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Translation Wave

by El Cantador

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1.
Black Sound 02:25
Don’t buy into most of my dreams I’ll make your head spin with my own disconnectivity I’m a liar, dog, don't you know I won’t sleep much unless you’re safe in your bed Oh oh oh oh oh oh On the mantle the fire below It holds a special name It may be tawdry and lost on the generations we made to feel up To fill up the frames On the target that you bet with your back It holds a number stain It may be tawny you jester You crack me up you do When you went blacksound, wow Can we go blacksound now? Was in the backroom Somewhere upstairs Tickled your fancy into a way of learning You went wild Let it out There in the back seat Took up the blacksound
2.
My Way 03:56
I am like that wolf I can’t stop, I can’t stop Ever since first taste I can’t wait, I can’t wait And there’s nothing for me Not as far as I can see but blood, blood, fresh blood When freedom smells like rain Something tame screeches in my veins Ever since that climb I can’t wait, I can’t wait And there’s nowhere to go And no one old enough to show me my way, way, my way And my heart’s in the strangest places When my head is in front of my step But when I’m with you I can crumble Like a castle in the wind but unkempt And the wind has blown here before To me people in distant places But when we’re all leaves from the same tree And our rotten schemes don’t seem to phase us anymore And my tongue gets tired of talking When my hand gets tired from scribbling Oh, to do anything never done before It takes more running and less walking these days
3.
Ennui 03:04
I thought of life and letting go I thought of drowning in that ocean undertow It’s a different world beneath the crest To render this up above as meaningless I have no place but somewhere I’d like to sleep And rest in my father’s fathers farthest dreams Then foreign forces speaking clearly through the day They’re telling me it doesn’t matter if I go or if I stay They said,”Young man you’re no master here but you have heart.” In a city that relies on the past to play its part But we want it all, we want it now Your forgiveness grows only once in the thorn bush of the South And you go You stay I thought of life and letting go I thought of drowning in that warm ocean undertow It’s a strange strange world beneath the crest And you go You stay And you go You stay
4.
Part of me is wave Wave from the shore Waves the unseen Bend into the swirl Bend to the curve Bend to your dream Bend to your dream Was it a bad dream? Fall into the Gulf Fall like a rain Far from your seat Back into the bone Black with the birds They blacken the scene Blacken your scene It was a bad dream Come in from the storm Come to the house Come to your love Whole like a sun Less like a bird More like a sea More like a sea Give in to the dream
5.
Reynosa 03:20
Let’s pile into the car with our friends We’ll drive over the border-line for the weekend We can lose our heads Wait, some really lost their heads I heard the cops are crooked as our fences When we make good neighbors Who misplaced the rent? But the Coal Man told me not to wait ”If you’re gonna go, go right now." Then we drove down to Reynosa Our plans all turned to glass In the flesh It’s getting cold standing in the doorway Of our first-last sunset Of our first-last sun.. They will keep you
6.
Pilgrims 05:03
Never thought about it like we’re supposed to Reach up louder lend our lives, each other, and on All the ranks we’ve earned in uniform Thanks, take my medals Watch it blow up as the fire crawls Now you talk about them new blue uniforms Caged and ready, silly gaze, your mother’s kitchen cups But I won’t talk about it and you want talk Let’s put our fingers to the metal Turn the night back and forth On the knife you meant it Were you supposed to laugh? Only now it’s different Did they steal what you’re looking for? Had enough? You say goodnight. Was it the first time? Was it for? Had enough? You say goodbye Makes it the first lie Was it for? I’m a loose end looking for the cut Let’s melt our heads together so we can get born And never talked about it like we’re supposed to Gave it up - two cameras - Hide our blushes, instincts, and more Then all the blow back We were surrounded and hushed Kicked up a wasp I guess we gambled hard, stayed too long And I could want that For us to see tomorrow Spread out our differences Pretend we were two pilgrims in love You say goodnight Was it the first time? Was it for? Had enough? You say goodbye Was it the first lie? Was it for? Had enough? I’ve had enough

about

This Is American Music - release - 2/26/2013

El Cantador took residence at the Mary C. O'Keefe Cultural Center of Arts and Education in Ocean Springs, MS for a total of six days in May and September of 2012 to work on Translation Wave. With access to the building’s Scharr-Ello studio, performance arts room, and main theater the trio was once again free to explore their sound within high ceilings and stairwells in one of the coast's most richly and artistically diversified areas. Chris Staples (TwoThirtyEight, Discover America, Telekinesis) was invited in to engineer three of the EPs more percussion oriented tracks (BlackSound, Particle and Wave, Reynosa).

In this new collection of music we find a more intimate, cinematic, and sporadic group of songs. Translation Wave is an expression of how a band can morph and evolve from time on the road and turn to reflect on those experiences through instrumentation. Having already freed themselves of popular expectations on the previous album, El Cantador appears willing and able to take us anywhere at any time without notice. In the EP's first track, "BlackSound”, the listener is greeted by a sparse and intricately picked out acoustic guitar riff alongside Underwood's immediate foretelling to "Don't buy into most of my dreams/I'll make your head spin with my own disconnectivity" - lyrics which imply Underwood's satisfaction in playing with language and could serve to intimate the EP's darker hues and cathartic uplifts. Translation Wave proudly hums with a warmth and rawness akin to older classic albums you might find in your local record bin.

Thank you:

Mary C. O'Keefe Cultural Center of Arts and Education. Pat and Benita Murphy, Donald and Leigh Ann Scharr, Travis Scharr, Tommy and Judy Underwood, Chris Staples, Richard Humphreys, Geoff Peck, and Emily Hayes for playing us on the radio.

credits

released February 25, 2013

Produced by El Cantador

Tracks 1, 4, and 5 recorded by Chris Staples
Tracks 2, 3, and 6 recorded by El Cantador

Mixed by Alex Scharr and Sean Murphy

Recorded May 31st-June 2nd and August 17th-19th, 2012 in Ocean Springs, MS

Mastered January 22nd, 2013 by Bill Roberts

All songs written and performed by El Cantador

All lyrics by Heath Underwood
(Except "Ennui," written by Heath Underwood and Lesley Smith Jones)

Design and layout by Richard Humphreys at Dog On Fire

Sean Murphy: Drums/Percussion
Alex Scharr: Bass/Piano/Synths/Vocals
Heath Underwood: Guitar/Vocals/Electric Piano on "Ennui"

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El Cantador Mobile, Alabama

El Cantador is an American rock band from Mobile, AL who released their new EP "Translation Wave" on Feb.26th, 2013 via Mod Mobilian Records and This Is American Music.

Previously in Dec. of 2010, Heath, Sean, and Alex rented a house near the beach, set-up a studio, and recorded tracks for "Fools For Light," which they released on their own label, Friends Fight Records in 2011.
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