Video/News: High Desert (ex-Shins) Announces Debut Album & Releases First Video

New Albuquerque Duo Features Nick Noeding Jr. and Former Shins Member Marty Crandall

04.03.2014

The News/Video:

“It was an idea I hatched last year to challenge myself musically and to get myself out of my comfort zone,” says former Shins keyboardist/guitarist Marty Crandall in a recent interview with Pyragraph. High Desert, the musician’s newest project, is a marriage of Marty’s fuzzed-out record collecting soul and good friend Nick Noeding Jr.’s bedroom beatmaker heart. In addition to debuting the stream and video of their lavish single, “Disappeared,” the duo has also announced a release date of April 15 for their self-titled album.

Combining Nick’s recording/engineering prowess and electronic/digital musical background with Marty’s songwriting and lyrical art, the two manage to create lush and dense soundscapes that fuse dreamy Creation Records fuzz with Warp Records electronics. Filled with subtle complexities lurking below the surface of playful melodies and vibrant rhythms, High Desert’s sound explores and experiments with deep emotions and reflections on life. “For High Desert it has been a very personal experience,” remarks Marty, “I’ve discovered things about myself that I didn’t know were there. Loss. Break-ups. I needed to sort things out and I felt that by exploring those emotions and creating musical pictures I could truly process them in a creative and fulfilling way.”

Listen to “Disappeared” here: https://soundcloud.com/akahighdesert/disappeared

Watch the video for “Disappeared” here: http://youtu.be/o9eF7Afje1s

Read the full Pyragraph interview here:

http://www.pyragraph.com/2014/04/burning-questions-for-marty-crandall-of-high-desert

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