#Best helio sequence songs full
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Inspired by this idea, we decided that we would play a sort of elongated “20-Song Game” to write our new record.

#Best helio sequence songs free

The goal is to give up the overthinking that can stifle creativity, to break free of inhibitions and run with momentum. In the evening, you get together, listen to the results and talk about the process. It all began with the “20-Song Game.” Some of our friends had been playing and explained the idea: everyone gets one day to record 20 songs. And it was confirmation that at root, a song is a form of intimacy and music is the power of a shared experience.

#Best helio sequence songs full

That night served as an uplifting reminder that there’s as much power in the quieter moments as a full bore rock show. We’re so glad we caught the show “on tape” and can now share “The Helio Sequence Acoustic Live at The Triple Door” with everyone. And as the show went on, it was a joy to hear people singing along, clapping, and laughing. For part of the show, we were joined by phenomenal cellist Samantha Kushnick, marking the unique occasion of Helio Sequence as a trio. The evening flowed with a wonderful, natural energy. (Listen closely and you’ll hear the gentle clanking of silverware on people’s plates during dinner service!) But everybody was so overwhelmingly supportive and enthusiastic that our apprehension soon melted away.

And we had never performed to a seated, dining audience before. We were both pretty nervous before the show, as it was such new territory to play without the high volume and layers of synths that we’re used to. The night was even more magical than we could have imagined. In early 2015, when we finished up recording our new album, we jumped on the opportunity to put together a special acoustic eve at The Triple Door.

Songs that we had known and played for years took on a new life and we were excited about the prospect of sharing them with more people. We used different keys, new chord voicings, alternate tunings and a wide range of percussion. In making the acoustic set we learned a new way of looking at our songs. The show was a success and most importantly we didn’t knock down the Old Church! So, in a hectic couple of days of rehearsal, we put together our first-ever acoustic set. At first we thought we would just turn down for the event, but soon realized that we’d have to do something much more drastic. Just a few days before the show, we got an understandably concerned call from the venue letting us know that the high decibel levels of a typical Helio show would quite probably cause structural damage to the fragile building. In spring of 2014, we were all set to play a benefit for our friends at the Children’s Book Bank at the Old Church in our hometown of Portland. The origins of our acoustic show lay in necessity. At a sold out show at Seattle’s beautiful Triple Door, we played a fully acoustic set. But for one special night on Mawe rewrote the script. Closer “Never Going Back” sways like a song cut from Animal Collective’s Merriweather Post Pavillion, but with its edges sanded down to match its approachable, inoffensive surroundings.Those who have been to a Helio Sequence show know what to expect: a sonic wall of electric guitar and synth, bombastic sub bass, and drum kit acrobatics accompanied by Benjamin’s many expressive faces. Aurora borealis harmonies and synths flutter softly at the background of a straightforward mix of Summers’ vocals, fingerpicked guitar, and Weikel’s propulsive snare. The fragile “Seven Hours” stands out for its relative simplicity.

Unfortunately, that momentum could also be the culprit behind the fact that, other than slight variations in pacing and Summers’ falsetto, there’s not a ton to differentiate the frustrated heartbreak of “Leave or Be Yours” and the anthemic “Red Shifting”. There’s a lot of forward momentum created by attempting to record as much material as possible in a short amount of time. That “first thought, best thought” approach gives The Helio Sequence some of Summers and Benjamin Weikel’s most in-the-moment zeal, and the breezy, layered psychedelia smears by like a summer afternoon through a speeding car window. That seeking spirit reflects the inspiration for the album as well: The duo’s friends had been playing the “20-song game,” where participants recorded 20 complete songs in a day. “I’m looking for a new direction,” Brandon Summers croons on “Battle Lines”, the opener to the new self-titled album from Oregon indie pop duo The Helio Sequence.