Radical Face
Radical Face is a musical act from Ben Cooper, a 24-year old Florida resident who also makes up one half of Electric President and Iron Orchestra and one third of Mother's Basement. He named himself Radical Face because he "thought it was kinda funny".[1]
Ben Cooper's first album to be recorded under the Radical Face pseudonym was Junkyard Chandelier. However, his first release was entitled Ghost.
On November 16, 2010 Ben released a six track EP titled Touch The Sky [2] which serves as an appetizer for an announced trilogy of albums called Family Tree. The first album, titled Roots was released on October 4, 2011. It will be followed by Branches and Leaves.[3] In addition, a new EP is slated to be released as a free download in August 2011 as a lead-up to Roots.
Ghost
Ghost, released in March 2007 on Morr Music, is a concept album based on the idea of houses retaining stories of things that have happened in them. Each song is a story and some of the stories are told from the house's point of view. Cooper cited an old house he lived in as one of the inspirations for Ghost. Most of his work on the album was conducted in an old tool shed behind his house. Emeral Cooper, Mark Hubbard and Alex Kane collaborated with Ben Cooper for some tracks on the album.
Ghost has been compared to musical acts such as The Mountain Goats, Sufjan Stevens, The Postal Service,[4] Gorky's Zygotic Mynci, Paul Simon[5] and Animal Collective.[6]
The song Welcome Home has been featured in several advertisements and films, including a Nikon advertisement in several countries of Europe, an advert[7] for the 2011 Chevrolet Volt, as well as an ad for the University of Oregon that aired during the 2011 BCS Championship between Auburn and Oregon. The song appeared in the movie Humboldt County. It is used in the emotional climax of the film The Vicious Kind. It is featured in the film The Swiss Machine as speed alpinist Ueli Steck ascends the Eiger. This film was part of the 2010 Reel Rock Tour and Steck's ascent to the tune of Radical Face's Welcome Home is featured in the Reel Rock Tour trailer. It was also used at the end of UK program Eddie Izzard: Marathon Man and in a mountain bike short movie of freeride pro Andi Wittmann.[8] The song was also featured in the fifth season of the popular British show, Skins.
Track listing
- "Asleep on a Train" - 2:01
- "Welcome Home" - 4:48 (Emeral Cooper on piano and Mark Hubbard on snare drum)
- "Let the River In" - 5:07
- "Glory" - 6:13 (Alex Kane on bass)
- "The Strangest Things" - 4:26 (Alex Kane on bass)
- "Wrapped in Piano Strings" - 3:38
- "Along the Road" - 4:18
- "Haunted" - 4:44
- "Winter is Coming" - 4:24
- "Sleepwalking" - 4:43
- "Homesick" - 3:44
Total album length - 48:05
Touch The Sky EP
Touch The Sky is an EP released in 2010 to bridge the gap between Ghost and The Family Tree Trilogy.
Track listing
- "Welcome Home (EP Version) - 4:47
- "Glory (Acoustic)" - 4:34
- "Doorways" - 3:00
- "A Little Hell" - 2:13
- "The Deserter's Song" - 4:55
- "Welcome Home (Reprise)" - 2:29
The Bastards - Volume One EP
The EP was released on August 19 and is the first of a number of free EPs over the course of the Family Tree-project, all of them part of a series called "The Bastards". So this is "The Bastards: Volume One". Available at the official website.
Track listing
- "All Is Well (It's Only Blood) - 2:45
- "All Is Well (Goodbye, Goodbye)" - 4:05
- "We're On Our Way" - 4:08
Family Tree - The Roots
Was released in October 2011. The first album of three in the Family Tree-project that follows the tale of a fictional family, the Northcotes, through its generations. It is dedicated to the first two generations of the Northcotes' family tree and is narratively based in the 1800s.[9]
Track listing
- "Names" - 1:15
- "A Pound of Flesh" - 3:35
- "Family Portrait" - 4:40
- "Black Eyes" - 4:44
- "Severus and Stone" - 4:28
- "The Moon is Down" - 3:18
- "Ghost Towns" - 3:54
- "Kin" - 4:04
- "The Dead Waltz" - 5:23
- "Always Gold" - 5:56
- "Mountains" - 4:51
References
- ^ An Interview with Ben Cooper
- ^ http://ymlp.com/zwEiKO
- ^ Premiere "Doorways" Video. Under The Radar, Oct 04, 2010.
- ^ Richardson, Mark. Record Review. Pitchfork Media, April 13, 2007. Retrieved on June 20, 2008.
- ^ Ghost Review. Boomkat, February 2007. Retrieved on May 11, 2009.
- ^ Kelly, Jennifer. Ghost Review. Pop Matters, May 11, 2007. Retrieved on June 20, 2008.
- ^ http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P9EbnOUexaE
- ^ http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xS-ZpAu4c-o
- ^ The Roots album review