Ranges – The Ascensionist Tour and dunk!fest 2017

Ranges - The Ascensionist banner
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This is exciting.

I’ve been running Will Not Fade for just over three years now. I cover a variety of music, but the reality is that I’m mostly known for my post-rock content. I never planned on becoming pigeon-holed like that, but it is what it is, and it has helped me form connections within the international post-rock community.

As some readers may know, I left my hometown of Wellington, New Zealand in June, and have been travelling around the USA since. I met up with Jesse from Glacier in Boston, Matt and Joe from Aviation and the War in Chicago, and now I’m staying with CJ from Ranges in Bozeman, Montana.

I feel that talking about this is on par with discussing interconnections and unity and one love and a bunch of hippy nonsense. Why don’t we all reflect on how we are vessels of creativity? But joking aside – it truly is special that I’ve managed to befriend people from around the world based on a mutual love of music.

CJ reached out to me via Twitter a few years ago asking me to review Ranges latest release. Soon after I offered him the chance to become a contributor to Will Not Fade. I’ve reviewed some of his band’s releases, and offered advice when his company A Thousand Arms released some compilations [Open Language, Hemispheres]. And now I’m staying at his house, attending his album release show, and will be accompanying his band on tour at the end of the month.


The latest Ranges album is The Ascensionist. It’s a progression from the band’s earlier works, with each song referencing a former album.

Here’s the marketing spiel:

Pre-orders for Ranges‘ new album ‘The Ascensionist’ are now available through A Thousand Arms (US) and dunk!records (EU).  This release is split into two variants with A Thousand arms carrying the 180g Milky Clear with Bone A Side/B Side variant and dunk!records carrying the 180g Bone with Orange Crush A Side/B Side variant.  Both variants come in upgraded reverse board gatefold packaging that includes a hand-numbered eight page screen-printed booklet with custom sewn binding.  Cover paper handmade by RANGES using recycled cotton and native plants from the Bridger mountainrange near Bozeman, Montana.  Also included in every vinyl order is an individually stained felt slipmat with a two color water-based screen-print.  Digital download included. 

In true A Thousand Arms style, the guys have gone waaaaay over the top. Most bands record an album, pay someone to mix and master it, and maybe order some tshirts to sell as well.

The Ranges guys:

  • Record in their own studio
  • Print their own merch
  • Screenprint the boxes they use to post said merch in
  • Printed slipmats to go with the vinyl records.
  • Hand made the very paper that they use to make a booklet that comes with each record
  • Teamed up with a local brewery to brew a beer to coincide with the album release
  • Which you can sip from a limited edition Ranges pint glass
  • Or if beer isn’t your thing, than maybe you’d prefer a special batch of coffee beans roasted to go with the album
  • And you could use one of the ceramic mugs that bassist Jared Gabriel threw to drink said coffee from

So if you haven’t concluded for yourself already: these guys are really into attention to detail aspects. They embody a DIY ethos. And their music rules.

I spent yesterday with the Ranges crew at a listening party at Badger Brewing in Bozeman. It was a great time, hanging out with the families and having pizza and beer (The Ascensionist IPA). They sold a lot of merch and albums, and at this rate they may run out of vinyl records before they get to dunk!festival. A nice worry to have.

As I said before, I’ll be tagging along with Ranges on the road during their upcoming tour. I plan on keeping a tour diary, posting photos, and covering the events at dunk!festival in Burlington, Vermont. You can follow our exploits by keeping an eye on the WNF site during October, and you can also subscribe or follow the WNF Facebook, Twitter and Instagram pages for updates as well.

Ranges The Ascensionist Tour

Ranges links:

Website: https://www.rangesmusic.com

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/rangesmusic/

Twitter: https://twitter.com/rangesmusic

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/rangesmusic/

Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCBJg41ELchEChCEtIRKz4NA

A Thousand Arms: http://www.athousandarms.com/

dunk!festival USA: https://www.dunkfestival.be/usa/#line-up-us

dunk!festival USA Facebook event page: https://www.facebook.com/events/984163238356840/

Album Review: Ranges – The Gods of The Copybook Headings

Ranges Gods of the copybook headings
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I first became introduced to Ranges when C. J. Blessum asked me to review their song “Night & Day” [link to review]. Emails back and forward led to C. J. and I becoming friends, which in turn led me to invite C. J. to become a regular contributor to this site [link to some of his reviews].

Does that mean my reviewing of the new Ranges album is a conflict of interest? Well… yes. Plus, I actually feature on the first track, so I’m extra biased.

But then again, no review is completely objective. So I will write down my thoughts on this album, and you can decide if my opinion is worth trusting.

I recently realised that Ranges are a concept band. Every musical release has a theme (including the signs of the zodiac, teachings of Dietrich Bonhoeffer, the 24 hour cycle, and a Paul Harvey radio monologue). Initially most songs were entirely instrumental, with only song and album titles suggesting what each song was about, but following on from the recent standalone single”If I Were The Devil“, Ranges have begun to use samples of spoken word and prose in their music.

This most recent album uses Rudyard Kipling’s 1919 poem The Gods of the Copybook Headings as inspiration, with the first song introducing the poem, and the following ten songs written about each respective stanza of the poem.

 

Copybooks were used in schoolrooms early last century, to help students practice their handwriting. They were lined pages, blank save for idioms and proverbs neatly written on the headings, as examples of ideal penmanship. This is a foreign concept these days, with most children more adept controlling a computer or tablet than a pencil. I distinctly remember “writing lines” being a punishment at school (like seen in the opening scene of each Simpsons episode). But back in the day, handwriting was valued, and repeating phrases of wisdom was the way in which it was learnt.

