But it takes a village to put on a show, especially the memorable experiences that Maribou State create. For the latest tour, which closed out this Saturday at Toronto’s Danforth Music Hall, the duo has been touring with two singers, a drummer, and a percussionist/bass player, in addition to the a dedicated opener Sea Moya. However no band member just does one thing, the stage experience is visibly collaborative and deeply rooted in the tight-knit, family-like bond that the tour crew has developed.

Sea Moya, a German psychedelic electronica trio, were first on, two shiny silver banners framing the stage with the band’s name spelled out in feathery white boas. The band’s members, David Schnitzler (vocals), Elias Foerster (bass, keys, vocals), and Tilman Ruetz (drums), are all very energetic. From the first few drum beats the crowd knew they were in for a treat. Elias Foerster (kind of looking like a ’70s boy scout) after playing a spacey opening on the keyboards proceeded to dance with his guitar and it was the best thing I have seen in a very long time.

Sea Moya are inspired by a wide range of unexpected influences and play a mix of kraut beat, afrobeat, and electronic music. Their recent album, Falmenta, was recorded in complete isolation in the Italian Alps and is very much a collaborative effort. Live on stage, this unity is obvious through their performance as David and Elias take turns singing, telling stories, and commenting on how “beautiful” the audience is. As a part of their introduction, Schnitzler talked about being on tour with Maribou State and what an incredible experience it has been, this sentimental end of the tour feeling became a theme for the night.

“This next song is a sexy song,” David announced, pointing out the dark corners of the room which the listeners should take advantage of, “It’s called ‘Bedroom’.” The sexy song was followed by a new song, “Jungle,” and then came this incredibly odd monologue: “Touch your phone, wherever it is, just find it and touch it. How does it feel? Do you like it, do you like it, do you like it,” Elias’ voice faded briefly before he went on describing a somewhat psychedelic experience. On record Sea Moya’s music is reminiscent of Tame Impala or Toro Y Moi, but live, it is something else – it’s a much more engaging, fast-paced, interactive experience that travels you to the tie-dye colored corners of the universe.

At one point, Maribou State’s percussionist, barefoot and all, came out on stage to play a song with the band, a song that ended with everyone hugging, individually and as a group, the emotions shared between band members and the continuing conversation about how truly wonderful this tour has been, by Maribou State as well, created (I am certain not just for me) a desire to travel back in time, join the tour crew, wear matching sweaters, and be one of the tour-family members with this fantastically friendly group of people.

Shortly after 9 pm Maribou State casually strolled out on stage to the screeching cheers of the audience. On the second track, Liam invited out the singer, songwriter, and multi-instrumentalist Obi Franky, who throughout the show performed all Holly Walker’s vocals. Chris and Liam were set up opposing each other, drawing on one another’s energy. For the better half of the show, Chris was playing guitar, while Liam was telling stories, reflecting back on the tour, and on occasion turning around to face the drummer and assisting him on percussions.

To quote Mixmag Maribou State have a way of “capturing the euphoric warmth of the dancefloor,” creating a textured, atmospheric musical experience that invites the audience in. Throughout the set, the duo went back-and-forth between tracks from Kingdoms In Colour and Portraits (2015) including songs like “Steal” and “Beginner’s Luck.” Obi Franky’s renditions of “Wallflower,” “Midas,” and “Nervous Tics” were a spectacular display of voice and stage presence that the front row of the room went crazy for. Another surprise for the evening was the North Downs, who joined Maribou State and Obi on stage for “Kingdom,” dancing and adding his own flavor of hand-held percussion to the track.

For the last song Obi, who has now shed her shiny stilettos, came out to sing “The Clown” (originally performed by Pedestrian). This highly energetic take on the song (see second video teaser) vividly brought to life by the entire stage collective, served as a precursor for the one track encore – “Turnmills” – which ended this very epic Maribou State tour.

The post Maribou State and Sea Moya sentimentally wrapping up their tour at the Danforth Music Hall appeared first on Quip Magazine.

Projections is one of the early 2015 releases (02/23) but even with the months gone by it’s an album that has a consistently growing number of plays in my iTunes. Romare (cover image) is influenced by Romare Bearden, a well-known cut’n’paste artist/collagist, and that influence comes through vividly in Projections. The album is subtly adventurous with atmospheric opening sounds, vivid vocal samples, heavy hooks, and full of surprises. Highlight tracks are “Lover Man,” “Motherless Child,” and “Work Song,” though the collection needs to be heard in order – at least the first time.

Lane 8 Rise

Lane 8 is known for his collaborative skills with both vocalists and other producers. Whether it’s a remix of a well-known ODESZA track or a Lane 8 original, his tracks have a certain je ne sais quoi. Rise is a great example of his multiple talents bringing together his signature instrumental sounds and the voices of Solomon Grey, Matthew Dear and Patrick Baker into a single journey. The record starts on a high note with “Loving You” and takes you on an emotional roller coaster with tracks like “Undercover” (give it time to grow on you) and “Hot As You Want.”

Maribou State Portraits

The debut album of Chris Davids and Liam Ivory, aka Maribou State, Portraits is like a box full of pleasant surprises. The album was released on Counter Records, a Ninja Tune imprint, and it is immediately clear why the label took interest in the duo: their sound is a combination of emotive instrumentation and clean rhythms with an occasional oriental influence and rich textures. Start this listen out of order with “Steal,” featuring Holly Walker.

Marcus Marr & Chet Faker Work EP

This four-track release came as a bit of a surprise. Marr and Faker bring the best out of each other – punchy dance beats and balanced, imprinting vocals. It’s hard to tell how many times I went through the EP, but I can shamelessly admit that “Birthday Card” was played on an aggressive repeat.

