Abstract

Aside from being a collection of ridiculously catchy songs, Canoe’s album The Goldminer is quite a dense and symbolic story. Although some Canoe fans are saying, “Hey Canoe, I love the album but what the sod does it mean?”

So in response we created this guide in an effort to organize the songs in a chronological fashion and offer a bit of bridging storyline between them.

[Please note - this guide is by no means a seminar to delve into the philosophical or existential undertones of the album. That task is yours to undertake and the reward will be justly yours.]

Read the rest of this entry »

At first we thought The Goldminer quickly went under the radar of the reviewing ear and disappeared into abstraction, but a new review by wonderful music blog Linescratchers seems to testify of the slow, yet sure digestion that this album requires.

Here are few sections that really warmed the cockles of our heart:

“This album is a dreamy, crystalline journey that definitely gives back what you put into it. It’s a beautiful, mystical album that deserves far more attention than it has gotten, particularly now that their next album threatens to overtake it in popularity.”

“Though we’re dealing with a concept album, admittedly it takes a while to develop and gets a little confusing in the middle. Concept albums are difficult to pull off, a delicate balance between being too obtuse or abstract on the one hand, or too trite or obvious on the other. When The Goldminer errs, it’s on the side of the former, though the lyrics are meticulously chosen and are filled with wonderful imagery. I would caution against those who want a lucid story out of this album. The lyrics are multi-layered and after months of listening to the album, I still feel like I only have a dim outline of the story, composed of Platonic abstract symbols.”

“If The Goldminer weren’t so darn catchy and easy to listen to, this might be distracting, but it’s a pleasure to listen to repeatedly as you passively absorb the imagery.”

In the end, we scored 92/100 giving us a solid A- on their scale! Again, a special thanks to Linescratchers and Syphax for the great review!

Read the entire review.

Have you ever wondered how Canoe slams out the mad jams? Well we wondered ourselves and assembled an investigative team to find out.

The biggest surprise we learned in the process was that investigating yourself is a hard thing to do while keeping under cover.

The Journey

We first start in Provo, setting up in the type room at Rowley Press. Here we recorded the foundation tracks for each song which include the drums, bass, and dummy tracks for acoustic and vocals. 10 songs in 3 days was a tight fit, but we were happy with the performances.

Our next segment finds us in rainy Portland Oregon in our studio space. This is where we recorded the guitars and vocals that rested on top of the drums and bass. Some of the tracks such as Three Birds, Old Man of the Lake and The Mountaineer were recorded entirely here at our studio.

When all the songs were complete and we felt happy with the mixes, we sent them off to Greg Blaisdell in Hillsboro Oregon at Rack Recording for mastering. This is process where he takes our final mixes and adds a touch of hype and a pinch of star power.

All in all, this was the fastest album we’ve ever produced. Starting in late February and completing the first week of May. For comparison, our last album The Goldminer was started in January of 2008 and completed the end of April 2009. So there’s something to be said about spontaneity.

The Ship…

Go pick up our new album The Ship… and feel free to ask us any questions below.

For a bunch of tech-savvy artists we sure had an outdated and boring website. That was before today, and before we proudly announced “Behold, the New Face of Village Ten Collective.” Which by the way, was right now when we said that.

Full Album Streaming

Aside from a wicked sick design and a sweet color palette, we plan to launch a new service in the weeks to come to allow full album streaming of our entire library of music.

Hear a full album before buying, or simply bookmark the page and listen to it everyday like the web 2.0 champion that you are. (We know you’re a champion, else you wouldn’t be here.)

Instant Downloads

The best way to support an artist is to buy directly from the artist themselves. Without a middle man taking 20-30% the artist can receive your full support when buying their music. Buying from Village Ten Collective is buying directly from the artist, because we the artists run Village Ten.

To buy music from Village Ten Collective you don’t need to register for an account you’ll never use again, we don’t have access to your credit card, and everything is instant. Simply checkout using Paypal and our music will be in your ear before you know it.

Suggestions

Let us know if you hate the new look, if we can improve it, or if you’d like to rent a spare room out back.

