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MOON DUO


BIO:
Formed in San Francisco in 2009 by Wooden Shijps guitarist Ripley Johnson and Sanae Yamada, Moon Duo’s first two critically acclaimed EPs, Killing Time (2009) and Escape (2010), fused the futuristic pylon hum and transistor reverb of Suicide or Silver Apples with the heat-haze fuzz of American rock ‘n’ roll to create tracks of blistering, 12-cylinder space rock. Their debut album Mazes, recorded in San Francisco and mixed in Berlin during 2010 as the band prepared to move to the mountains of Colorado, explores a far broader, lighter, sound. That’s most clear on the dreamy organ and skipping riff of the title track, which recalls the Velvet Underground, or the handclaps and swinging organ bloops over the potent shredding and guttural riff delivered by Johnson in When You Cut. Throughout, Mazes is the sound of Moon Duo carving out their own identity, looking to the horizon, and moving forward. Late 2011 saw the release of the darker, mostly instrumental Horror Tour EP around the band’s fall tour of Eastern Europe; Record Store Day 2012 brought a limited edition LP Mazes Remixed which featured remixes by the likes of Sonic Boom, Psychic Ills, and Purling Hiss. Now Moon Duo are set to release Circles, their second full-length LP with Souterrain Transmissions. The band will also set off on a worldwide tour in support of the album in October and November. Circles is the product of a long winter’s isolation in the Rocky Mountains, though the road to its fruition stretched over six months and several locations. The groundwork for the album was laid at the band’s home in Blue River, Colorado in the early months of 2012, where all songs were written, and the preliminary tracks recorded. For two weeks in early April, Moon Duo moved into a small apartment above Lucky Cat Recordings in San Francisco for an additional recording session with engineer Phil Manley (Trans Am, Life Coach). Like its predecessor, the album was mixed and tweaked at Kaiku Studios in Berlin. Inspiration for many of the songs themes, as well as the title Circles, came from Ralph Waldo Emerson’s 1841 essay by the same name, on the symbol and nature of “the flying Perfect.” From the opening lines: “The eye is the first circle; the horizon which it forms is the second; and throughout nature this primary figure is repeated without end.” And so it goes. Rust never sleeps.

Latest Articles


Sally Anne Morgan Shares New Single 'Diamond Joe' With Ripley Johnson Photo Sally Anne Morgan Shares New Single 'Diamond Joe' With Ripley Johnson
by Michael Major - September 06, 2023

Sally Anne Morgan's rich, intimate and modern music blooms outward from the fertile grounds of American folk and country traditions. Morgan is sharing the dazzling new single 'Diamond Joe' featuring labelmate and fellow cosmic country traveller Ripley Johnson (Rose City Band, Wooden Shjips, Moon Duo...

Rose City Band Share New Single 'Slow Burn' Photo Rose City Band Share New Single 'Slow Burn'
by Michael Major - March 09, 2023

The project of acclaimed guitarist and vocalist Ripley Johnson, Rose City Band has extended beyond the studio and lives in tandem as a live ensemble featuring some of the finest players in contemporary rock: pedal steel guitarist Barry Walker, keyboardist Paul Hasenberg, bassist Dewey Mahood (aka Pl...

Rose City Band to Release New Album Garden Party in April Photo Rose City Band to Release New Album Garden Party in April
by Michael Major - January 31, 2023

Recorded at Johnsons’ Portland home as well as The Center for Sound, Light, and Color Therapy and mixed by John McEntire, Garden Party features guest appearances by Moon Duo bandmates John Jeffrey on drums and Sanae Yamada on synths, as well as Rose City Band live performers Hasenberg on keyboards a...

Psychic Ills and Moon Duo Announce 'Live at Levitation Albums' Photo Psychic Ills and Moon Duo Announce 'Live at Levitation Albums'
by Michael Major - August 24, 2022

The Reverberation Appreciation Society will release the next two entries in the Live at LEVITATION series, with Psychic Ills and Moon Duo. The 5th LP features New York neo-psych legends Psychic Ills’ spellbinding appearance in 2012, capturing the band’s desert-bleached psychedelia live in Ill’s home...

Rose City Band Announces U.S. East Coast/Midwest Tour Photo Rose City Band Announces U.S. East Coast/Midwest Tour
by Michael Major - July 19, 2022

The band draws on guitarist Ripley Johnson's (Wooden Shjips/Moon Duo) deep links into the Portland underground music scene, featuring Thrill Jockey labelmate Dewey Mahood (Plankton Wat) on bass and Mahood's collaborator Dustin Dybvig on drums, alongside Barry Walker on pedal steel, Paul Hasenberg on...

