Kelley Polar - Love Songs of The Hanging Gardens (Environ CD05)

I can't get over how good the record sounds. I'm wondering if this was years in the making.

does anyone have the other 12"s on Environ digitized? are they for sale as MP3's anywhere? YSI/Gmail requests implied.

i started listing great metro area tracks and then stopped when i got to five realizing how silly it was.

i love that the quartet is one dude.

sure, some creative googling would answer it for me, but.. If I want to listen to Metro Area on my turntable, do I have to buy all the 12"s? Cos I would much rather get them all together in one package, like that CD they did two years back. Does that exist?

The Metro Area CD compilation/album you mention was also issued on vinyl and should be available on Gemm or whatever. You miss a few tracks from the singles though.

I really wish Environ would start selling high quality downloads through Beatport or Bleep or whatever; I'd buy most of the catalog in a heartbeat.

what I heard of the Kelley Polar LP was astoundingly beautiful.

I started working on the album after the last 12', around last november, but a couple of
the tracks (including the one that seems to be most popular) were previous attempts at dance tracks that were deemed too odd for the floor....as you can imagine Mr. Geist's quality control is high and the bleached bones of many an attempt were littering the morose grey bit-dunes of my audio drive...so those gave it a bit of a jumpstart but basically we just busted ass..this is still all rather new for me, but I'm fairly efficient at least with being able to do the arrangements and play/record everything in...wish I could play drums, I've put a set in another one of the old shacks in the woods, it's going to be one of my winter projects...early on Morgan did turn me on to the Junior Boys CD which I liked alot, I wish I could sing as "sexy" as that dude, but it doesn't really work for me-- the product of 20 years of classical-music repression...but perhaps like him (and Erlend) singing is way more possible for me at soft volumes, I can kind of twist my body into some kind of shape where the notes will come out...anyway thanks, here's hoping it doesn't get too bootlegged and shared around and does alright so my environ exploits will continue to be subsidized. Advance twelve of a Moroder-y track and the abovementioned one that people are liking (with lyrics that were originally copped from an old star wars comic book circa 1983 and then got slightly changed because they were just a little too over the top homoerotic) should be out soon, and the CD in november. Also, I thought I remembered MG saying that the whole MA catalogue got put into iTunes....but maybe that's just the CD... -kp

oh p.s. thanx again D. Selzer for helping me with listening research

Rhythm Touch is so perfect in every way. CAN'T. WAIT. FOR. ALBUM.

"Zeffirelli's Romeo & Juliet as scored by the Free Design, Martin Rushent and Klein & MBO. Orchestra pit meets dance floor, bedroom meets... hanging garden."

"Baroque new wave melts into orchestral-synthetic post-disco, songwriting procreates with production."

"John joins Richard and Karen in the Carpenters."

"Like Bobby 'O' plus real strings, albeit neither as gay nor as homophobic."

"Wistful... heartache... party/celebratory!"

"Shiver me timbers! Kelley Polar is BRRR-illiant!" -- Jean Shallot, Carrots & Beats Monthly

xp

Soz Kelly, looking forward to the LP though.

(x-post)

I will expect all of you to call Bjork "Ms. Gudmumdsdottir" now.

yay!

also features vocals from Jeremy Greenspan of the Junior Boys

wasn't it on ILX that Kelley mentioned the sexy vocals of Junior Boys were what he was attempting to emulate. Or am I making that up?

ah yes it was on this thread. Idiot

ah, i just asked on my twitter like 2 days ago what happened to this dude

there was some guy a year back who used my name as an ilxian pun on kelley polar and it wasn't til i saw this thread that i realized that he wasn't stretching the joke out

any idea on a release date for the new one?

single is on the 18th. Not sure about the album.

Excited for this. Really enjoying the Hasta La Verdad single he did the strings on for Javiera Mena. Metro Area are playing Seattle this month too. Revive Environ!

Yay!

Had no idea he did the strings on Hasta La Verdad, which is one of my favorite tracks of 2010. Not surprising now that I think about it.

Discovered this guy at a Junior Boys concert where he was one of the opening acts. Junior Boys ended up not being able to go on because of technical issues but Polar kicked ass.

Kelley rather

you check both new KP songs on youtube. at least for now.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Jx0rM3qZcP4

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YFv4p4JnKqU

I'm Not What You Want could go on for about 5 more minutes after it ends, imo.

very cool album cover.

Love Nocturne! Off kilter rubberband funk bass vs crisp little beat -- just like Tyurangalilia (opening minute of that is peak Polar imo). Full of lovely details. On repeat.

album is a ways off, I think.

new Storm Queen coming next from Environ, though!!

Anyone heard anything re: the album that "I'm Not What You Want" et al would seem to belong to?

KP pops up on the Tuff City Kids album

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F_4MVBJiLNs

oh cool.. love tuff city kids

This needs to be added to spotify asap. It's one of my favorite album of the 00's and I'm too lazy to add it manually to my phone.

same. really overlooked album

that Tuff City Kids album is excellent, I love that one and I love the one with Annie

on spotify now

YESSSSSSSS!

This really is the most overlooked album of the 2000s right?

Similar to Metro Area, Environ have followed up the Spotify release of his stuff by getting him to make an "Unessentials" mix:

https://open.spotify.com/user/1ladebrp90r5dy2lf2mck5vug/playlist/4h24VpZFwzqoMPA0HbFCus

First time he's updated the FB page in five years; fingers crossed for something new, eh?

So I only heard Love Songs of the Hanging Gardens for the first time this weekend. It's really good, isn't it?

yes it is! very happy ILM turned me on to that record, I found it in a thrift store

Is the second album good?

Oh yes

You should check out the pre-lp singles as well, they are totally lush and funky

these?

https://www.discogs.com/artist/51228-Kelley-Polar-Quartet

I don't see any under his solo name

Those are the ones, yep - I sometimes think "The Rhythm Touch" is the best thing he's put his hand to.

yep!!

i like the second even more!

For your FYIs, this album still rules

Great album, also LOL at this thread.

Really good album, this. Fifteen years! Christ.

I misread the opening post as "Piers Morgan co-produced it".

I had no idea that 15 years ago Kelley was an ILXor

And I am delighted to learn that he used “lyrics that were originally copped from an old star wars comic book circa 1983 and then got slightly changed because they were just a little too over the top homoerotic“

Disappointed that this revive wasn’t about a forthcoming release though

I saw this and be still my heart, I also thought a new release was forthcoming.

New Kelley Polar (kinda)!!!!!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pJwMsagWPlc

https://cityslang.com/artists/au-suisse

!!
That's a lovely bio/interview. Never knew that Polar is related to Russom! Songs are great, "Savage" does indeed remind me of The System. Looking forward to the album.

Cool!

I went record shopping with Geist once the night after he did a DJ set, and got a truly great K2 Edit 12" which is apparently somewhat sought after. He was great to talk to, and pointed me toward some neat things.

Kelley Polar could use a compilation / box set for various bits and pieces. The Quartet 12”s are really good and would make a nice 2LP collection. Think the last two albums didn’t get vinyl releases at all. Had to get 2 janky promos for the Love Songs tracks.

in a lovely twist of fate this weekend i heard a dj play “The Rooms In My House Have Many Parties” at a club night — and then spent a plane ride listening to the Au Suisse album, which came out Friday. It’s amazing! Anyone listening?

I am now!

https://ausuisse.bandcamp.com/album/au-suisse

Excellent album!!!

yessss so pleased this exists