BOMBsessions: Xeno & Oaklander

BOMBsessions: Xeno & Oaklander
By Clinton Krute

The music of the Brooklyn-based group Xeno & Oaklander seems to come from an earlier time, when the beeps and whirs of the analog synthesizer began to creep up from the underground into the mainstream of pop music (or drag it down to the depths, if you prefer). The late 70s and early 80s synth music from which their work draws was a reaction to the sense of the alienation brought about by living in world that was becoming more and more digital. Sean McBride and Liz Wendlbo, the duo behind the project, still find these sounds relevant today, in both theme and means. Xeno & Oaklander excavate a forgotten music, re-imagining its forms for the present with a defiant and romantic nostalgia. Their debut album Sentinelle, out now on Wierd records, is a testament to their skill at shaping electricity and is overflowing with icy drones, oscillating tones, and excellent (and danceable) songwriting.

After an epic performance of Preuss (a title taken from the particularly noisy auto body shop adjacent to their studio), McBride and Wendelbo sat down with BOMBsessions in their Williamsburg synth museum, to discuss the poetics of their songwriting, the relation of their vocal lines to Derridas Glas, and moving contemporary music forward by digging into the past. Catch Xeno & Oaklander on March 5th at the Cameo in Brooklyn before they leave for a European tour.

Video by Clinton Krute
with Luke Degnan

For full article, go to http://bombsite.com/issues/1000/articles/4621

xenoandoaklander.com/

wierdrecords.com/store/product_info.php?cPath=22&products_id=67&osCsid=f948f1fd1­a18c86b1a325d00028758db

Category:

Music

Tags:

• BOMB magazine
• BOMBsessions
• Xeno & Oaklander
• BOMBlog
• Clinton Krute
• Wierd Records
• Synth Music
• Luke Degnan
• New Wave
• Cold Wave
• Experimental Music
• Sean McBride
• Liz Wendelbo
• Martial Canterel

[emdotambient]

Xeno & Oaklander is the best new band I've found in years. It's very rare to hear music this honest or heartfelt...it's music that places the importance on artistic expression rather than marketing, brand or "scene". Can't recommend this enough!

[electrozaps]

this is amazing ! whats the mane of the first song ?

[nnjeansy]

Con tanto cablerío de milagro no les pasa un corrientazo.

[jemonumber1]

check the book on metaphysics sitting between them on the couch during he interview and the John Wendelbo print on the wall!

[jemonumber1]

check the book on metaphysics sitting between them on the couch during he interview

[TheGoodtalk]

Im so amzaed at how much this sounds like the recording on the album plus more!

[balerhgae]

It's like a roland museum in there. I spy an RS-90, SH-101, SH-3a, CR-78, SH-09... and that's just the stuff i recognize offhand. i want sean mcbride to adopt me.

[emriczero]

@electrozaps the name of this song: Preuss

[fatoperfunctus]

perfect

[cannibalseatyourface]

I would kill for that setup!

[electrozaps]

just revisited this after a number of months ..... still shivers down the spine fukin awesome !