windows via Microsoft .NET. It is centered around a modular plugin-based machine view and a multiple pattern sequencer tracker .Buzz consists of a plugin architecture that allows the audio to be routed...
and live instrumentation, mixing and recording tracks live for each album, although he uses a live band for live performances.
"The Field" is not Axel Willner's only moniker. He also writes music under stage names Lars Blek, porte, Cordouan and James Larsson. He was also a member of Speedwax. In January 2012, Willner will release a new full length under the guise "Loops Of Your Heart".
His second LP was released on May 18, 2009 called 'Yesterday & Today'. It features six new tracks including a collaboration with Battles
Battles (band)
Battles is an American experimental rock group, founded in 2002 in New York City, comprising guitarists Ian Williams and Dave Konopka , and drummer John Stanier .-Biography:...
drummer John Stanier. Willner released "Looping State Of Mind", his third album as The Field, in October 2011.
So to 2011 and the release of third album Looping State Of Mind, a record that in many ways recalls his previous work but also pushes on in new directions. “It’s been evolving and it will keep on doing so,” says its creator, “people come and go, adding their things to it, you change as well and so will the sound.” A release that comes across as Axel’s most accomplished to date; it feels like a culmination of sorts in that it could be a compilation of both its protagonists work and, indeed, life to date. “All the old influences are still there,” he admits, “but we’ve made a real attempt to grow the sound;’ this involved the most prominent use of live instruments yet, bass jutting through opening track ‘Is This The Power’ and wandering piano keys slinking in and out of view of the albums landscape.
As ever though The Field transcend their mere components, Looping State Of Mind could almost be a manifesto for them. Certainly for Axel there is no beginning and end to the impact of what he sees and experiences in every day life, things will always come back around; the challenge for him is to adapt and alter them when they do in order to create something that understands and re-defines them in a new way each time. For Kompakt, meanwhile, it’s a record that plays on their long held principals of progression through emotion and recollection, married with an openness of mind. It’s the most definitive answer yet as to what makes they and The Field fit so well, providing as it does some of the best work the label’s ever released. Only through past experiences can one move forward; it’s something that, in 2011’s turbulent times, many could do with remembering.
The Field has been chosen by Battles
Battles (band)
Battles is an American experimental rock group, founded in 2002 in New York City, comprising guitarists Ian Williams and Dave Konopka , and drummer John Stanier .-Biography:...
to perform at the ATP Nightmare Before Christmas
All Tomorrow's Parties (music festival)
All Tomorrow's Parties is a music festival which takes place at Camber Sands holiday camp in East Sussex and Butlin's holiday camp in Minehead, Somerset, England....
festival that they co-curate in December 2011 in Minehead, England.
Albums
- From Here We Go SublimeFrom Here We Go SublimeFrom Here We Go Sublime is the highly acclaimed debut album from Axel Willner under his alias as The Field. Produced by Willner, it was released on Kompakt in March 2007...
(2007) - Yesterday and TodayYesterday and Today (The Field album)Yesterday and Today is the second album by The Field following his critically acclaimed debut From Here We Go Sublime. It was released on 26 May, 2009 in Europe and 26 May, 2009 in the USA....
(2009) - Looping State of MindLooping State of MindLooping State of Mind is the third studio album by Axel Wilner under the alias The Field. It was released in North America on the 24 October 2011 via Kompakt.-Track listing:# Is This Power# It's Up There# Burned Out# Arpeggiated Love# Looping State of Mind...
(2011)
Remixes
- Annie - "My Heartbeat" (2005)
- Marit BergmanMarit Bergman-Biography:She grew up in Rättvik but now lives in Brooklyn. She was a member of the 1990s Swedish punk band Candysuck. She has also been playing and recording with other musical constellations. However, it is as a solo artist, as Marit Bergman, that she has risen to national fame, debuting in...
- "No Party" (2006) - James FigurineDntelJames Scott "Jimmy" Tamborello, more commonly known as Dntel , is an electronic music artist. He is sometimes cited as James Figurine, the co-programmer and vocalist for the electropop outfit Figurine. Other projects include Strictly Ballroom, Headset and The Postal Service. Tamborello has...
