A really gorgeous production; the real strings are predictably incredible, the harmonies are lush and crystal-clear, the synths amazingly glowing. Plus Morgan co-produced it, so there is a lot of of Metro Area DNA in the rhythm tracks.
Definitely one of the best sounding records I've heard all year (and the tracks are great too.)
― Michael F Gill (Michael F Gill), Tuesday, 30 August 2005 09:39 (eighteen years ago) link
― Andy_K (Andy_K), Tuesday, 30 August 2005 10:29 (eighteen years ago) link
I can't get over how good the record sounds. I'm wondering if this was years in the making.
― Michael F Gill (Michael F Gill), Tuesday, 30 August 2005 10:54 (eighteen years ago) link
does anyone have the other 12"s on Environ digitized? are they for sale as MP3's anywhere? YSI/Gmail requests implied.
― biz, Tuesday, 30 August 2005 14:21 (eighteen years ago) link
― jeffery (jeffery), Tuesday, 30 August 2005 18:00 (eighteen years ago) link
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.
― tricky (disco stu), Tuesday, 30 August 2005 19:32 (eighteen years ago) link
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?
― hartong, Tuesday, 30 August 2005 21:24 (eighteen years ago) link
― Spencer Chow (spencermfi), Tuesday, 30 August 2005 21:26 (eighteen years ago) link
― tricky (disco stu), Tuesday, 30 August 2005 21:45 (eighteen years ago) link
― Kevin H (Kevin H), Wednesday, 31 August 2005 05:14 (eighteen years ago) link
― vahid (vahid), Wednesday, 31 August 2005 05:20 (eighteen years ago) link
― glenny g2003 (glenny g2003), Wednesday, 31 August 2005 09:27 (eighteen years ago) link
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.
― jeffery (jeffery), Wednesday, 7 September 2005 01:52 (eighteen years ago) link
― telephonething, away from main comp, etc, Wednesday, 7 September 2005 02:18 (eighteen years ago) link
what I heard of the Kelley Polar LP was astoundingly beautiful.
― Dan Selzer (Dan Selzer), Wednesday, 7 September 2005 03:12 (eighteen years ago) link
I started working on the album after the last 12', around last november, but a couple ofthe 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
― Kelley Polar, Wednesday, 7 September 2005 04:43 (eighteen years ago) link
― peter plasma, Friday, 30 September 2005 23:13 (eighteen years ago) link
― Spencer Chow (spencermfi), Friday, 30 September 2005 23:17 (eighteen years ago) link
― tricky (disco stu), Saturday, 1 October 2005 00:40 (eighteen years ago) link
― vahid (vahid), Tuesday, 11 October 2005 14:30 (eighteen years ago) link
― vahid (vahid), Tuesday, 11 October 2005 14:31 (eighteen years ago) link
― jaymc (jaymc), Tuesday, 11 October 2005 14:33 (eighteen years ago) link
Rhythm Touch is so perfect in every way. CAN'T. WAIT. FOR. ALBUM.
― jeffery (jeffery), Tuesday, 11 October 2005 14:58 (eighteen years ago) link
― tricky (disco stu), Tuesday, 11 October 2005 15:37 (eighteen years ago) link
― tricky (disco stu), Tuesday, 11 October 2005 15:39 (eighteen years ago) link
"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
― Andy_K (Andy_K), Tuesday, 11 October 2005 16:17 (eighteen years ago) link
― biz, Tuesday, 11 October 2005 16:21 (eighteen years ago) link
xp
― tricky (disco stu), Tuesday, 11 October 2005 16:24 (eighteen years ago) link
― tricky (disco stu), Tuesday, 11 October 2005 16:28 (eighteen years ago) link
― jed_ (jed), Tuesday, 11 October 2005 18:40 (eighteen years ago) link
― Spencer Chow (spencermfi), Tuesday, 11 October 2005 19:05 (eighteen years ago) link
― Raw Patrick (Raw Patrick), Tuesday, 11 October 2005 20:16 (eighteen years ago) link
― Spencer Chow (spencermfi), Tuesday, 11 October 2005 20:16 (eighteen years ago) link
Soz Kelly, looking forward to the LP though.
