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Before Gardens After Gardens, the third full length from Big Sir
Rodriguez Lopez Productions and Sargent House have been expanding on dozens of releases over the last few years with the plethora of artists that exists between the two. Connected at the heart by Cathy Pellow, Omar Rodriguez-Lopez and many others, this is a movement of sound and vision that is gaining considerable reputation as progressive minds are evolving even further from their origins. Boris, Fang Island, Native, Zechs Marquise, Le Butcherettes, Hella, there are so many genre defining artists to name that it’s hard to really sum up the label and Big Sir is one group out of the entire whole that we have been anticipating a new LP from the most. 2012 has been a phenomenal year for music culture already and the arrival of the latest Big Sir album, Before Gardens After Gardens, only adds more depth to the shape of this year. Based around the multi-instrumental and vocal work of Lisa Papineau and the Jaco Pastorius inspired tones of bassist of The Mars Volta, Juan Alderete, Big Sir is rooted in as many fields of electronica as they are in heavy doses of jazz, pop, hip-hop and so much more. It’s a sound all its own and genre definition becomes some what meaningless in the emotional power and provocative nature of the music. 2000 saw the release of their self titled debut release on the short lived Mootron Records and the follow up, Und Die Scheiße Ändert Sich Immer, would be released 6 years later to further critical acclaim. Und Die Scheiße Ändert Sich Immer was given the special vinyl treatment on the Sonny Kay and Omar Rodriguez-Lopez owned imprint Gold Standard Laboratories (GSL). Exactly 6 years later we find a new gestation period and a new cycle of life from Big Sir and it feels right on time with the latest Big Sir offering Before Gardens After Gardens. 11 songs and a little under 40 minutes in length, Before Gardens After Gardens is the summation of the last 12 years of the band and what feels like a launching pad for where Big Sir is going to take their sound in the future. The smooth, sonically blissful fretless bass work from Juan Aldrete creates a florescence that saturates itself into the mix. The bass tones pick up in such a frequency and full mode of sound that it knocks the middle and higher register of the wave patterns into the center of the mix. Stanley Clarke, Jaco, Ron Carter, there are only a dozen out of 1000′s bass players who can add this level of emotional quality into the bass foundations and Juan is walking in these steps actively with every record he touches. Adding a nice pair of headphones only intensifies the listen and adds to the perceptual depth of what long time The Mars Volta engineer Robert Carranza added to this LP.
‘Region’s begins Before Gardens After Gardens, with Juan’s unmistakable eerie fretless bass tone taking no time to pronounce itself and become a dominating aura of color. Not many bass players can play with such class, tonality and style where every approach is accentuated into tones rarely used and a feeling and depth of every note is constant. Lisa Papineau’s vocal layering is heavenly, stirring up an imaginative circle of emotional cycles, with crescendos and descending break down sections at every corner. The drum pattern is tightly grooved and Juan never looses focus of the pocket, always descending and ascending with Lisa as the intention and scope of the piece dives deeper and deeper into Lisa’s oddly shaped lyrical presentation. As the vocals cut out, there is a phenomenal and ancient sounding sample that stands as tall and powerful as a 1000 year old tree. This moment allows a drastic setting to change and the song cycles onward from the basic foundation of melody is started with. Never before have I thought of Timbaland and Jaco Pastorius in the same song, but the tones make my mind wander unlike any branching of music I have been exposed to. The ending section of ‘Regions’ concludes with a blissful state of electronics as the drum patterns become more intricate and the samples and synth work become more saturated into the field of sound. There is a softness to Lisa’s vocal work that balances the music from the synthetic barrage of metallic sheeting. Juan dives into the same book of emotions on his bass and the two become seamless through sound. The piece ‘The Ladder’ shows this subtle interaction between the two in the most delicate way. Lisa starts off the piece with a very warm and large sounding synth part that is met with cascading small layers of extra samples and synth but each cycle is a shading or shadow from a bigger piece that doesn’t fully come to focus. Juan uses his fretless again and runs long slides up and down of his vintage bass, waxing the music over with a very glossy and elegant feeling that only certain types of stringed instrumentation can bring out. Juan’s technique pushes this sound to a very dreamy state with the synth coloring further aspects of the dream in place. Lisa never looses focus even as the song becomes more dreamy and her vocals are as subdued and breath taking as the overall mood of the piece.