- "55566688833" (2006) - 120 Days120 Days120 Days is a Norwegian band. The group consists of Jonas Dahl, Arne Kvalvik, Kjetil Ovesen, and Ådne Meisfjord, and was formed in 2001 under the name 'The Beautiful People'. Originally based in their hometown of Kristiansund, they moved to Oslo in 2002. After two EPs on the Public Demand label,...
- "Come Out (Come Down, Fade Out, Be Gone)" (2006) - Battles - "Tonto" (2007)
- The HoneydripsThe HoneydripsThe Honeydrips was Mikael Carlsson’s electronic pop music solo project.The electropop band is under the Swedish label Sincerely Yours, run by The Tough Alliance. Here Comes the Future came out in 2007 and received an 8.4 on Pitchfork Media...
- "Fall From a Height" (2007) - Thom YorkeThom YorkeThomas "Thom" Edward Yorke is an English musician who is the lead vocalist and principal songwriter for Radiohead. He mainly plays guitar and piano, but he has also played drums and bass guitar...
- "Cymbal Rush" (2007) - MapsMaps (band)-Start Something:In 2006, he recorded his Start Something EP by himself on his 16-track recorder. He released it on his own record label, Last Space Recordings, and it was met with some critical acclaim. The single "Lost My Soul" polled at No. 26 in NMEs top 50 singles of 2006.-We Can Create:On 19...
- "You Don't Know Her Name" (2007) - Gui BorattoGui BorattoGui Boratto is a Brazilian electronic music producer. In the 1990s he was a member of Sect.His album Chromophobia was awarded the title of Mixmag Album of the Month. Regarding why he chose the name Chromophobia, Boratto said: "The same meaning as monochromatism in architecture, which means...
- "Hera" (2007) - Andreas TillianderAndreas TillianderBerndt Andreas Tilliander is a Swedish producer who significantly contributed to the evolution of the 'clicks & cuts' genre with his first albums 'Cliphop' and 'Ljud' . He has recorded several albums under just as many names and worked with some of Europe's influential electronic music labels...
- "Stay Down" (2007) - FamiljenFamiljen-Biography:Karlsson grew up in Hässleholm, Skåne , but is currently based in Malmö. In his youth as a synthpop fan he also formed bands with Sophie Rimheden from nearby Lund...
- "Hög Luft" (2007) - SashaSasha (DJ)Sasha is a Welsh DJ and record producer. Sasha began his career playing acid house dance music in the late 1980s...
- "Mongoose" (2008) - PopnonamePopnonamePOPNONAME is the artistname of Jens-Uwe Beyer .Now he lives in Cologne.Apart from his regular releases on KOMPAKT's Pop Ambient series, he has had anumber of 12" on Cologne-based labels, among others FIRM and ITALIC....
- "Touch" - DeVotchKaDeVotchKaDeVotchKa is a four-piece multi-instrumental and vocal ensemble. They take their name from the Russian word devochka , meaning "girl"...
- "Clockwise Witness" - TocotronicTocotronicTocotronic is a German rock band founded in 1993 . Similar to Blumfeld or Die Sterne they are considered a part of the Hamburger Schule movement...
- "Macht es nicht selbst" (2010) - Bear In HeavenBear in HeavenBear 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....
- Ultimate Satisfaction (2010) - WallsWalls- Other uses :*Wall's , a company that makes ice cream*Wall's sausages, a British sausage brand*Walls, an episode of Power Rangers S.P.D.- Music :*Walls EP, a 2005 album by The Red Paintings*Walls , 2007...
- "Hang Four" (2010) - Harmonia & Eno '76 - "Luneburg Heath" (2010)
- MaseratiMaserati (band)Maserati is a band from Athens, Georgia, United States whose sound is best described as a combination of post-rock and psychedelic influences. Their music is instrumental, relying on the standard rock instrumentation of guitar, bass, and drums...
- "Pyramid of the Moon" (2010) - Wildbirds & PeacedrumsWildbirds & PeacedrumsWildbirds & Peacedrums is an experimental band from Sweden consisting of two members, Mariam Wallentin and her husband Andreas Werliin.-Background:...
- "The Well" (2010) - Junior BoysJunior Boys-History:Junior Boys formed in 1999 in Hamilton, Ontario, Canada as a duo of Jeremy Greenspan and Johnny Dark. Years of collaboration followed and a demo was produced, but after many rejections and near-misses, they were resigned to being bedroom beat constructors. Soon after, Johnny Dark left the...
- "Banana Ripple" (2011)