(x-post)
― Raw Patrick (Raw Patrick), Tuesday, 11 October 2005 20:17 (eighteen years ago) link
― mark p (Mark P), Tuesday, 11 October 2005 21:44 (eighteen years ago) link
― Dan Selzer (Dan Selzer), Wednesday, 12 October 2005 06:13 (eighteen years ago) link
― heywood jablomi (heywood), Wednesday, 12 October 2005 06:16 (eighteen years ago) link
― etc IS micro-drexciya, Wednesday, 12 October 2005 14:35 (eighteen years ago) link
― etc, Wednesday, 12 October 2005 14:38 (eighteen years ago) link
― telephone thing, Sunday, 16 October 2005 16:35 (eighteen years ago) link
― Kevin H (Kevin H), Sunday, 16 October 2005 17:02 (eighteen years ago) link
― Kevin H (Kevin H), Sunday, 16 October 2005 21:19 (eighteen years ago) link
― Michael F Gill (Michael F Gill), Monday, 17 October 2005 03:13 (eighteen years ago) link
― jaymc (jaymc), Monday, 17 October 2005 03:17 (eighteen years ago) link
― Michael F Gill (Michael F Gill), Monday, 17 October 2005 03:17 (eighteen years ago) link
― jaymc (jaymc), Monday, 17 October 2005 03:30 (eighteen years ago) link
― Dan Selzer (Dan Selzer), Monday, 17 October 2005 03:47 (eighteen years ago) link
― manuel (manuel), Monday, 17 October 2005 03:54 (eighteen years ago) link
I will expect all of you to call Bjork "Ms. Gudmumdsdottir" now.
― Michael F Gill (Michael F Gill), Monday, 17 October 2005 05:14 (eighteen years ago) link
― Dan Selzer (Dan Selzer), Monday, 17 October 2005 06:18 (eighteen years ago) link
yay!
― psychedelicatessen (seandalai), Saturday, 1 October 2011 17:17 (twelve years ago) link
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?
― owenf, Saturday, 1 October 2011 17:27 (twelve years ago) link
ah yes it was on this thread. Idiot
― owenf, Saturday, 1 October 2011 17:36 (twelve years ago) link
ah, i just asked on my twitter like 2 days ago what happened to this dude
― Ford Cumlord (The Reverend), Saturday, 1 October 2011 19:03 (twelve years ago) link
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
― kelpolaris, Saturday, 1 October 2011 20:00 (twelve years ago) link
any idea on a release date for the new one?
― bakumastah, Sunday, 2 October 2011 11:29 (twelve years ago) link
single is on the 18th. Not sure about the album.
― owenf, Sunday, 2 October 2011 12:01 (twelve years ago) link
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!
― brotherlovesdub, Tuesday, 11 October 2011 17:19 (twelve years ago) link
Yay!
― skip, Tuesday, 11 October 2011 17:26 (twelve years ago) link
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.
― skip, Tuesday, 11 October 2011 17:27 (twelve years ago) link
Kelley rather
― skip, Tuesday, 11 October 2011 17:28 (twelve years ago) link
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
― bakumastah, Wednesday, 12 October 2011 20:31 (twelve years ago) link
I'm Not What You Want could go on for about 5 more minutes after it ends, imo.
― brotherlovesdub, Wednesday, 12 October 2011 20:46 (twelve years ago) link
very cool album cover.
― skip, Thursday, 13 October 2011 04:11 (twelve years ago) link
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.
― misty sensorium (Plasmon), Thursday, 13 October 2011 05:00 (twelve years ago) link
album is a ways off, I think.
new Storm Queen coming next from Environ, though!!
― mikebee (BATTAGS), Thursday, 13 October 2011 22:20 (twelve years ago) link
Anyone heard anything re: the album that "I'm Not What You Want" et al would seem to belong to?