One can imagine how these phrases would become ingrained in the mind of the student, written and re-written countless times as they improve their handwriting abilities. Biblical verses, adages, and common Victorian sayings learnt through rote writing. Kipling used these as the basis for his poem – a discussion on how traditionally valued wisdoms were being ignored with detrimental effect to society.

copybook

Image: http://www.barnes113.karoo.net/History/copy_books.htm

We are introduced to this poem by the titular opening track, read by a number of individuals (including yours truly. Does my New Zealand accent stand out?) The music is eerie and atmospheric, and the spoken word is slightly altered and decayed, as if lost in time.

This seamlessly transitions into “The Gods of the Market Place”, at first with dominant reverberating guitars and crashing drums, followed by soft piano echoing after a few measures. Closing track “With Terror and Slaughter Return” mirrors the sing, effectively bookending the album, almost making it into a loop like they did with a previous release, “Night & Day”.

The post-rock dynamics of building and transitioning from soft to searing continues through the album. Not to say that it gets tired, but the tracks tend to blend together. Overdriven guitars soar, and then drop back to gentle swells and slight picking. The piano provides light atmospheric pads, and articulate twinkling mantras. Restrained drums grow more bolder washy cymbals fill in the soundscape. It’s what to expect if you are at all familiar with Ranges – soothing one moment, and crushing the next.


Ranges embody the DIY ethic. They write, record, produce and distribute music themselves, being lucky enough to have a recording studio and printing company run by members of the band. They are also very supportive of others in the local music scene and indie music worldwide. I would love to see them play live in their hometown, but alas, I live on the other side of the world. I would also love to pour over a physical copy of their album art and liner notes. Having seen other material put out by their printing company (A Thousand Arms), I can assure you that the attention to detail will be stunning.

 One of the idioms the Kipling employees in his poem is “If you don’t work you die.” If this is the case, then Ranges need not fear death. They’ve averaged three releases a year since their conception, all self made, recorded, printed, etc… And not only is their music powerful and vast, but conceptually thought provoking if you chose to engage with it. All is not gold that glitters, but trust me when I say that this album is gold.


Ranges:

Bandcamp link

iTunes album download

www.facebook.com/alpharanges

Twitter and Instagram handle: @rangesmusic

 

Joseph James

 

 

 

 

Album Review: Ranges – Night & Day

Ranges Night & Day cover
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Ranges are a post-rock act from Bozeman, Montana who started out as a trio, and have recently expanded to a 5-piece so that they can play live. Together they write themed instrumental music that is often accompanied by visuals of some kind. Some themes of their past projects have been the Montana ranges, the solar system, and Dietrich Bonhoeffer’s teachings about taking action when you see something wrong. Recently Ranges and some other artists from the region were asked to each contribute to collection that explored the dichotomy of night and day. Ranges’ entry resulted in their latest single, ‘Night & Day’.

I’ve classified this write up as an album review, but in reality it’s a song review. That said, this song is longer than many EPs that I review here anyway. Like the song ‘Dominion’ by Jakob, ‘Night & Day’ is big enough to be a stand alone release without needing the context of an album to sit within.

The song last 24 minutes, representing the 24 hours of the day. Listen closely and you may be able to hear changes that signify different parts of the day, like sunrise or sunset.

The song begins soft, slowly building. After a few minutes things begin to perk up with a piano ostinato, a mantra that slowly ebbs in and out. I interpret this part as birds chirping for the dawn chorus. My favourite part is a stark cut out around the five minute mark with just an electric drum beat and the piano ostinato. Proper drums enter a minute later, solidifying the sound. The song sounds quite uplifting as it increases in intensity.

Around the 7-9 minute mark the piano drops out and the music gets heavier. The tone changes at exactly half way. The soft picking transitions into soaring overdriven guitars and crashing crescendos. The mood becomes cyclical, with tender breaks that launch into a powerful wash. Soaring guitars fly over heavily struck drums. At 18 minutes the mood drops back to a more solemn tone as the day breaks and the sun sets. A guitar bend could just as well be a Coyote howling in the moonlight. The music slowly begins to settle and simplify as it progresses towards the end, ending in eerie swells and light feedback.

A nice touch is that the song was written to loop back on itself continuously, like the cycle of night and day, so if you listen to it on repeat you won’t be able to tell where it starts and finishes.

Mark Levy getting ready to track drums for the song 'Night & Day'

Mark Levy getting ready to track drums for the song ‘Night & Day’

One reason I like Ranges so much is because they’re more than just a band that makes music. Their work is often part of a bigger project. For ‘Night & Day’, Ranges, along with other artists, were asked to create art inspired by the theme, in any medium they wish. Other past projects include providing music for a dance performance when TED came to town, and providing the soundtrack for the short film Tronkyin.  Ranges also put on two feature length audiovisual shows at a Planetarium in support of their album Solar Mansion, which reminds me of local Wellington composer Rhian Sheehan, who also creates soundtracks for shows at Planetariums and observatory domes. Everything that Ranges put out seems ambitious and extended beyond expectations.

Like I said in my Gilmore Trail review, one of the reasons that instrumental music is so intriguing is because the absence of lyrics leave the music open ended so that the listener can interpret the music however they wish. Even though we know that the song is inspired by a 24 hour day, we can still insert our own stories to fit the soundtrack.

Ranges is a band that pushes the conceptual envelope and expands on ideas across mediums, and ‘Night & Day’ is no exception. As well as being a glorious musical track, the sonic interpretation of night and day makes the song all the more interesting. The song is dynamic enough to stay interesting despite it’s length, especially if you try to identify different parts with the song’s inspiration in mind.

Check out the video below to hear ‘Night & Day’ played live. If you like it then make sure to follow the links underneath for more.

ranges.bandcamp.com

www.facebook.com/alpharanges

Twitter and Instagram handle: @rangesmusic

 

Joseph James