Chicago based project The Field Auxiliary is an eclectic blend of the creative process, offering a sound that is both accessible and experimental. Evolved from the solo work of member Dan Smart and his life long obsession of “taking simple structure and kind of cracking them open to let a little bit of the oddness out.” the group became what it is today after the break of up Smart’s band, and his decision to explore this previously solo interest with accompaniment. Their first record, The Mass Ordinary or Don’t Come Unwound Windwaker, began in 2008 as a solo record to be later finished during the summer of 2009, and will be released within the next month. Having joined Smart in his creative endeavor are a number of Chicago musicians from such projects as The Redwalls, Brighton MA, and active Chicago band This is Cinema.
The music of The Field Auxiliary is perfectly explained by Smart in his description of their musical vision. These songs that glean certain characteristics of groups we love, but also add unexpected elements bring a refreshing sound to the Chicago music scene. From light indie/pop, to suspended synth, all the way over to abrasive and vocally slacked grit, The Field Auxiliary explores and splices a variety of styles, creating music that is not to be missed. The band prides itself on their “intensive live performances, in which songs and pieces are consistently re-imagined with an eclectic mix of guitars, synthesizers,drums, electronics, samples, and loops.
The result is a visceral and determinedly human music in layers; sometimes disarming, sometimes challenging, never perfect, always changing.” An ambitious and obviously focused project, Reviewsic applauds The Field Auxiliary on what they’ve created. Put simply and honestly, about their work the band offers the statement, “We are The Field Auxiliary, and we are trying.”
Listen to The Field Auxiliary on Myspace
Telegram Sam had the chance to speak with The Field Auxiliary about their upcoming show at the Beat Kitchen, musical preferences, what’s to come in 2010.
T.S: Where does the Beat Kitchen rank on your list of venues to play?
The Field Auxiliary: BK is always a pleasure to play. The room is always friendly and the stage is quite comfortable. It’s somewhat spacious, which in our case is very helpful, as we use a lot of different rigs at our shows these days.
T.S: What are your top three musical influences as a band?
T.F.A: The sound of the band really changes almost seasonally; it’s a very fluid project. Currently there are two pretty odd ends of the musical spectrum that are somehow both fighting it out in our sound and performance: 90′s Grunge/Art Rock vs.Vintage/modern Noise/Psychedelia. Think The Pixies, Sonic Youth, Nirvana, and Deerhunter type moments tangled up with Flaming Lips, Animal Collective, Grandaddy, Terry Riley, and Pepper/Magical Mystery Tour era Beatles (the key phrase being ‘tangled up’).
T.S: Any big plans for 2010?
T.F.A: We just hope to get out more and play more shows, put out our current record, and being work on a new one. Our goals are pretty uniformly to 1: Keep making records and creating new music and 2: To share this stuff with as many people as possible. These are things that we are compelled to do. Not sure why.
T.S: Last album you bought/listened to?
T.F.A: Some of our recent purchases and/or listens: Sonic Youth “Experimental Jet Set Trash and No Atar”; Flaming Lips/White Dwarfs “Dark Side of the Moon”; Philip Glass “Glassworks”; Burning Airlines “Identikit”; Dana Hall “Into the Light”; Atlas Sound “Logos”; Pixies “Come on Pilgrim,” U of I Gamelon Ensemble Recordings
The Field Auxiliary will be at The Beat Kitchen this Saturday, January 16th along with:
Joie De Vivre Empire Empire Mountains for Clouds
Doors at : 8:30pm Show: 9pm $8 Advanced, $10 at the door 17+
January 18, 2010 at 11:16 pm |
[...] more recently, Ben plays guitar alongside friend Dan Smart in The Field Auxiliary (You can read our interview with The Field Auxiliary here, and a review of their recent show here), teams again with Theo and Mark Trecka from Pillars and [...]
January 17, 2010 at 2:10 pm |
[...] The Field Auxiliary was by far the stand outs of the night, a title well earned among such a great collection of bands. Delivering a full bodied sound, with loops interlocking each song in the set, the band created a fluid yet fractured sound that we could not pull ourselves away from. Not one time during this set did we think “Is this their last song?” while shifting from one aching foot to another, as so often happens when a band plays in the later hour of a show. While we have been previously taken by the recordings the band has to offer, we were unprepared for the assault of sound we heard on the Beat Kitchen’s stage. With as wide a range of sound as their bio promises, The Field Auxiliary shined towards the likes of Silverchair, Failure, Deerhunter, and many more. Truly a sound of controlled chaos, we were pleasantly surprised at just how enveloping their set was, not only musically but as a performance. There was some serious duende coming from frontman Dan Smart, who was entirely arresting without show boating, absolutely playing for the music he was making and not the crowd. We’d also like to note the sheer joy we felt watching bass player Jon Ozaksut enjoy himself- nothing makes a performance better than seeing someone truly happy to be playing music. Overall: a great performance from a band we are quickly growing to love. (Check out The Field Auxiliary’s interview with us here) [...]