| ***Mi and Liau recently put the finishing touches on their beautiful new album in Brooklyn, NY. The music on their self-titled debut is austere yet simultaneously warm, expressing the passion they possess both as human beings and as songwriters. Think of a glacier with a red ember glowing in its center. Mi was working as a model in Paris when he met Liau, then involved in the French music industry. The two intensely focused individuals immediately fell in love, and after apartment-hopping around the city for a time, gave up everything and moved to the woods of Miis native Finland to spend time discovering each other and their music. They now live in a small cabin in complete isolation with the barest of essentials, spending virtually all their time making music together in solitude. They are pure and gentle souls (indeed, Devendra Banhartis song iGentle Souli was written for Liau with whom heid collaborated in Paris). Their music is bare and delicate, with simple instrumentation and sparse orchestrations. I wouldnit say it compares at all to the current crop of iweird folk,i though. Rather, it has the naked quality of certain early Nico recordings, soulful and elegant, without being touchy-feely or confessional. Their music reminds me of how one might imagine a Finnish winter landscape, haunting and pure. The song outlines were recorded in Mi and Liauis cabin in Finland and then moved to Brooklyn where the duo embellished the tracks with help from co-producer M.Gira and guests Akron/Family, Julia Kent (Antony and the Johnsons), Paul Cantelon, and Jerome OiBrien. 30-second MP3 excerpts: They Marry How Philosopher I've Been Watching You Bums Older Merry Go Round Nude A Word In Your Belly Boxer Andy Christmas Soul New Born Child Study If you have a recent version of iTunes software on your computer, clicking on the link immediately below should open the iTunes application and take you to that album's iTunes page-- where you can listen to samples and buy this album, or individual tracks: go to iTunes to browse downloads for Mi & L'au "s/t" (Young God) For a complete listing of Midheaven exclusive albums available for download from the iTunes Music service, please visit the Midheaven Mailorder/Revolver USA Downloadables page. |