Rose City Band Shares New Single 'Silver Roses' Photo Rose City Band Shares New Single 'Silver Roses'
by Sarah Jae Leiber - March 16, 2021

Setting an introspective tone for the record, Johnson here colors Rose City Band's country-rock twang with a wistful, melancholic undertone....

Rose City Band Share Single 'Real Long Gone' Photo Rose City Band Share Single 'Real Long Gone'
by Kaitlin Milligan - April 29, 2020

Ahead of the release of new album Summerlong, out May 15th, Rose City Band has released the single 'Real Long Gone'....

Mayflower Madame Releases New Single 'Swallow' Photo Mayflower Madame Releases New Single 'Swallow'
by Sarah Jae Leiber - March 11, 2020

Psychedelic post-punk outfit Mayflower Madame present their darkly sinister single 'Swallow', the second taste of their new album 'Prepared for a Nightmare', a dark and distinctive blend of post-punk, shoegaze and psychedelia. French label Only Lovers Records will be releasing this long-play in coll...

Rose City Band Shares Single 'Only Lonely' Photo Rose City Band Shares Single 'Only Lonely'
by Kaitlin Milligan - March 04, 2020

Rose City Band has shared the first single, 'Only Lonely', from upcoming album Summerlong, out May 15th. The song's lighter-than-air guitar, glistening lap steel, and rollicking pace captures the summer spirit of the album, calling to mind sunshine sparkling off the water of a lazy river. In contras...

Rose City Band Sign to Thrill Jockey Photo Rose City Band Sign to Thrill Jockey
by Kaitlin Milligan - November 14, 2019

Rose City Band have announced their signing to Thrill Jockey Records. The group's self-titled debut album, produced by Ripley Johnson (Wooden Shjips / Moon Duo) and mixed by Chris Cohen (Captured Tracks / Deerhoof) will be re-issued by Thrill Jockey Records on limited-edition red vinyl on January 17...

New Single MIRROR SONG Out From UK Noise-Gaze Outfit Burning House Photo New Single MIRROR SONG Out From UK Noise-Gaze Outfit Burning House
by Tori Hartshorn - January 14, 2019

Alt-rock outfit Burning House present their new single 'Mirror Song', providing a psychedelic power-gaze preview of their long-awaited album 'Anthropocene', due out in early 2019. The accompanying videowas produced and directed by Callum Scott-Dyson CSD Videography....

UK Noise-Gaze Outfit Burning House Announce New Single MIRROR SONG Photo UK Noise-Gaze Outfit Burning House Announce New Single MIRROR SONG
by Tori Hartshorn - November 08, 2018

Alt-rock outfit Burning House present their new single 'Mirror Song', providing a psychedelic power-gaze preview of their long-awaited album 'Anthropocene', due out in early 2019.  'Peach' is also offered as a second track for this single, offered exclusively via Bandcamp. These are the first signs ...

Vive la Void Share New Single DEATH MONEY From Their Debut Album Out May 4 Photo Vive la Void Share New Single DEATH MONEY From Their Debut Album Out May 4
by Macon Prickett - April 12, 2018

Vive la Void, the solo project of Sanae Yamada of Moon Duo, has shared the new single 'Death Money,' along with an accompanying video directed by Yamada herself. The track is taken from Vive La Void's self-titled debut, out May 4th on Sacred Bones. 'Death Money,' is a multi-layered, propulsive explo...

Vive la Void Announces Self-Titled Debut Album Out 5/4 Photo Vive la Void Announces Self-Titled Debut Album Out 5/4
by Macon Prickett - March 20, 2018

This spring Sanae Yamada, keyboardist for Moon Duo, will release her debut solo album as Vive la Void. The self-titled release is out May 4th on Sacred Bones. As Vive la Void, Yamada foregrounds synthesizers and her own voice, stripping away the excesses of psychedelic music to its bedrock hypnotic ...

Vive la Void Signs to Sacred Bones For New Album This Spring Photo Vive la Void Signs to Sacred Bones For New Album This Spring
by Macon Prickett - February 07, 2018

Senae Yamada, co-founder and keyboard player of Moon Duo, has announced details of her new project, Viva la Void. Yamada wrote and recorded her debut album over roughly a two-year period, during windows of downtime in Moon Duo's substantial touring and recording schedule. The synthesizer-driven albu...

The Soft Moon Signs to Sacred Bones, Announces New Album & October Tour Photo The Soft Moon Signs to Sacred Bones, Announces New Album & October Tour
by Caryn Robbins - October 16, 2017

The Soft Moon today announces his signing to New York record label Sacred Bones and announces his 4th studio album Criminal, out February 2, 2018. The former Oakland-based, now Berlin, musician also shares lead track Burn, which can be heard here...












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