Eric breaks down some of the inspiration and meaning behind the songs on his steam gathering The Friend Is This Animal LP over at excellent site Indie Rock Reviews. These kinds of pieces can often be a bit boring and predictable (ie VH1 storytellers) but Eric manages to tie his world travels, academic and intellectual perspectives and unassuming musical and personal stories into something interesting, erudite and never trite. Of track “There’s So Much” he says “One night, I was walking home through Nezu, my neighborhood in Tokyo, and it suddenly struck me that there was some kind of odd, almost rhythmic logic to the world, and that it could be seen in the layout of the streets of that grand city, Tokyo. Not just the street grid, but the geometry of the streets, little square houses and tiny, plant-lined walkways of Nezu, as well as the topology between specific points that I knew and loved in the city: the public bathhouse, the big stone staircase in Ueno Koen, a gyoza shop in Ueno Station, the pond in Yoyogi Koen, the little French bistro down the street from Grapefruit Moon, the hilly street in Kamakura where Jack and Chie live, a karaoke booth near Omote Sando where Kenzo and I sang Beatles songs, the laundry mat, the zoo, and the smell of tatami mats in the bedroom. All of this served as the germ of a song, and eventually connected with the snowy streets of Highland Park, New Jersey…”. Read the rest here.
Posts Tagged ‘the friend is this animal’
Eric Lyrically Speaking “The Friend…”
Sunday, October 16th, 2011‘The Friend Is This Animal’ full stream
Sunday, July 31st, 2011Only two weeks or so away from our wandering troubadour/scholar Eric Sarmiento’s phenomenal new album The Friend Is This Animalhits the shelves. This is a real full album lovers album so we have the whole thing streaming here, for your enjoyment. Dive in!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
The Friend CDs
Wednesday, July 27th, 2011Here’s some photos of Eric’s forthcoming The Friend Is This Animal limited edition cd. Pre order here.
The Friend Is This Animal tapes
Sunday, July 24th, 2011Here’s some photos of Eric’s forthcoming The Friend Is This Animal. The tape (7$) and the cd (10$) are now up for pre order.
Eric Sarmiento ‘The Friend is This Animal’ out August 16th!
Saturday, June 18th, 2011We are tickled to death to announce the release of Eric’s awesome new record ‘The Friend Is This Animal’ on July 26th! Prepare yourself for this one now because it’s a beast of gargantuan proportions. From the beat driven, melodic rush of tracks like So She Says, Alejandra, and Strange Power to the deep and unearthly beauty of songs like Husbands and Wives, Awake, Dust and We Waited For Nothing, this album is something new, fresh and strikingly original. It touches upon the complexity of jazz or classical, while retaining the appeal and dressed in the garments of pop, electronics, R+B and rock and roll. Eric’s lyrics are similarly unique in their ability to express complex subjects, feelings, relationships and ideas in a way that is immediate but yields increasing depth over many repeat listens. Overall it seems to be something of a commentary on the state of the world here in the 21st century as seen through the eyes of the relationships between individuals and extending out from there to all things. It’s also kind of like a map telling you You Are Here.
Stay tuned for more details and goodies as we draw closer to the release. As usual it will be available in both limited edition cd (10$) and a c40 cassette (7$) as well as digitally. Here is the cover art and the track listing.
1. Alejandra
2. So She Says
3. Strange Power
4. Dust
5. There’s So Much
6. Bilumsman
7. These Little Winters
8. Sunset Burned The City Down
9. We Waited For Nothing
10. Husbands And Wives
11. Awake
Alchemist Video Series1: Eric Sarmiento
Sunday, May 8th, 2011Our next installment in the Alchemist Video Series1 is from Eric Sarmiento. He’s debuting a new track called ‘Awake’ from his weighty and brilliant next record ‘The Friend is This Animal’ which is coming soon. This intimate performance peels back some of the layers of the album version to reveal the jewel inside in skeletal form. In addition to this track he’s got a cool version of ‘Strange Power’ (which will incidentally also be on the new record) here. Enjoy.
