Filled With Guilt and Diamonds by semi-Philadelphia-based group Br'er is a revival release of the same-named EP by the group. The first, was released in cassette format with only 100 made in 2008, and the most recent version of the album EP comes pressed on vinyl hand-numbered and in limited edition also. As an Edible Onion release, each album is hand-sewn, and the art-house collage style of the printing is worth the buy alone. It's a beautiful and interesting album to look at and listen to.
Br'er's music is the product of lead songwriter Benjamin Schurr and includes musicians Christian Mirande, Darian Scatton, Luis Angel Cancel, Roger Martinez, Nat Baldwin (Dirty Projectors), Ross Lipton, Jan Blacksburg, Jim Krull, Sean Ali, and Charles Cohen (of Espers). The sound is something out of a storybook and paints a drastic dreamscape taking elements from psychedelic all the way to dream-pop and dark, neo-folk.
Girl About Town: What can you tell us about the newest release of the Br'er release and where its inspiration comes from?
Benjamin Schurr: The
new Br'er album is a document of things that I went through in the
winter of 2007, having just come out of a five year relationship, and just
gotten off of a tremendous amount of medication a few months prior. It
was partly a coping mechanism for feeling really lost and powerless.
Most of the subject matter is trying to make sense of dealing with
losing a lot of of people in a short amount of time, and trying to make
sense of it.
Yourself and
Benjamin created the artwork, how much work went into it, and how many
copies were made--and is there any special meaning behind the design
(both 'ball-buster' and 'nutcracker' come to mind here) or were you
just looking for a stand-out image? I might even say it was a bit like
a Hipgnosis design....
I came up with the idea for
the cover artwork, which is inspired by gender issues that are most
prevalent in the song "Painted Lady." They are also some of the main
subjects of Br'er's music. The body shape is sort of an "X," while the
bolt cutters are a "Y," so it shows the male chromosome and the act of
what the body is doing shows the destruction of such things. It's an
adaptation of a photo I saw a few years back which always stuck with
me, and was something I thought fit the feelings/vulnerability that I
was feeling at the time and that the record still exudes. The inner
artwork and back cover was designed by Darian which is a hand drawn
vine design which captures the more beautiful aspects of the record.
There is a lot of symbolism within that and the back. The artwork is
supposed to show the dichotomy of the dark and the light, which is
another constant on the album.
What
can people expect from a live Br'er show with so many people in one
band, are there particular songs that people usually request to be
played?
Br'er's live performances ALWAYS vary.
It's been a goal since day one to make sure that every Br'er tour is
completely different. Since there is so much going on in the record, it
would be pointless to mimic it. So much of the Br'er recordings are
just me making weird noises and adding track after track. It would be
too idiosyncratic to try to replicate that with other people. What we
like to do is find the core of the song and interpret it for however
many people are in Br'er at the time. We've done shows with as little
as two people and as many as seven. Our last tour was almost completely
acoustic and currently we're touring with all new songs. I would say
the best thing to expect is nothing since it always changes.
What is your favorite thing about playing to a hometown crowd for a live show?
As
for the hometown crowd... I have conflicting feelings. I recently moved
to Asheville, North Carolina from Philly because I felt so incredibly
alienated in Philly. Since I've left though, I've played two incredible
shows with Br'er at The Danger Danger Gallery that have changed my view
a bit. What's really nice for us is that people tend to be super
receptive and quiet, which is definitely not a common thing in Philly.
There's always new people who I've never met that come out because
they've heard really positive things and that really means a lot to me.
I have always felt like Philly is one of the hardest places to permeate
and when we make an impact of any degree that always feels great.
Is
this album the tip of the iceberg for Br'er--how often do you write new
material, and do you think you've evolved from the original style and
ideas of the music that you began with [when Br'er began]?
Yes,
I would say this is the tip of the iceberg. We released an album called
"Of Shemales & Kissaboos" before this, on a label in Austria that
was a means of figuring out what Br'er was musically. "Filled with
Guilt & Diamonds" was a more solid idea within the confines that
the first album set. In the same respect, it was also a very specific
document of a certain time of my life. Many of the musicians involved
are no longer working with Br'er, and since completing it, we've
released two singles, a tape, and a new EP. I am currently working on
our next album, two more singles, and a Magnetic Fields cover. Br'er is
pretty much my life and I'm always working on it, trying to explore new
sounds and timbres, and trying to make sure it stays exciting to me and
the people who I'm working on it with.
Br'er - band site / edible onion / myspace
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