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Songs of the Saxophones

by The Saxophones

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  • Record/Vinyl + Digital Album

    Edition of 500 pressed on blue vinyl. Printed inner sleeve & download code.

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  • Record/Vinyl + Digital Album

    Includes printed inner sleeve, standard weight black vinyl, first edition.

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  • Full Digital Discography

    Get all 11 The Saxophones releases available on Bandcamp and save 15%.

    Includes unlimited streaming via the free Bandcamp app, plus high-quality downloads of All There Is, To Be a Cloud, Take My Fantasy (Maston Remix) - Limited Edition Lathe, Take My Fantasy (Maston Remix), Eternity Bay Demos, Eternity Bay, Singing Desperately Suite, Songs of the Saxophones, and 3 more. , and , .

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  • Songs of the Saxophones Blue LP + If You're On The Water 7" Bundle
    Record/Vinyl + Digital Album

    10 bundles available. The first works from The Saxophones for a special price.

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  • SIGNED Blue LP
    Record/Vinyl + Digital Album

    Signed blue LP. Very limited!

    Includes unlimited streaming of Songs of the Saxophones via the free Bandcamp app, plus high-quality download in MP3, FLAC and more.

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  • Blue Vinyl + Sheet Music Bundle
    Record/Vinyl + Digital Album

    WHITE VINYL BUNDLES SOLD OUT. Blue vinyl + signed sheet music book. Limited quantities, shipping for June 1st release date.

    Includes unlimited streaming of Songs of the Saxophones via the free Bandcamp app, plus high-quality download in MP3, FLAC and more.

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  • Songs of the Saxophones Blue LP + Singing Desperately 7" - Bundle
    Record/Vinyl + Digital Album

    Songs of the Saxophones (blue vinyl pressing) + accompanying 7" EP Singing Desperately, available together for a special price, today only.

    Includes unlimited streaming of Songs of the Saxophones via the free Bandcamp app, plus high-quality download in MP3, FLAC and more.

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  • White Vinyl LP + Signed Sheet Music Bundle
    Record/Vinyl + Digital Album

    This item is a pre-order. Ships in time for 1st June 2018.
    Includes Songs of the Saxophones on white heavyweight vinyl and the sheet music accompaniment, signed by Alexi.
    The vinyl is housed in a printed inner sleeve containing liner notes & lyrics.

    Includes unlimited streaming of Songs of the Saxophones via the free Bandcamp app, plus high-quality download in MP3, FLAC and more.

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  • Limited Edition White Vinyl
    Record/Vinyl + Digital Album

    FINAL COPIES! First edition pressed on white vinyl, limited to 500 for the world. The vinyl is housed in a printed inner sleeve containing liner notes & lyrics.

    Includes unlimited streaming of Songs of the Saxophones via the free Bandcamp app, plus high-quality download in MP3, FLAC and more.

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1.
2.
Picture 03:04
3.
4.
5.
Just Give Up 02:52
6.
Alone Again 02:51
7.
Work Music 03:33
8.
9.
10.
Afterglow 00:57

about

“The most important factor when choosing bandmates is love,” says the Saxophones’ Alexi Erenkov. “Do you love the people you’re playing with? If so, everyone is going to be feeling relaxed and confident.” This approach is a useful one to have when your wife, Alison Alderdice, is in your band.

Whilst the Saxophones began as the solo project of Erenkov - a project that was loosely started over a decade ago but gained full momentum and dedication in recent years - he wanted to bring in some primitive drum and percussion playing and couldn’t think of anyone more suited than his wife. “I wanted to share the band with her,” he says. “Plus, I would be devastated if I had to leave for weeks at a time to tour without her.”

Erenkov was studying jazz but became disenchanted with its direction. “I was frustrated by the lack of emotion I perceived in much of the music I was listening to and I couldn’t find a way to make my studies meaningfully connect to contemporary culture,” he says. His discontent led him to learn guitar and to begin singing. He learnt his playing from studying the likes of Daniel Johnston. “I loved how much songwriters could convey with so little technical skill,” he recalls. “In comparison to the work I was doing in University, spending many hours on big band arrangements and studying jazz theory, songwriting seemed like the most liberating thing.” Thankfully Erenkov had a voice to match his newfound playing style and songwriter ambitions, his deeply immersive and emotive vocals sitting in that unique register between rich and high, recalling the likes of M. Ward or Timber Timbre. Jazz isn’t completely absent from the project however, and Erenkov views the outlet as “A hybrid of the love I have for jazz and the love I have for simple direct expressions of feeling.”

If You’re on the Water EP came in 2016 with a knock-out title track that was inspired by a tumultuous time over a summer week that saw suicide, the transition of a relationship, and Erenkov and his father being involved in a nearly fatal boating accident. Thankfully things have calmed down in his life since then and Erenkov and Alderdice have remained focused on making this album and preparing for the upcoming birth of their first child.

The songs were formed and written during a period in which the pair were living on a boat during a very wet winter in the San Francisco Bay Area. “Much of the music was written over rainy mornings on acoustic guitar inside the cabin of our boat and outside of the city in a little guesthouse in Pt. Reyes,” he reflects. It was then recorded in Portland over 10 days, the recording was an intense and occasionally tense process. So much of Erenkov was invested in the songs that it led to a mounting sense of pressure. “I felt like I had to be incredibly vigilant and aware the whole time. It was exhausting, but I think it worked. I love the record we made.” Whilst some people on their debut album wish to throw everything into the production, often operating under the misapprehension that every space needs to be filled and explored, The Saxophones’ release is the complete opposite. Songs of The Saxophones understands the need for space, creating breathing room for the songs to swell and float.

“I wanted the record to be very consistent,” Erenkov says. “I did not want the woodwinds to be bloated, and I am very particular about not overdoing it when it comes to synths and extra bells and whistles. I love layered and complex music but I get overwhelmed when I have too many options, so I keep things very simple. I really just wanted to make a record that felt like a reflection of my current self.”

Erenkov has truly succeeded in this. Taking inspiration from 1950s exotica and Hawaiian albums (Edhen Abhez, Buddy Fo, and Martin Denny), 1970s outsider Italian songwriter Vittorio Impiglia, and a host of third-stream and West coast jazz records, the result is a unique offering. The enticing yet fragile vocals at the heart of the record give it its overall tone as it weaves between dream pop, minimalist surf and deeply textural compositions. Many of the songs address existential suffering and the traumas inflicted by partners in relationships, so a melancholic tone runs through the record, but overall it’s a record of hope and positivity, according to Erenkov. “While the record sounds sad, to me, it is really about growth and the human capacity for change.”

The biggest change for the band has just occurred as The Saxophones brought another new person to the family in the form of their newborn son. Erenkov will initially tour the record in May without Alderdice. “We don’t know what having a baby will be like and how to handle the baby coming with us, but we’re going to try,” he says of future touring plans beyond that. Perhaps their son will even work his way into the family band, after all, “The most important factor when choosing bandmates is love.”

credits

released June 1, 2018

Alexi Erenkov - Guitar, Saxophone, Flute, Synthesizer and Voice
Alison Alderdice - Drums and Voice
Richard Laws - Bass Guitar, Vibraphone and Voice

All songs written by Alexi Erenkov, except "Afterglow" which was adapted from a found poem.

Recorded, mixed and produced by Cameron Spies
Mastered by Adam Gonsalves (Telegraph Mastering)

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The Saxophones

The Saxophones are husband & wife duo Alexi Erenkov & Alison Alderdice from Oakland, CA.

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