Big Sir / Rodriguez Lopez Productions & Sargent House. Photo by Marianne Williams
‘The Kindest Hour’ the song that follows ‘The Ladder’ is easily my favorite song on the record. With a silky smooth and heavy bass line that ends on a series of harmonics, the vocal tandem between Matt Embree of RX Bandits and Lisa is out of this world. The organ builds on a layer of fluid and electric emotional responses, bubbling upward and upwards, becoming more pronounced as the vocals act in the same manner. There is a type of spiritual feeling as the under tones become more clear and Juan guides the band from beginning to end. There is an elaborate scheme of drum work, the type of drum work that leaves all the room for the melody but adds enough depth to fill on the needed gaps of space. The second half of the song is really built on a head nodding groove, with beautiful, more pronounced and still in the pocket drum work. The level of beauty in the vocals makes this song shine so bright, even with the eerie break down section that eludes away from vocals and introduces a very auspicious and intriguing sound. Once the drums cut loose and you hear the full on groove of where this song goes, everyone becomes synced in heavily and the type of euphoric ambiance of Lisa’s under pinned statements bring a very special feeling to this song. ‘The Kindest Hour’ is the reason I love this band so much and can’t stop coming back to this album. It’s one of the few songs I have put on repeat in a long time for lengths that extend beyond an hour.
Before Gardens After Gardens sheds a lot of ground and features a lot of members and friends of the ORLP and Sargent House families. Guests include Deantoni Parks, Jonathan Hischke, Matt Embree, Teri Gender Bender, Cedric Bixler Zavala, among many others. Electrifying and a big representation of the Los Angeles world that has dominated the lives of both of the duo’s relationship as friends and musical colleagues, Before Gardens After Gardens is a conceptually beautifully ride. It serves as a representation of two musical collaborators and friends of over a decade who have utilized every medium possible based on their strict schedules and obligations to other projects to create music that they love and feel the world needs to hear. Don’t miss out on getting a copy of Before Gardens, After Gardens, one of our favorites of the year thus far.
-Erik Otis
Big Sir “Before Gardens Afters Gardens”
Rodriguez Lopez Productions / Sargent House
- Regions
- Ready On The Line
- Infidels
- Right Action
- The Ladder
- The Kindest Hour
- Old Blood
- Born With A Tear
- Be Brave Go On
- Our Pleasant Home
- 1 Thousand Petals
Buy Before Gardens After Gardens and much more @ Hello Merch
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Also, don’t miss out on the interview we conducted with Lisa and Juan of Big Sir this year.
[Excerpt]
There are many great cameos in Before Gardens After Gardens (Cedric Bixler-Zavala, Jonathan Hischke, Matthew Embree, Deantoni Parks, just to name a few). When the two of you have worked together for all these years, how did you approach creative input from these additional artists, and do you give these musicians a sense of free reign regarding their part in Before Gardens After Gardens or the album as a whole? 8) What is it that you look for, or take into consideration, when throwing out names of guests for a Big Sir album?
Juan: We have an idea of what we are hoping to hear from our cohorts and that is, what they seem to always bring to anything they work on…their musicality. Money Mark for instance, always brings in some crazy keyboard or plays a keyboard at the studio in some unconventional way yet, still, you know it’s him. Cedric has such a unique approach to drums that is not like any drummer. His Defacto records prove it. Hischke always has some new bass sound that never sounds like any bass you have ever heard. It’s that uniqueness that we both love and how it always fits in our music.
SCV interview with Big Sir of Rodriguez Lopez Productions / Sargent House
Big Sir / Sargent House Photo by Marianne Williams
An interview is one of the most authentic and honest windows into the hearts and minds of the artists and musicians we’ve come to admire. And, in this particular case… an added dose of humility. Logistics and self-deprecating humor aside, there is no better approach towards familiarizing yourself with the music you know and love, than by speaking with the musicians who have created the compositions that their fans have come to hold dear to their hearts. Throughout the years Lisa Papineau and Juan Alderete of Big Sir have created a fan base dedicated to the evolution of their multifaceted sound.
