Wolfington, John / S/t

Smells Like Records

Riding a subway train circa '97, Colombian-born John Wolfington inexplicably decided to switch cars at the 14th Street station, to one in which Thurston Moore happened to be sitting, deep into a novel. At the time Wolfington had in his possession a tape containing "Coney Island Freak," a song of his that talks about a trip to the freakshow and references SY in its lyric. Feeling like he had somehow been "urged" to switch cars, he handed the tape to Thurston, who politely accepted it, just like he always does every other day of the week when a complete stranger hands him a tape. Although this encounter had little to do with the recording of this album, it now seems like it was a step along the way.  Summer of '99, and Two Dollar Guitar man Tim Foljahn has a five-song demo in his hand, sent to him by someone he'd never heard of. Still, he was floored by the quality of the songs and the sparseness of the production. Most of the material had been recorded in Wolfington's bathroom, using simple drum machine patterns or brushes on a live drum. Foljahn passed the tape on to Steve Shelley, and the two of them agreed to work with Wolfington on recording his debut. Production, begun at Hoboken's Jolly Roger Recording with Gene Holder and finished at Brooklyn's Rare Book Room with Nicolas Vernhes, took place over the following six months. Shelley and Foljahn play on over half the songs, with the rest sporting simple drum loops and Wolfington, a multi-instrumentalist, on drums, piano, Moog, bass, and Dr. Rhythm. The album is rounded out by some of the original bathroom recordings. Cat Power, Arab Strap, and PJ Harvey serve as influences, but Wolfington's sound - vocally unique and without artifice - is actually somewhere between Ian Curtis and Nick Drake. "Cinerock" is how he would describe it. Seeking to create a powerful visual presence, he has been known to project his own graphics and photographs at live shows. Standout tracks include "Twelve Miles Per Hour," a stripped-down drum loop and guitar lament, and "Ageless Sky," an uptempo, SY-influenced full-band workout. Completely different in their execution, the songs are very much the same in their ability to get inside listeners heads .

• SHARE

  •  Twitter
  •  Stumbleupon
  •  Digg
  •  del.icio.us
  •  Facebook
  •  Mixx