Ross From Friends Releases Debut Album FAMILY PORTRAIT Out Today via Brainfeeder
By: Macon Prickett Jul. 27, 2018
Having recently made his inaugural outing on Flying Lotus's Brainfeeder label with the acclaimed Aphelion EP, British producer Ross From Friendsaka Felix Clary Weatherall today releases his highly anticipated debut album Family Portrait, out now and streaming everywhere.
Family Portrait is characterized by a perpetual desire to experiment and Felix's obsessive attention to detail, somehow marrying an intricately layered production style with warm, heavily saturated sonics that elevate, rather than stifle, his melodious funk. With a handful of revered 12"s under his belt via Breaker Breaker, Lobster Theremin, Distant Hawaii, Magicwire and a 10" on Molten Jets, Family Portrait showcases his ability to shift and evolve, moving from the world of lo-fi to the world of FlyLo, demonstrating a versatility exemplified by the ease in which he can switch between playing shows with Little Dragon, holding down a peak-time slot in Berghain's Panorama Bar, performing live at the legendary Maida Vale for BBC Radio 1, and closing out stages at world-class festivals including Primavera Sound and Field Day.
Family Portrait is culmination of almost two years of intense studio time, working 20 hour days, and often spending months perfecting just one aspect of a track. "I tried to be careful with every single sound" he explains, "Trying new things, making a bit more of an explosive sound". The album also finds Felix recording his own voice for the first time, with the resulting tracks acting as snapshots of his personal life while recording. "Every time I went to make music the things which would really grab me are the emotional things, and while I'm in that place I felt I could really focus on the track. That was a massive part of this album, tapping into my emotions... into my emotional instability".
The album title - "Family Portrait" - also nods to a very specific personal aspect of the record: the influence of his parents. Dance music has always been a feature in Felix's life, with early memories of his dad producing music on his analogue set-up, or pumping out hi-NRG tracks on the turntable, he grew up discussing, sharing and learning about music from his dad. "My dad has been hugely influential to the whole thing," he explains. However it was with the emergence of some old family VHS tapes, and the story of how Felix's parents came to meet, that the true significance became clear.
Having built up a sound system in the 1980's while playing at various squat parties around London (including the then derelict Roundhouse) Felix's dad decided he wanted to get out of the capital and see some of Europe. He got his hands on a bus and started putting word out through a network of like-minded friends and acquaintances. At the time just a friend of a friend, the trip caught the attention of Felix's mum-to-be, who offered to document the whole thing in return for a seat, and in 1990 they loaded up the sound system and hit the road. Travelling through France, Belgium, West and East Germany (though returning through a unified one) and beyond, setting up in towns to share their passion for the sounds of hi-NRG dance, Italo disco and proto-Techno through spontaneous parties in whatever venue they could find, with Ross From Friends' video for his latest single "Pale Blue Dot" comprised of archival footage from the trip.
WATCH: Ross From Friends - "Pale Blue Dot" Video
STREAM: Lead Single "Project Cybersyn"
As integral to the Ross From Friends identity as the recorded music is the live show, the two having always existed in tandem. Enlisting the skills of two friends, John Dunk on sax and keys, and Jed Hampson on electric guitar, to build out his arrangements into a show which works as well on a festival stage as in a club. With extensive international touring the end of the year, Ross From Friends will perform in the US for the first time ever on an 11-date North American tour starting this November. For full itinerary and tickets, please visit http://www.rossfromfriends.net/tour/.
Family Portrait is out now on vinyl, CD and digitally via Brainfeeder
STREAM/PURCHASE HERE: https://rossfromfriends.lnk.to/fp
Ross From Friends assets are available HERE
TRACKLIST:
1. Happy Birthday Nick
2. Thank God I'm A Lizard
3. Wear Me Down
4. The Knife
5. Project Cybersyn
6. Family Portrait
7. Pale Blue Dot
8. Back Into Space
9. Parallel Sequence
10. R.A.T.S.
11. Don't Wake Dad
12. The Beginning
ROSS FROM FRIENDS TOUR DATES:
08/09 - Seoul, KR @ Cakeshop (DJ set)
08/10 - Seoul, KR @ Kontra (DJ set)
08/17 - Tokyo, JP @ Sonic Mania
08/19 - Hamburg, DE @ MS Dockville
08/24 - Lincolnshire, UK @ Lost Village Festival
09/15 - Edinburgh, UK @ The Liquid Room
09/21 - Dublin, IE @ Button Factory
09/22 - Nantes, FR @ Scopitone Festival
09/26 - London, UK @ Village Underground
09/27 - Leeds, UK @ Belgrave Music Hall
09/28 - Sheffield, UK @ Hope Works
09/29 - Bologna, IT @ roBOt Festival
10/02 - Bristol, UK @ Thekla
10/03 - Manchester, UK @ Gorilla
10/05 - Amsterdam, NL @ Melkweg
10/06 - Brussels, BE @ Ancienne Belgique
10/11 - Birmingham, UK @ Hare & Hounds
10/13 - Berlin, DE @ Berghain Kantine
10/20 - Warsaw, PL @ Smolna
10/25 - Geneva, CH @ Zoo
10/26 - Barcelona, ES @ Razzmatazz
10/27 - Oslo, NO @ Jaeger
11/02 - Toronto, ON @ Velvet Underground
11/03 - Montreal, QC @ Phi Center
11/06 - South Burlington, VT @ Showcase Lounge, Higher Ground
11/07 - Philadelphia, PA @ Boot & Saddle
11/08 - Washington, DC @ Union Stage
11/09 - Brooklyn, NY @ Good Room
11/10 - Chicago, IL @ Sleeping Village
11/14 - Seattle, WA @ Barboza
11/15 - San Francisco, CA @ 1015 Folsom
11/16 - Denver, CO @ Bar Standard
11/17 - Los Angeles, CA @ Lot 613
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