Thanks to all the good people who have put California Trail on their best of 2009 lists.  Cheers!

Here are some we’ve been made aware of:

Rawkblog

The Very Most

The Music Ninja

RAWKBLOG

“A gem of a record…”

[Read the entire review]

SLUG MAGAZINE

“The album is full of intelligent lo-fi folky tunes, controlled production, clever lyrics and charming harmonies…”

[Read the entire review]

GLORIOUS NOISE

“What’s not to like? I hear a lot of middle-period Elliott Smith in “Hands/ Mind,” which makes me both happy and sad, like a good song should…”

[Read the entire review}

TENACIOUS TIMOTHY

"A collection of folky lo-fi tunes with some sweet harmonies and great instrumentation.  In fact almost every track has such a great mix of both that the tunes are more akin to chapters in a book than to tunes by themselves and something that has to be digested as a whole rather than individually..."

[Read the entire review]

COUGAR MICROBES

“Great attention to detail means that gently strummed guitars, inventive instrumentations and sweet girl-boy melodies are cautiously sprinkled for maximum effect…”

[Read the entire review]

THE CHURN

“Joy Zipper-esque warm indiepop…”

[Read the entire review]

MP3 HUGGER

“With the duo nothing is rushed and for that we should give thanks because those hushed melodies and intricate notes need time and space to breathe…”

[Read the entire review]

21st & IVY

“Their music is perfect for October, November, December or really any month. Give them a listen and be glad you did…”

[Read the entire review]

DAS KLIENICUM

Not exactly sure what this one says, as it’s in German, but from what we’ve heard it’s complimentary.

[Read the review]

LITO MUSIC

A nice review out of Spain.

[Read the review]

SCOTTISH FRICTION

“Very hushed, Belle & Sebastian/Shins type…”

[Read the entire review]

THE VELVET RUT

[Read the review]

We were thrilled to be featured by the good folks at Newdust (out of Dallas, Austin, and D.C.).

[Read the interview here]

Very kind words from the Music Ninja in Florida.

“From the first time you are able to ride a bicycle without any help, to almost falling in love with someone that you just met, sometimes in life things just click and although you may not understand the why or the how, all questions become mute as the moment takes over and puts you in a different place and time. Equally, on a musical scale, this is how I felt when I listened to Adam and Darcie’s latest album “California Trail.”

[Read the full review and interview here]

CLUAS is Ireland’s “most trafficked music webzine… and the country’s longest running music website.”

We were more than happy to chat with Mark Townsend of CLUAS  for an interview coinciding with the release of California Trail.

[Read the interview here]

NPR

“The album has a charming, sentimental feel… the songwriting is mature unlike most sappy love songs that contain tired, cheesy lines.”

[Read the entire review here]

SLUG MAGAZINE

“Adam and Darcie = John and Yoko + that final song in Juno”

[Read the entire review here]

BRING ME UP

“The songs are fantastic, the craftsmanship between the duo is beautiful. It’s glorious music and I’m sure I will be obsessed with it for quite some time.”

[Read the entire review here]

CDREVIEWS.COM

“The biggest draw, and what sets Adam and Darcie apart from other groups with a similar sound, is the vocals. The couple’s voices complement each other so, well, naturally that they sound like a single, beautiful instrument. And, like other successful vocal-centric groups like Low or Ida, Adam and Darcie do not rely solely on pretty harmonies to carry their album. Instead, they lay a solid foundation with songcraft for which their celestial harmonies are the keystone.”

[Read the entire review here]

LITO MUSIC

“Al igual que ocurre con grupos como The Innocence Mission o The Sunday, sus canciones consiguen transmitir una increíble sensación de paz interior gracias a sus suaves melodías y a la dulce voz de su cantante Darcie”

[Read the entire review here]

DAS KLIENICUM

“Die beiden protagonisten aus provo, utah verstehen sich auf hingehuschtes, angedeutetes. ganz herrlich, wie harmonien schlieren ziehen und der hörer dem engelsgleichen gesang erliegt. eine stille popnote liegt dem anheim. und hat seele und befördert momente ungleicher schönheit.”

[Read the entire review here]