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EUROPEAN FRIENDS! BUY THE 7" AND DOWNLOAD FROM THE LEAF LABEL HERE:
bit.ly/AUforEU
Luke Wyland and Dana Valatka, the Portland, Oregon-based duo known as AU, embody remarkable, frantic energy. On the verge of the release of their third album (due out Spring 2012 on Hometapes and The Leaf Label), AU is making their first reveal in the shape of a limited edition 7" record. Fortifying Valatka's adrenalized percussion and Wyland's soaring vocals and multi-tentacled performance on keys and guitar, is man-machine Colin Stetson on alto and whopping bass saxophone (most recently seen on stage with Bon Iver). The b-side, a song woven by Wyland himself from a reinterpretation of the album's lead track, takes Stetson's wild wind a notch higher and into the brightly lit stratosphere.
AU reflects that light. "Solid Gold" is the first taste of a sweeping aural experience that captures not only the journey of Wyland and Valatka through the past three years of love, loss, and levity, but the voyage music can take us all on if we click play and just listen. "The back and forth, the tug of war for love," writes Wyland, getting at the root of "Solid Gold", in essence a love song, "exhausting, exhilarating, and so totally not sustainable." Like the best songs, in some way or another, we can all sing along to that.
The AU Solid Gold 7" is limited to 500 copies. The transparent yellow-orange 45 RPM vinyl is packaged with full-color transparent cover art in a heavy PVC jacket. Digital download included.
released December 7, 2011
AU Solid Gold 7"
HT049 / DOCK58
A. Solid Gold
Luke Wyland – vox, keys, guitars, percussion
Dana Valatka – drums
Holland Andrews – vox
Colin Stetson – bass & alto saxophones
Nick Sweet – trombone, tuba
B. under/Epic (feat. Colin Stetson)
Luke Wyland – lapsteel guitar, piano
Dana Valatka – drums
Colin Stetson – bass & alto saxophones
Nick Sweet – trombone
Alex Milsted – trumpet