With the two having such a diverse creative output that extends far outside of their album releases, Lisa and Juan always seem to give the time needed to Big Sir for stages of growth in the bands legacy to continue and 2012 marks the next cycle. The ethereally haunting vocal and synth work of Lisa Papineau along with the sea of effects bassist of The Mars Volta Juan Alderete utilizes combine for a compositional mastery in which the sum is greater than the parts. With this Los Angeles dynamic duo’s third full length album, Before Gardens After Gardens, set to release on February 7th of this year with Sargent House, Big Sir has created an authentic and diverse harmonious experience bound to have you yearning for more. When we received the album from Sargent House and dove in together, it felt like love at first sight.
Sound Colour Vibration was fortunate enough to have the opportunity to speak with Big Sir and get a firsthand look at the creative dynamic behind this band and their insight regarding a shared passion for music enriched with Los Angeles tradition, trust and mutual respect for one another, the influence of fearless whip-cracking manager and Sargent House matriarch, Cathy Pellow, creative contributions and unique signature musicality of fellow artists, and the strong camaraderie setting the foundation for their beautifully cultivated sound. Ladies and Gentlemen… It’s our pleasure to present to you Sound Colour Vibration’s exclusive interview with LA band, Big Sir.
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Sound Colour Vibration interview with Big Sir of Sargent House
January of 2012
The both of you met through Pet in 1999. February 7th marks the release of Big Sir’s latest album. How does it feel to be together after twelve years releasing Big Sir’s third full-length album, Before Gardens After Gardens?
Lisa: We actually met doing Pet in 1996, and Big Sir really started solidifying and taking its present form in 1999. Feels great. Feels always… new.
Considering the fact that the both of you have created music expanding throughout a melodic spectrum (Lisa, from your acoustic and ambient approach towards your solo material, and Juan with the music you’ve created throughout your career with The Mars Volta), how do you feel the both of you compliment each other’s approach towards Big Sir and creating such an organic sound?
Lisa: We talk a lot about how much beloved music we share. And where each of us diverge, both in music and living our lives, we have an avid interest in each others perspectives or tastes that are new or different, respectively. You develop trust in the reasons why, enough to explore what isn’t immediately understood of the other person’s choices.
Juan, I’ve read that you make it a point to run everything you have created with Lisa. There’s definitely a strong camaraderie between the both of you. What do you feel to be the foundation of Big Sir that maintains this creative momentum?
Juan: Our mutual respect of each other. We both knew at meeting each other that we had a strong camaraderie between us. Our love for hip hop as much as The Jesus Lizard or Carole King or Dali’s Car made us realize we should make music together as long as we live. Our confidence in each other cuts out a lot of decision making based arguments. For example, Lisa handles the artwork because she has the eye for it. I handle beat juggling because I have the computer for it.
Lisa: I juggle dropping the beats.
Due to your demanding schedules and commitments with other projects, I understand that Before Gardens After Gardens was created virtually over constant exchanges, building off of each other’s edits and input, eventually creating these tracks. Do you feel this less conventional (or less formal) approach towards creating an album has built on the character of the album’s entirety?
Juan: “Less conventional” may not be accurate anymore. We believe this is a very conventional approach in today’s laptop studio world. We are definitely not the first band to work over the internet. This album contains both old school and new school approaches. The first set of tracks were via the internet for sure but the second half of the record was recorded mostly at Infrasonic studios with Robert Carranza engineering. Both approaches have value and both approaches were utilized.
Lisa: Whatever gets the song out of our heads and into the mix the best.. that’s all that matters… whatever is available and makes most sense, in the end all that matters is the song coming together.
In what way has the creative process of Before Gardens After Gardens served as catharsis and personal and spiritual growth for the both of you? 6) It’s been six years since Big Sir released Und Die Scheiße Ändert Sich Immer. How do you feel you have evolved in these last six years, and has your approach towards Before Gardens After Gardens changed or evolved from your previous two full-length albums?
Lisa: I think this has always been the case with Big Sir, but more than ever, we have just made music we want to shake our asses to, or music to pop in the car for a long road trip… kool taste-maker-ing or hole-pegging be damned. Less trying to bend the initial song idea to go away from that gut impulse that created it in the first place. Continuing to trust some of the “mistakes” in demos, because the occasional glitches and weird squawks feel groovier than perfection. I could think of a number of reasons, but I don’t know if they are correct or redundant, but there is no doubt for us that this body of songs feels like they belong together. We worked very hard on the flow from the dancier beginning of the album into the dreamier/ heavier second half, to make sure it felt right and true.