Yppah Tiny Pause

Yppah took a break, a fairly long break since his last record in 2012 (Eighty One) but the time lost was more than made up with his latest release, Tiny Pause. The album is an intimate collection of tracks built around his signature sound (a blend of electronic, psychedelic and rock influences). The tracks are a progression of sounds from chill background music like “Spider Hands” to faster songs that need to be heard loud, like “Bushmills.”

Until The Ribbon Breaks A Lesson Unlearnt

Having had just listened to the album on the day of the release, I had the pleasure of attending a UTRB show the night of it’s release. Since that night this trio holds a special place in my musical soul. Clean, emotional, at times political and surprisingly adventurous in their collaborations with Run the Jewels in “Revolution Indifference,” UTRB are what pop music should grow up to be.

Humans Noontide

Humans are one of those bands you probably know about because a friend insisted that you listen to “Ennio.” Or maybe you accidentally saw them at a festival, one of many they appeared at this year. Who knows, maybe you discovered them all on your own because you’re cool like that. However you learn about Humans you are likely to keep tabs on them in the future. The bottom line is that this BC duo are why local producers should not be overlooked – Noontide is an expertly produced, dramatic and memorable record that comes to life in full color during a live performance.

Bob Moses Days Gone By

Bob Moses dropped their debut album Days Gone By on September 18th, but by then their fan-base was already filling club venues around North America. This is a band that went from zero to a hundred in a year and undoubtedly will keep surprising the music industry in the future. Tom Howie and Jimmy Vallance bring together organic band sounds into an all-electronic production project fronted by a live guitar on tour.

Khai If You

Khai has been dropping tracks one at a time for a few months, each one repeat worthy so when the full EP came together in a single release as If You it was one to add to the favourites. Khai’s voice is calming and the music itself is very gentle, ethereal in a way, but don’t mistake if for background music – If You is an early party staple, something you can play before breaking into the two previously mentioned albums. 

Tora High Enough

Another full release from Australia, Tora make lush, lyrical electronic music. At times giving way to vocals without any musical accompaniment, the band is playful and adventurous with their mixes. This is easily the year’s most overlooked release.

The post Editor’s pick: 10 best albums of 2015 appeared first on Quip Magazine.

The band has been on tour since February and on April 16th they will begin their journey through North America with seven stops in Canada and United States.

We had a chance to chat with the duo about the beginning, future, and being on road among other things. Read on to get to know Maribou State before seeing them in a venue near you.

Kateryna Topol: You two have known each other growing up but didn’t really start working together, or talking to each other I hear, til college, how did the collaboration come together after all these years?

Maribou State: We both went to school together but never really saw eye to eye. We were both in different bands at school but eventually had to join forces due to lack of players at the school. We carried on working with the band through university and when that all came to an end we started Maribou.

KT: I’ve also read that Chris sawed through your studio desk when you built it  – you built your own studio desk, with a chainsaw? Is that a side hobby, making furniture? 

MS: Needs must. Between our fathers and us we built our own studio. I wouldn’t say it’s a hobby though. Chris was adamant we needed to shorten one of the desks to make a perfect fit with the keyboard it housed, a week or so later we bought a new bigger keyboard, the desk had to be reattached.

KT:  Ok let’s talk about the upcoming LP, was there a particular inspiration behind Portraits?

MS: We pull inspiration from a number of places, the music we listen to, the music we play when we DJ, the instruments we use and even the area that we live in. There’s no definite process that we follow. Each track was started and finished in a different way to the next. It’s the way we’ve always worked; it can be very spontaneous which either ends up with quick results or days on end getting nowhere.

KT: There are a few collaborations on the album, how did you decide on who to work with? 

MS: The two main collaborations on the LP are with our good friend Jack (Pedestrian) and the singer-songwriter Holly Walker. We’ve always worked closely with Jack, ever since becoming friends a couple of years ago and Holly featured on one of our earlier singles, so it made sense to write some more music together for the album. She’s also part of the live band. Since signing to Counter the opportunity arose to work with Jono McCleery, another act on the label. We’ve always been big fans of Jono and was really grateful to have him feature on one of the tracks.

KT: If you could work with anyone, dead or alive, who would it be and what would you make? 

MS: Not quite sure how the results would sound but Ravi Shankar and Enya would be high on the list.

KT: How has the tour been so far and what are you most looking forward to on the road in the next few months? 

MS: We both love coming over to America, I think we’re probably both most excited about where we’re going to eat. We’re both big foodies and there’s no shortage of good places to eat in the US! Plus this time around we’re really looking forward to getting stuck into some record stores whilst we’re over.

KT: Do your live shows tend to turn into crazy dance parties? 

MS: The craziest…

KT: Do you take time off to explore when touring? 

MS: We always try and find time to explore the city we’re in. We’re definitely not the kind of people to hide in the hotel waiting for the show. We’re always open to recommendations and usually spend most of our time wandering around town.

KT: Can you think of one highlight from your career so far?

MS: We just played our first live show in London, with our new band. It’s something we’ve been working towards for some time and it feels pretty special to know that we pulled it off.

KT: Nice! Where do you see yourself next year this time? What about three years? 

MS: Hopefully next year we’ll either be out on the road with our band or in the studio working on the next album. Considering how fast things have changed over the last three years I couldn’t’ possibly say what’s going to be happening in the next three years.

Photo by William Cooper Mitchel

The post Interview: Maribou State are here to eat and play appeared first on Quip Magazine.