In studio: Gardener + Ant’lrd

Thursday, February 20th, 2014 // Blogs,In-Studio

In the beginning of February two fantastic Chicago bands, Ant’lrd and Gardener, dropped by WRCT. They unpacked equipment, settled on the floor, and made time stand still for the next 50 minutes. Ant’lrd’s Colin Blanton used samplers and a keyboard and Gardener’s Dash Lewis used a modular synthesizer and effects pedals to create those ambient, electronic beats.

Because hearing their sets once wasn’t enough, that night, Blanton, Lewis, and I collected blankets, lamps, projectors, and people to create an impromptu music venue in that nook near the Purnell mailroom. They played for a tiny crowd, but were no less invested in creating the relaxing, introspective environment their music arouses. Overall, Colin and Dash were wonderfully easygoing and clearly love sharing their art.

Ant’lrd has a show coming up in Chicago at The Burlington. If you’re in Chicago on March 19, hit that up for a live taste of Blanton’s musical vibrations. I recommend it. Blanton has also released a new tape, “Biblioteca Nod Out,” for which you should be clicking this link: http://barorecords.bandcamp.com/album/biblioteca-nod-out

Dash Lewis of Gardener will be playing with White Laces during March and April. He’s opening for The War on Drugs on March 22 in our radio hometown, Pittsburgh. His new tape “This is Noise” comes out this month on Life Like. Dash’s solo project, Curtains, will be playing some shows around Virginia and North Carolina and has a new tape coming out on April 2 on Potluck Records. His band Critics (Dash+Meg Mulhearn) has a record coming out this spring.

Check out the in studio session with Gardener and Ant’lrd below:

Post by Anna Azizzy Rosati.