― etc, Sunday, 13 January 2013 11:14 (eleven years ago) link
KP pops up on the Tuff City Kids album
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F_4MVBJiLNs
― nashwan, Monday, 12 December 2016 20:27 (seven years ago) link
oh cool.. love tuff city kids
― Lennon, Elvis, Hendrix etc (dog latin), Monday, 12 December 2016 21:16 (seven years ago) link
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.
― Moka, Monday, 12 December 2016 22:11 (seven years ago) link
same. really overlooked album
― Lennon, Elvis, Hendrix etc (dog latin), Monday, 12 December 2016 22:38 (seven years ago) link
that Tuff City Kids album is excellent, I love that one and I love the one with Annie
― boxedjoy, Friday, 16 December 2016 22:31 (seven years ago) link
on spotify now
― ||||||||, Tuesday, 31 October 2017 08:26 (six years ago) link
YESSSSSSSS!
― Shat Parp (dog latin), Tuesday, 31 October 2017 09:53 (six years ago) link
This really is the most overlooked album of the 2000s right?
― Shat Parp (dog latin), Tuesday, 31 October 2017 09:54 (six years ago) link
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?
― etc, Wednesday, 29 November 2017 05:10 (six years ago) link
So I only heard Love Songs of the Hanging Gardens for the first time this weekend. It's really good, isn't it?
― Hey Bob (Scik Mouthy), Wednesday, 6 December 2017 15:28 (six years ago) link
yes it is! very happy ILM turned me on to that record, I found it in a thrift store
― sleeve, Wednesday, 6 December 2017 15:29 (six years ago) link
Is the second album good?
― Hey Bob (Scik Mouthy), Wednesday, 6 December 2017 15:38 (six years ago) link
Oh yes
― willem, Wednesday, 6 December 2017 15:47 (six years ago) link
You should check out the pre-lp singles as well, they are totally lush and funky
― brimstead, Wednesday, 6 December 2017 18:25 (six years ago) link
these?
https://www.discogs.com/artist/51228-Kelley-Polar-Quartet
I don't see any under his solo name
― sleeve, Wednesday, 6 December 2017 18:30 (six years ago) link
Those are the ones, yep - I sometimes think "The Rhythm Touch" is the best thing he's put his hand to.
― etc, Wednesday, 6 December 2017 21:11 (six years ago) link
yep!!
― brimstead, Wednesday, 6 December 2017 22:07 (six years ago) link
i like the second even more!
― Susan Stranglehands (jed_), Wednesday, 6 December 2017 22:13 (six years ago) link
For your FYIs, this album still rules
― Specific Ocean Blue (dog latin), Wednesday, 11 November 2020 01:19 (three years ago) link
Great album, also LOL at this thread.
― Tim F, Wednesday, 11 November 2020 07:02 (three years ago) link
Really good album, this. Fifteen years! Christ.
I misread the opening post as "Piers Morgan co-produced it".
― does it look like i'm here (jon123), Wednesday, 11 November 2020 10:33 (three years ago) link
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“
― I am using your worlds, Friday, 13 November 2020 18:17 (three years ago) link
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.
― healthy cocaine off perfect butts (the table is the table), Saturday, 14 November 2020 21:25 (three years ago) link
New Kelley Polar (kinda)!!!!!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pJwMsagWPlc
https://cityslang.com/artists/au-suisse
― etc, Thursday, 2 June 2022 00:46 (one year ago) link
!!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.
― willem, Thursday, 2 June 2022 06:29 (one year ago) link
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.
― broccoli rabe thomas (the table is the table), Tuesday, 7 June 2022 00:59 (one year ago) link
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.
― brotherlovesdub, Tuesday, 7 June 2022 20:47 (one year ago) link
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?
― anza808, Monday, 22 August 2022 01:49 (one year ago) link
I am now!
― thinkmanship (sleeve), Monday, 22 August 2022 01:54 (one year ago) link
https://ausuisse.bandcamp.com/album/au-suisse
― thinkmanship (sleeve), Monday, 22 August 2022 01:55 (one year ago) link
Excellent album!!!
― Tim F, Monday, 22 August 2022 09:23 (one year ago) link
yessss so pleased this exists
― nashwan, Monday, 12 September 2022 13:35 (one year ago) link