In his classic book Mythologies, French thinker Roland Barthes criticizes plastic because it can be molded into anything—cheap, colorful surfaces open to infinite transformation. Contemporary pop is made of the same stuff, and Sam Gendel’s Advanced White Trash makes the case for what’s beautiful, even freeing, about it. The record sounds like something that was uploaded to SoundCloud at 3 a.m., a Roland Sound Canvas emulator buffering on a dying phone someone found in a Walmart parking lot, and still it comes out strangely appealing, almost hypnotic.
Category: Sam Gendel
Sam Gendel & Sam Wilkes :: Unrelated
On their fourth LP together, Unrelated, the West Coast duo trades saxophone and bass for synthesized textures, artificial tones, and strange tropical pulse. A wobbly set that ventures deeper into the Uncanny Valley.
Sam Gendel :: The Aquarium Drunkard Interview
We caught up with Sam Gendel to learn more about the spontaneous production of Satin Doll, his friendship with Louis Cole, touring with Ry Cooder, collaborating with indie rock veterans, and navigating his peculiar relationship with jazz.
Ambient Explorations: Cool Maritime / Sam Gendel
Cool Maritime is the work of Sean Hellfritsch. A modular synth composer, he is the spouse of fellow modern electronic pioneer Kaitlyn Aurelia Smith , and shares her sense of ambient adventure in crafting exploratory soundscapes that reach beyond the […]