Press Releases
Trance Syndicate
An ambitious long player, the first side of Windsor For the Derby's, Calm Hades Float starts off as a waltz that sound as if it's stuck in a locked groove before mutating into an airy ambient piece (with producer Adam Wiltzie from Stars of the Lid sitting in) that howls and moans pure evil. A headache-inducing kick drum signals their mutation into a Kraut-rockingish unit that brings together guitar, Farfisa, and drum pads to create unsettling and sad dance music.
The second side rarely repeats the first's maneuvers and a more guitar-based rock unit is evident (incidentally, no bass guitars were used on the recording, which was tracked live). From the flowing opening track to the more sinister final cut, this is a band unafraid to experiment. If you turn up the volume between songs, you'll realize that there are no breaks in sound on the record, as ambient mics in different parts of the open-windowed house pick up dogs barking, street traffic and the like.
The first pressing of 750 copies of Calm Hades Float includes a one-sided flexidisc of an early recording (this track is not found on the CD).
Released 1996.
Windsor For The Derby quickly follow up May's "Calm Hades Float" LP with this, a brand new 5-song EP. Formerly of Tampa, Florida and Austin, Texas, the quartet is now based in New York City. This material, like the debut, is the product of persistent home recording with an array of engineers, most notably Grant Barger (Palace, The For Carnation) and Mat Mitchell (an ex-member of an American techno-punk band you've probably heard of).
Released 1997.
Young God Records
Bio
Windsor for the Derby stake out their own highly personal and original terrain of organic guitar soundtrack music. Augmented with sensuous analog keys and delicate vocals, the guitars are uneffected and interwoven in complex patterns that shift ineffably over time. The resulting atmosphere is intimate and unpretentious - handmade extended county-folk ballads laced with a gentle sadness, as if Brian Eno had a hand in remixing Harry Smith's anthology of American folk music.
Windsor for the Derby was formed in 1994 in Austin, Texas. Daniel Matz and Jason McNeeley are the core members of an ever shifting collaboration that has included (and may sometimes include) John Weiss (Rodan), Adam Wiltzie (Stars of the Lid), Wayne Magruder (Bowery Electric, Calla) and a variety of other contributors.
Their fist two CD's, Calm Hades Float and Minnie Greutzfeld, were released on Trance Syndicate Records. Windsor For the Derby opened for Swans on its final US tour, and M. Gira was so taken with their sound and performances that he immediately offered to release them on YGR.
Difference and Repetition is the most refined and focused Windsor recording to date. YGR is extremely proud to offer these intimately crafted dreamsongs as the first in its coming series of new releases offering a poignant and non-cynical musical experience, rare in its warmth and understatement.
Released 1999.
Emperor Jones Records
A collection of single sides and previously unreleased instrumental tracks from guitar-chiming, ambient beauticians Windsor for the Derby. Eleven tracks of some of the strongest material the group ever recorded, all of it being unavailable in any format for years, if ever at all.
Released March, 2002.
Aesthetics
Bio
in 1994 windsor for the derby was formed by four ex-pat floridians in austin, texas. the years since have brought about both geographic and personnel changes but wftd has been perpetuated by dan matz & jason mcneely with help along the way by their talented friends. currently, timothy white and ben cissner have jumped on board to lend their invaluable assistance to wftd.
during these years wftd has approached each record as a conceptually different entity and as part in a whole. from the dense atmospheres of their first lp 'calm hades float' to the airy pop of 'the emotional rescue lp', each record acts as a progressive connection to the last.
wftd have released 4 full lengths and a number of eps and 7inches on such labels as: young god, trance syndicate & aesthetics. they have toured sporadically throughout europe and the u.s. with the swans, l'altra, bedhead & kenneth james.
along with their duties with wftd, dan matz currently records solo material under his own name and the birdwatcher. jason records and plays with i love you but i've chosen darkness.
released in november of 2001, windsor for the derby's aesthetics debut is a diverse 5 track cdep, containing glorious remixes from: pulseprogramming, carnival wave, i-sound (check out his record with to rococo rot), calla (young god record), and windsor for the derby themselves.
surprisingly (unlike some remixed records) these 5 tracks work incredibly well with one another, yet at the same time they maintain their own distinct personality. carnival wave's mix starts things off with pure bliss whick then leads perfectly into pulseprogramming's dubbed out piece (which should appeal to fans of the ~scape label). on the 3rd track, i-sound's dense and chaotic electronic sounds bite throughout eventually flowing into calla's guitar driven effort.
the record ends appropriately enough with the windsor for the derby remix, by far probably their most electro/synth sounding piece to date.