There are many great cameos in Before Gardens After Gardens (Cedric Bixler-Zavala, Jonathan Hischke, Matthew Embree, Deantoni Parks, just to name a few). When the two of you have worked together for all these years, how did you approach creative input from these additional artists, and do you give these musicians a sense of free reign regarding their part in Before Gardens After Gardens or the album as a whole? 8) What is it that you look for, or take into consideration, when throwing out names of guests for a Big Sir album?
Juan: We have an idea of what we are hoping to hear from our cohorts and that is, what they seem to always bring to anything they work on…their musicality. Money Mark for instance, always brings in some crazy keyboard or plays a keyboard at the studio in some unconventional way yet, still, you know it’s him. Cedric has such a unique approach to drums that is not like any drummer. His Defacto records prove it. Hischke always has some new bass sound that never sounds like any bass you have ever heard. It’s that uniqueness that we both love and how it always fits in our music.
Lisa, in your last interview with Sound Colour Vibration you mentioned the amount of mental discipline and self-motivation required of a career in music. Both of you have numerous projects outside of Big Sir. Considering the commitment the both of you have towards each other as artists, would you say that coming together for Big Sir makes you at ease regarding the stress of creating quality material (that the both of you are proud of), or would you say that due to your respect for one another, there’s an added pressure (or higher standard) in that the both of you hold each other’s respect and artistry in such high regard?
Lisa: I think there is always pressure and anxiety to get the song right, to be true to what you hear in your head, no matter what the project is.
Big Sir is part of the RLP and Sargent House Family. There’s no denying that Cathy Pellow is one of the most admirable and hard-working Managers out there. How do you feel your label and management have added to the creative success of your material?
Lisa: Cathy is an incredibly creative soul, so she “gets” her artists’ processes, how they can differ from band to band, how to be supportive but not invasive, how to be constructively critical when it’s time for it, how to use her creativity in marketing and management to work organically for the music and collectively with the artist, so nothing ever feels contrived or false once it enters the “release and promotion” phase. She doesn’t assume we are dummies about the rest of the process and that inherent respect, and her expectation of us to be responsibly active in our own business is fresh and for my part, very welcome.
Juan: Cathy cracks the whip, cracks heads. She is fearless. She stands up for what she believes in and it works. We all want more labels like Sargent House in this world.
Juan, you’re from El Paso/Juarez, and Lisa, you currently reside in Paris, both locations extremely vibrant with culture, art, and music. What cultural elements do the both of you instill in your music, and how have you bridged those elements in Big Sir’s music?
Juan: I am from Los Angeles…born and raised. I never lived in El Paso or Juarez. Lisa lived in Paris but has over the past few years been splitting her time between there and LA, and now is for the most part back in Los Angeles. We, as Big Sir, have always been a 100% Los Angeles band… a Cali band. We especially share a common love of low-rider oldies and slow jams, and other music that have a rich Los Angeles tradition: hip hop, 70′s AOR, early new wave and post punk. All of that is strongly there in our way of creating our music.
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Big Sir have announced two live dates in Southern, CA for February, below are the dates. Also, don’t miss out on pre-ordering the CD of the new Big Sir album Before Gardens After Gardens coming out next month. The band is also offering a really nice package deal for $30 that includes the Digipack CD release, 11×17 poster, canvas tote bag and a choice between two shirts printed on American Apparel. Check out the pictures and links to buy from the Big Sir Hello Merch Store.
From Big Sir: We are very excited to announce two new west coast shows for Big Sir with Marcel Rodriguez Lopez of (Zechs Marquise & The Mars Volta) electronica project called Eureka the Butcher featuring Sadah Luna don’t miss them if you are in the area:
BIG SIR & EUREKA THE BUTCHER feat Sadah Luna
2/19 @ Hemingways Lounge - Hollywood, CA w/ Gregory Rogove
2/20 @ Harvellle’s - Long Beach, CA w/ The Vespertines
SCV captures Big Sir performing at the Bootleg Theater last month!
Lisa Papineau, Cedric Bixler (drums), Juan Alderete
Big Sir was founded in the late 90′s and early 2000′s. The group features two musicians that are well known in the Sargent House universe: Lisa Papineau (Pet, ME&LP, Jun Miyake) and Juan Alderete (Vato Negro, Mars Volta, and Racer X).
