Ganser Release Girl Band Remix For Easter

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Ganser Release Girl Band Remix For Easter

Full remix EP entitled Look At The Sun out in May

Apr 06, 2021 By Dom Gourlay Photography by Kirsten Miccoli

Chicago based four-piece Ganser put out one of 2020’s most innovative post-punk albums in the shape of Just Look at That Sky, their second long player and follow-up to 2018’s debut Odd Talk. Released at the height of the global COVID-19 pandemic, Just Look At That Sky captured the attention of many commentators, publications and music fans around the globe. It’s deserved placing in the upper echelons of many 2020 “Best Of” lists fully justifying the band’s decision to put the album out there despite being unable to tour it.

Challenged with promoting the album in the safest way possible, the quartet - Nadia Garofalo (keyboards/vocals), Alicia Gaines (bass/vocals), Charlie Landsman (guitar) and Brian Cundiff (drums) - spent 2020 making new connections with fellow artists also confronted with trying to make art throughout a most difficult year. Ganser also became one of the most vocal groups on social media speaking out on sexism and racism within the music industry, a topic that’s still a frequent source of concern despite movements such as #metoo. Alicia Gaines takes up the story.

“I feel like there’s a group of us that released any kind of art project in 2020, we were all on Twitter wondering what the hell was going on, doomscrolling. We were all reacting to everything that was happening in real time, it felt like a surreal limbo. In a way, it was very vintage internet, commiserating with folks we’ve never met in person yet. The idea of getting back into the world, finally meeting Sadie and Bartees, it’s something to look forward to.”

Now they’re set to return with an EP of collaborations Look at the Sun, partnering with a diverse guestlist of artists for remixes of tracks from Just Look At That Sky. The remix EP, Look at the Sun, draws its collaborators from a wide range of connections. From past shared stages in the form of Ride’s Andy Bell (aka GLOK) and Girl Band’s Adam Faulkner, to postponed 2020 tours that never happened (Algiers), alongside new relationships built online in lockdown (Sad13, Bartees Strange). Look at the Sun embodies connections made online when real-life ones weren’t possible. The process was not unlike choosing the attendants of an ideal dinner party, whose styles would play well while also bringing their unique sound to the table. What resulted was an incredible mix of talented artists collaborating to make something truly lovely in the wake of a very hard year.

“Having had the chance to gig with them, I was honored and excited to be asked to remix a song for Ganser. I’m a big fan of remixes and Self Service was an immediate standout for me. The energy in the guitar and drums made this the easy choice for me,” says Girl Band drummer Faulkner.

To which Ganser guitarist Charlie Landsman responds, “I’ve been a huge fan of Girl Band since first watching their KEXP session in 2014. Holding Hands With Jamie and The Talkies are still some of my favourite records, it was a pleasure to meet them and play a show with the towards the end of 2019. Also a plus that we were all able to grab a drink after the show and have a chat. “Self Service” has a lot of references to claustrophobia and sonically and thematically it seemed that it would be a good fit for Adam to take a stab at. I think it worked!”

The Adam Faulkner remix of “Self Service” is out now along with the previously released GLOK, Sad13 and Algiers mixes. The full EP follows on Friday 7th May, featuring an as-yet unreleased remix of “Emergency Equipment And Exits” by Bartees Strange.