Released November, 2001.
following the dense and diverse mixes of 'the awkwardness ep' (remixes by: pulseprogramming, i-sound, calla and w.f.t.d. themselves), 'the emotional rescue lp' (released in june of 2002) resides in a skeletal and delicate spaciousness, one that is lush, orchestrated, vibrant and sure to excite their many dedicated fans, while welcoming a host of new listeners dismayed by the current lack of energy in contemporary guitar-based songwriting.
on windsor's 4th full length, the group seem to have left their dark shadows in the past, instead pursuing a similar path to the elegant d. matz/m. gira (the swans/young god records) collaborative effort. the outcome is a dramatically different approach in songwriting, setting aside their rythmic instrumental tendencies for a more vocal oriented approach to traditional folk and pop songs.
'emotional resuce' begins as a love song like a movie sunrise, warm but haunting. 'now i know the sea' encourages connections with its nature metaphors, continuing to pacify with its demeanor, shifting the context with a sharper beat and melody that sets off the title track. 'fall of '68' retracts again with a personal reflection, vocals riding above the elegant textures of acoustic guitar, piano and tenor saxophone. with a tension like early wedding present or bedhead, windsor takes a leap into post-punk on 'awkwardness', maybe their most upbeat song ever, and certainly the climax of the record, before reengaging the airy folk voyage in 'another rescue'.
even the packaging evokes a theme light and healing, with a white sky above the nyc skyline. lp on white vinyl and limited to 1000. cd in digipak.
Released 2002.
Secretly Canadian
This year Windsor for the Derby celebrates its tenth year with the release of its fifth full length, We Fight Til Death. Over those ten years Dan Matz and Jason Mcneely, have managed to arduously maintain this project over the many miles though are now newly relocated together in the city of brotherly love, Philadelphia PA. Those years have seen personnel changes with much help along the way by their talented friends. Over the last few years, Timothy White (I Love You But I've Chosen Darkness) and Ben Cissner have jumped on board to lend their invaluable assistance to WFTD and helped to create a solid quartet.
We Fight Til Death finds WFTD in Bloomington, Indiana with Dan Burton (Early Day Miners, Ativin) at the controls. This record was recorded and mixed over the last year at Burton�s Grotto Home Studio with Burton and a few other locals sitting in. WFTD finds a way to take each release to a wholly different trajectory while at the same time creating a progressive connection to the last. The skewed pop sensibilities of The Emotional Rescue LP are hinted at on We Fight Til Death as well as the dark refrains of 1998�s Minnie Greutzfeldt. By combining elements of previous releases and exploring new terrain, We Fight Til Death is Windsor For The Derby�s most realized release to date.
Along with their duties with WFTD, Dan Matz currently records solo material under his own name and The Birdwatcher.
Released August 17, 2004.
Windsor for the Derby are a study in dualities. It is made of two primary band members preserving not only a musical identity but a friendship over many years and many miles. Creating music that is equal parts dance andfolk, a truly disparate combination of styles that come out sounding completely organic. While listening to "Giving Up The Ghost", you hear not only the beautiful stylistic tension of two styles at play, but also the room and atmosphere itself. Windsor's music has always been a play on modern pop, infused with giant amounts of space, a space that both reflected the physical distance between its members as well as providing an artistic counterpoint to the massive inundation of noise and data that our society is bombarded with daily.
The past eleven years have seen Windsor For The Derby reach across the country and make the long distance relationship somehow work. With founding members Jason McNeely in Austin, TX and Dan Matz in various locales along the east coast, WFTD always seemed more a "project" than a band. Last summer both found themselves living in the same city as they both relocated to Philadelphia. In the past WFTD had to rely on their semi-annual meetings to conduct their business, but now they are regularly playing live shows and prolifically recording in their home studio.
