I don't typically use fan-made videos for Friday Night Videos, but this one is just so perfect. The found footage of rollerskating archives, most of which looks like it was filmed at California beaches, fits so perfectly with the breezy, upbeat track by The Ice Choir. The lyrics about sun and spray and escaping winter contrast with the name of the band and their tagline, "winter synths abound, all year round."
The arrangements here are masterful, and each piece of the song, which despite its lightness betrays a fair amount of complexity, fit together in glorious harmony.
If you asked me what band I would most like to hear new music from, it would be The Ice Choir. The man behind the band, Kurt Feldman, has gone too long letting his musical skills languish. On a podcast from last year, Feldman talked about how he had been playing video games instead of making music but that he would get back to it at some point. I'm sure playing 60 hours of Elden Ring is fun and all, but putting this kind of art into the world is so much more important.
Feldman is not just a unique and visionary musician, he's also been a pretty prolific producer. His signature 80s influenced, meticulously detailed signature sound stands out on any production in which he is involved. Recordings from Kristin Kontrol, Julia Kwamya, or his former band, The Pains of Being Pure At Heart, bear his imprint. It's when he's able to control the whole process, though, that Feldman's genius really stands out. That's nowhere more evident than on music by The Ice Choir.
Recently, Kurt Feldman's shoegaze/chiptune influenced project, the Depreciation Guild, played a single show in New York. After getting requests about playing other shows in various towns, he responded by saying that whatever town you were requesting the band play in, they had probably already played there 13 years ago to about 3 people. I was fortunate enough to catch one of those shows.
