As a member of The No Ones, Kjelsrud Mathisen has played alongside R.E.M. members Scott McCaughey and Peter Buck for years. Now he’s going solo for the first time in his career, releasing music under the moniker Rural Tapes.
His first single, Pardon My French, features guest appearances from Hot Chip’s Alexis Taylor, and saxophonist Terry Edwards – acclaimed sideman to the likes of PJ Harvey and Tom Waits.
“I sent off ’Pardon My French’ to Alexis on a fluke, just asking him if he’d be up for contributing to the track in some way or the other,” says Mathisen on the track. “He loved it and added a Rhodes piano, giving the song a psychedelic twist which was further accentuated by Terry Edward’s magical sax track. In the end, the song had transformed into something I’d never expected in the first place. Something fantastic that I could never have achieved just by my own.”
Mixing up Krautrock, post-rock, and little classical influences Mathisen builds these quasi-funk soundtracks, that hit you like blaxploitation soundtracks altered for a European public service film. Synth lines intertwine with this pulsating rhythm sections, splashes of sax and little winding melodies to make something that’s frankly brilliant.
Check it out, here
Rural Tapes debut album is out in the spring via Smuggler Music