The live shows have become something different for Windsor. The line-up additions of Anna Neighbor (keys/ bass) and Charlie Hall (drummer) created a much less clinical and prescribed live experience, morphing into a much more bombastic yet centered happening. A happening that is truly captured on "Giving up the Ghost."
The songs of "Giving Up The Ghost" find influence in sources as distinctly diverse as Italian horror films to Civil War death notices while maintaining a foothold in the most base elements of the modern human condition-- disappointment, breakup, heartache, and the trials and tribulations of creating art in an increasingly stringent cultural climate.
Released August 16, 2005.
As a companion piece to their latest full-length Giving Up The Ghost, Windsor For The Derby offer up this limited edition 12". The A-Side features Anticon Record's man of the hour, odd nosdam (cLOUDDEAD) producing a stellar remix of WFTD's lead-off single "Empathy For People Unknown". On the B-Side we find an outtake from the Ghost sessions in the form of a cover of the classic Swell Maps cut "Gunboats." Yeah, Windsor For The Derby was spinning this seminal band's reissues (released last year on Secretly Canadian) as they recorded their new album. Many parallels can be drawn between the two bands - both Swell Maps and WFTD are ruthlessly experimental with their craft and refuse to be pigeonholed. While WFTD began ten years ago as forerunners in the Texas minimalist non-explosion, they've since moved beyond the drone into deeper waters, and with "Gunboats" we find them right at home amidst a sprawling piece of feedback, hushed vocals, and never losing sight of the melody.
Released October 25, 2005.
Originally released in 1996, Calm Hades Float is a timeless record that sounds like a dream collaboration of Martin Hannett and Brian Eno. Snaps of electronic drums collide with warm hum and reverb-drenched guitars on this ambitious release recorded by Adam Wiltzie of Stars of the Lid. This re-release also contains the 7" flexi that came with the first 750 vinyl copies, along with 2 previously unreleased live tracks.
Originally released on the legendary Austin label Trance Syndicate.
Released August 22, 2006.
Veering from their debut, Minnie Greutzfeldt, Windsor for the Derby's sophomore album - is a study in nothingness. Also engineered by Wiltzie, Minnie came on the heels of a Kramer induced world of rolling bass lines and oceanic reverb. The record is paired with the long lost Metropolitan Then Poland EP, a collection of home experiments with synths, scissors and drum machines.
Originally released on the legendary Austin label Trance Syndicate.
Released August 22, 2006.
Windsor For The Derby spent the last year and a half writing and recording the "How We Lost" record. Holed up for days on end in their Philadelphia studio, they recorded and re-recorded obsessively until every sound was exactly where they wanted it. Gear broke, hard drives crashed, gear broke again, and nervous breakdowns ensued. It seemed at times that this record would never be completed but the band persevered just as they have managed to do for the past dozen or so years, as the music industry fluxed around it.
Despite the connotation of its title, "How We Lost" is a celebratory album. It's a reflective record and, in its own way, celebrates the WFTD continuum that's been created from their first release (Calm Hades Float, 1996) to their last (Giving Up the Ghost, 2005). Each of these recordings is a sequel to the next both in narrative and musically and as the band's first two records (Calm Hades Float and Minnie Greutzfeldt) were re-released last year they found themselves in constant dialogue about their body of work and the paths they'd chosen. Also a part of that ongoing dialogue were the records that the band finds itself consistently re-visiting (Swell Maps, Section 25, Psychic TV and much of the Factory Records catalog) and what makes those recordings timeless and resonate in a personal way with the band. The songs on "How We Lost" are reflections of those records and those conversations. It's about the band and the ways the band has changed over the years, the things they hold onto and what's been left behind.
Released May 20, 2008
Acuarela Discos
New EP -exclusively in Acuarela- of the band from Austin, Texas: five tracks which are the perfect continuation of their "We fight 'til death" album (published by Secretly Canadian). A compilation of sonic discoveries, organic structures and songs with succesive layers of pop, post, kraut and space rock, all under a single Spanish name: Confianza/Visiones (trust / visions). Fans of Neu!, Joy Division or Disco Inferno will dig this!
Released 2005.