Formed in San Francisco in 2009 by Wooden Shijps guitarist Ripley Johnson and his partner, Sanae Yamada, Moon Duo have released two critically acclaimed EPs, Killing Time (2009) and Escape (2010), and now a debut album Mazes, recorded in San Francisco and mixed in Berlin during 2010 as the band prepared to move to the mountains of Colorado, and they’ve decided to tour Australia to celebrate.
Ripley says that, as a guitarist and songwriter, delineating between Moon Duo and Wooden Shijps “happens naturally. I focus on one project at a time, and the way the two bands operate is very different. And there are certain limitations that Moon Duo is forced to accept, not having a drummer for example, and I really like that. I like the creative challenge of working with limitations. Having done so much home recording cultivates that. Working with one other person is much different from working with four.”
“We wanted to do something in a more ‘rock ‘n’ roll band’ style, something a bit fuller than our previous recordings.” In terms of recording this meant that Moon Duo “used more tracks on this record, in order to get a denser, layered sound to make this our ‘rock band’ record. I grew up a huge Stones fan, so I’ve always liked that dense sound, with multiple guitar tracks, percussion, piano, organ – anything you can squeeze into the mix.”
Sound Summit presents
MOON DUO a Mazes tour Australia 2011
plus special guests
WED 28 SEPT – NORTHCOTE SOCIAL CLUB, Melbourne
plus special guests PETS WITH PETS and TIGER CHOIR
Tickets from www.northcotesocialclub.com, phone 94861677, Corner Box Office 57 Swan Street, Richmond and consume.oztix.com.au
THUR 29 SEPT – OXFORD ARTS FACTORY, Sydney
Plus special guests FABULOUS DIAMONDS
Tickets from www.moshtix.com.au, 1300 GET TIX (438 849), on your mobile www.moshtix.mobi moshtix outlets, consume.oztix.com.au and Oztix outlets.
FRI 30 SEPT – SOUND SUMMIT, Newcastle
Plus FABULOUS DIAMONDS, HORSE MACGYVER, COLLARBONES, SUPERSTAR & more
Tickets from www.soundsummt.com.au and www.moshtix.com.au
SAT 1 OCT – WOODLAND, Brisbane
Plus special guests TIGER CHOIR & SECRET BIRDS
Tickets from www.OzTix.com.au, 1300 762 545 consume.oztix.com.au and Oztix outlets.
New album MAZES out now on Sacred Bones
