On his most recent album The Wall To Wall Sessions Brooklynite/Chicagoan Chris Mills makes the kind of epic timeless orchestral pop music that mixes the classics like George Gershwin and Cole Porter with the modern edge of bands like Neutral Milk Hotel, The Old '97's, and even The Flaming Lips.
According to Mills' website, "He and his 17-piece ‘Chicago indie rock big band’ rehearsed and recorded an album in two-and-a-half days, performing live while simultaneously mixing to a two-track tape machine, putting to use the studio’s orchestra pit and 30-foot ceilings. There were no overdubs, including the vocal tracks.
A truly remarkable feat in today's world of Pro Tools, auto-tuned vocals, and overdubbed "live" recordings. In fact, all the songs were recorded in five takes or less.
With an impressive list of guest musicians in his band including Dave Max Crawford (brass, Poi Dog Pondering, Sea and Cake), Susan Voelz (violin, Giant Sand), Fred Lonberg-Holm (cello, Wilco), Patrick Newberry (horns, Head of Femur), and about a dozen others, Chris created what has to be one of the most enjoyable and downright great records I've heard recently.
Chris said, "That’s what I really love about this record. It is as it was, just a band - a large band - all playing together in one room. Moving together and feeding off each other. We made a record in a way that most records haven’t been made for forty years."
Highly recommended, The Wall To Wall Sessions is out now on Powerless Pop Recorders.
MP3 | Chris Mills - A Farewell To Arms The Wall To Wall Sessions
MP3 | Chris Mills - Escape From New York The Wall To Wall Sessions
2 Comments ↓
diggin this one! i have a couple of tunes of his up right now as well.
three freakin' lines...three lines!!
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