Pollens (band)

Pollens
Background information
Origin Seattle, WA, USA
Genres Indie Rock
Years active 2008-Present (2008-Present)
Labels Tapete Records
Associated acts Fleet Foxes
Throw Me the Statue
Pillar Point
Tomten
Kultur Shock
Blood Brothers
By Sunlight
La Luz (band)
The Cave Singers
Members Jeff Aaron Bryant
Hanna Benn
Adam Kozie
Kelly Wyse
Whitney Lyman
Lena Simon
Mike Sparks

Pollens (band) is an American Indie Pop band from Seattle, Washington. Their sound has been described as a blend of trance, African rhythms, choral composition, and American Indie Rock.[1]

Pollens began in late 2008 as the composition project of Jeff Aaron Bryant and Hanna Benn, students at Cornish College of the Arts in Seattle. As Bryant and Benn developed their sound in 2008 and 2009, live shows included drum machines and a rotating cast of vocalists, auxiliary instrumentalists and percussionists. Pollens' sound has often been compared to acclaimed Brooklyn band Dirty Projectors.[2]

By early 2010 Pollens had expanded to become a permanent six piece band. Other members include Adam Kozie, Kelly Wyse, Whitney Lyman, and Lena Simon. Reviewing a February, 2012 concert on Capitol Hill in Seattle, Andrew Matson of The Seattle Times wrote that "Trance is Pollens' strong suit. The clean, unique sound of its drones intensified to climaxes that sometimes came too soon... The best parts were when three female voices wove a pattern with drums, guitar and up to three synthesizers, establishing a thick layer of throbbing sound for extended periods of time."[3]

The band became a seven piece with the addition of multi-instrumentalist Mike Sparks in 2013. [4]

In an interview with Joe Williams of the Seattle Weekly, Benn explains that the song Helping Hand was adapted from music for a piano quartet she had previously written.[5]

Pollens self-released an eponymous EP in 2010. Their full-length album Brighten & Break, produced by Charlie Smith of Throw Me the Statue, was released in 2012 on Tapete Records. Morgan Henderson of Fleet Foxes contributed instrumentally to both recordings.

The group signed to German label Tapete Records in the Spring of 2012.[6]

In September 2013, they performed on the SoFar Sounds show in Seattle.[7]

References

  1. Segal, Dave, The Stranger, Jan 24, 2012, "", accessed Feb 9, 2012
  2. Matson, Andrew, The Seattle Times, Oct 28, 2011, "", accessed Feb 10, 2012
  3. Matson, Andrew, The Seattle Times, Feb 1, 2012, "", accessed Feb 9, 2012
  4. Burlingame, Chris, "Another Rainy Sunday," July 25, 2013, "", accessed July 30, 2013
  5. Williams, Joe, The Seattle Weekly, Jan 24, 2012, "", accessed Feb 10, 2012
  6. Tapete Records, "Pollens," 2012, "", accessed July 30, 2013
  7. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T2RzOqG6D5g

External links

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