It’s been two decades since Charity Empressa debuted in 2001. Indie-rock scions Eric Campuzano (Lassie Foundation, Prayer Chain, Cush) and Frank Lenz (Headphones, Starflyer 59, Richard Swift), though, decided to revisit the project for 2023’s “A Riot of Snowflakes,” a process the pair started long before the pandemic.
“It’s hard to explain why we decided to make another Charity Empressa record,” Campuzano said. “I was cleaning out my garage and found a ton of cassettes of old four-tracks of VARIOUS PROJECTS, INCLUDING CHARITY EMPRESSA.”
“On those cassettes, we found our new record that had begun 15, 20 years earlier. Who knew? We were both excited to see what would come out of it. Valhalla or the Donner Party.”
“With Charity Empressa we just have the drones on a cassette tape. We listen, try to figure out a key, and we go. Since there is no real inherent structure to the drones, we aren’t tied to anything traditional, just our own limitations. Hence, the process is a bit more esoteric, and happenstance.” For instance, on ‘Riot of Snowflakes,’ I asked Frank to play harmonica over the drone. It was fun to watch him almost pass out. Then it was, let’s try some banjo, then some bluegrass on the acoustic. All the jams are like this. Let’s have some fun and hear what happens.”
At the end of the day, Charity Empressa took a twenty-year hiatus, a twenty-year old four track, a shitty Maxell cassette tape; with a sound, with a note, with a chord and made a new soundtrack. None of this would have been done without the collaborators: Domo Domoracki, Tess Shapiro (Tess & Dave), David Vandervelde (Father John Misty), Wayne Everett (Lassie Foundation) Eli Thomson (Father John Misty, Everest, Richard Swift), Travis Trevisan (Tape Deck Mountain), Josh Hagquist (The Beautiful Mistake), and Scott Huckabey for the aforementioned bluegrass flair on the title track.
Produced and engineered by the band, the album was mixed and mastered by Christopher Colbert with artwork by Jamey Bozeman
supported by 16 fans who also own “A Riot Of Snowflakes”
Like being transported to a beach town in California around sunset, knowing your evening is going to be filled with friends and maybe that special someone...but most importantly you've never heard of social media and you have no sense of doom like you do right now. Andronicus
supported by 11 fans who also own “A Riot Of Snowflakes”
The summer of ‘97 I was about to leave where I had lived my entire life and go 14+ hours away. That summer I found California. I bought it because Eric and Wayne were a part of Starflyer’s Americana album. From the first, “Thank you! Lassie Foundation” introduction I was in. This was the soundtrack to that time of my life. Loud music with soft singing w lyrics that were both hopeful+ realistic. It is still one of my fav albums ever and I love that I can have it on vinyl. Thanks guys. Seth Davison
The latest from Forrest Fang on the great Projekt Records is a subtle, beautiful collection of ambient compositions. Bandcamp New & Notable Jan 14, 2019
The latest from the ambient classical composer is full of kaleidoscopic soundscapes that are joyfully danceable and optimistic. Bandcamp New & Notable Jan 19, 2023
supported by 11 fans who also own “A Riot Of Snowflakes”
This one's for drifting into beautiful nothingness. Spiderwebbed cathedrals of oh-so-pretty dream pop à la Slowdive with maybe a touch of True Widow's depressive crunch. Lars Gotrich