Musicians Ben Borden and David Ertel, better known as Solar Year, have spent the last year traversing the continent with their ethereal, experimental music. Originally hailing from Montreal, the duo has split the last six months between Los Angeles and New York, with their eyes turned toward more touring in the spring. We reunited with Solar Year in Los Angeles, after they debuted some of their first recordings in Montreal through a sound system installed in an Olympic-sized pool, so swimmers could hear the music underwater.
Their first single, "Brotherhood," also released this past summer, features the vocal stylings of their good friend Grimes, with Emily Kai Bock (another Grimes collaborator who helmed the video for “Oblivion”) directing the accompanying video. In the fall, they performed at Ad Hoc's CMJ showcase with OC favorites Le1f, Physical Therapy, and Mykki Blanco, and shared bills in New York and Montreal with Majical Cloudz, Tim Hecker, and oOoOO. This winter, they have set their course for Europe, with a string of performances in Antwerp, London, Paris, Berlin, and Prague.
With their OC mixtape, Solar Year have created the perfect mid-winter playlist––a sprawling sonic landscape of electronica that ranges from the stuttering opening of Orbital's "Beached" (pulled straight from the DiCaprio film), to the lilting melody of Lydia's "Candle," to the apocalyptic churning of Synergy's "Disruption in World Communications." Nestled in the mix is their upcoming debut album's first single, "Night and Day," a spirited but restrained piece which first saw release in December through No Fear of Pop's Stratosfear Records.
Before he trekked to Europe, we caught up with David to talk about their origins, their music, and what lies ahead.
OC Mixtape #32: Solar Year by OpeningCeremony
Tracklist:
Angelo Badalamenti feat. Orbital – Beached
Meredith Monk – Untitled
Blue Hawaii – In Two
Solar Year – Night and Day
Lydia – Candle
Current 93 – The Beautiful Dancing Dust (Matmos remix)
Interlude
Juno Reactor – Hulelam
Synergy – Disruption in World Communications
Prodigy – Full Throttle
Alpha Phase – Global Communication (Solar Year remix)
Noah Adler: So when did you two first meet?
Solar Year: Our friend Agor (Blue Hawaii) hooked us up. Ben was looking to d
Their first single, "Brotherhood," also released this past summer, features the vocal stylings of their good friend Grimes, with Emily Kai Bock (another Grimes collaborator who helmed the video for “Oblivion”) directing the accompanying video. In the fall, they performed at Ad Hoc's CMJ showcase with OC favorites Le1f, Physical Therapy, and Mykki Blanco, and shared bills in New York and Montreal with Majical Cloudz, Tim Hecker, and oOoOO. This winter, they have set their course for Europe, with a string of performances in Antwerp, London, Paris, Berlin, and Prague.
With their OC mixtape, Solar Year have created the perfect mid-winter playlist––a sprawling sonic landscape of electronica that ranges from the stuttering opening of Orbital's "Beached" (pulled straight from the DiCaprio film), to the lilting melody of Lydia's "Candle," to the apocalyptic churning of Synergy's "Disruption in World Communications." Nestled in the mix is their upcoming debut album's first single, "Night and Day," a spirited but restrained piece which first saw release in December through No Fear of Pop's Stratosfear Records.
Before he trekked to Europe, we caught up with David to talk about their origins, their music, and what lies ahead.
OC Mixtape #32: Solar Year by OpeningCeremony
Tracklist:
Angelo Badalamenti feat. Orbital – Beached
Meredith Monk – Untitled
Blue Hawaii – In Two
Solar Year – Night and Day
Lydia – Candle
Current 93 – The Beautiful Dancing Dust (Matmos remix)
Interlude
Juno Reactor – Hulelam
Synergy – Disruption in World Communications
Prodigy – Full Throttle
Alpha Phase – Global Communication (Solar Year remix)
Noah Adler: So when did you two first meet?
Solar Year: Our friend Agor (Blue Hawaii) hooked us up. Ben was looking to d