Juan is a seasoned bassist whose abilities shine in both finger picking and fret board work as they do in the department of effects pedals and unique tones. When you see his pedal board display in any live setting, it can be a little daunting for anyone who plays music and dreams of owning even a third of the stuff this guy carries from gig to gig. Big Sir is no exception to this rule and the creamy tones Juan gets from his vintage and modern collection of bass guitars flow out of his bass rig and pa selflessly. Juans tones really absorb the low end inside of a venue, especially a smaller spot like the Bootleg Theater in Los Angeles. Add the marvelous vocal and keyboard talents of Lisa to this mix and you are ready for something very special to happen. Lisa is a true professional, able to withstand any movement on stage and retain the fullest and richest range of vocals and find enough time to add sheets of synth.
Jonathan Hischke
Big Sir have released three albums since 2000. Being a functional and creative group with so many other demanding projects for nearly a decade has proven to be a balancing act that has not been on their side until recent. With 3 albums under their belt in the course of 10 years or so they had yet to embark on a full tour. This brings us to a brisk Friday night in Silverlake, just east of downtown Los Angeles, at the Bootleg Theater (also common ground for Sargent House). Big Sir completed their 2011 West Coast tour with the drumming contribution of Cedric Bixler-Zavala (De Facto, The Mars Volta, At The Drive-In, and Los Dregtones), a very warming welcome to all those in attendance. Anticipation was high and the 70′s kit Cedric Bixler-Zavala had for this gig was a beautiful touch. Brushes and minimalism was his approach for the evening and he played really well as a supporting member of this incredible group. It was a pleasant surprise to see Jonathan Hischke (Hella, Dot Hacker, Le Butcherettes, and many more) take stage with the trio. Hischke stayed on stage for the entire show and added some great synth bass to the eclectic mix. If you are into people who are approaching electronics and the bass guitar with new ideas and new visions, Jonathan’s works should surely be at the top of that interest.
Lisa P
Juan
Cedric, Juan
Lisa
Jonathan, Juan
Jonathan staring into the void of the lense
Lisa, Jonathan, Juan
Lisa
Lisa Papineau, Matt Embree
The final guest of the evening was Matt Embree (The Sound of Animals Fighting, RX Bandits) who sang along with Lisa on a couple of songs. It may as well be noted that Cedric also lent his backup abilities at times. All of this has been orchestrated to promote the release of a new Big Sir album and to present a small preview for the new phase of accelerated activity of Big Sirs future. The live performance was a promising illustration of what the bass and vocal-driven band have in store for the audience with their new release due out early next year on Sargent House.
Lisa, Matt
me&LP
Papineau and Alderete carried the audience through the whimsical night. Papineau’s vocals defied a singular structure and her dance moves were the perfect visual accompaniment to the music. Alderete’s bass was augmented in a higher tone while Hischke’s synth bass played on the deep end. The pair accompanied one another beautifully.
Jonathan, Juan
Lisa, Jonathan
Lisa, Jonathan, Juan
Jonathan, Juan
Lisa, Cedric, Jonathan
One of the most free form parts of the evening was the encore performance. Lisa Papineau assured everyone it was mostly “improv” and the crowd was stunned largely in part from this ending section by the evenings conclusion.
Jonathan, Cedric
Big Sir are a staple in the study of the bass guitar and how it marries perfectly with the angelic vocal tones of a beautiful singer such as Lisa Papineau. God Bless Juan and Lisa, and their undying love for the vision of Big Sir.
- Erick R. Wilczynsky
Juan Alderete
All photography by Erick R. Wilczynsky
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Porter Records
2935 S. Fish Hatchery Rd, #414
Madison, WI 53711 / USA
Porter Records was born in 2005 out of a love for crate digging in the basements of record shops. Porter’s founder, Luke Mosling, has a talent for finding the obscure, beautiful and strange recordings that may have previously gone unheard by a larger audience. This talent started the reissue portion of the Porter Records catalog.
When doing reissues, Porter works hard at creating strong relationships with the original artists or their estates. This allows Porter to respect not only the original vision of the artist and their recordings, but also to respect the vision the artist has for the future. Porter’s goal is to make these reissues more widely known and recognized as important pieces of art within their respected genres.
Porter Records is more than a reissue label. Porter has over 40 releases by modern composers and performers that bring something special to the current day music tapestry. Each release is like a hidden jewel providing its own unique color and brilliance. Porter Records is very proud to have such talented artists and a diverse catalog of genres in a time when the music industry is pumping out replica after replica.
