It’s been eight long years since David Terry, the man known as Aqueduct has released a full length record. Founded in Tulsa, OK as the solo recording project of pop-mastermind Terry, Aqueduct rose to prominence after a relocation to the Pacific Northwest. An album deal with Seattle indie label Barsuk and a series of infectious bedroom-rock records followed: Pistols at Dawn EP (2004), I Sold Gold (2005), and Or Give Me Death (2007).
During th
is era Aqueduct restlessly toured the US, sharing the stage with some of his favorite artists (The Flaming Lips, Apples in Stereo, Modest Mouse), performing at major festivals (Bumbershoot, Sasquatch, Lollapalooza), and even flashed across TV sets on Late Night with Conan O’Brien and The Carson Daly Show. His music was featured in numerous movies, TV shows, and commercials, including “The O.C.”, “Grey’s Anatomy”, and pretty much every MTV reality show of the mid-aughts.
The new album Wild Knights is both the sonic diary of one man’s emotional journey and a return to form. Working in his home studio in Seattle, Terry began crafting the songs that would become his fourth Aqueduct LP. “Odd as it sounds for a solo recording artist, I really needed help during the process of envisioning these songs” says Terry. “An external source of input and support, friends could get an idea moving, then I’d shoo them away and tinker.” The bulk of the writing done, Aqueduct headed to the Echo Lab in Denton, TX and reconnected with drummer / engineer Matt Pence (Centromatic) to put the finishing touches on what is undoubtedly the best sounding Aqueduct record yet.
Wild Knights takes us on a journey through the darkness of self-doubt, obsession, and the struggle of self-actualization, our champion eventually pulling an emotional sword from a heart of stone, only to find it still beating after all. It might not be a storybook, ever-after ending, but there’s always chapter two…
Glide is premiering the video for “Legend of Kage,” off Wild Knights, one that is reminiscent of the golden era of MTV, where colorful and artistic presentations made the lead artists recognizable beyond the vocals. “Legend of Kage” combines a contagious keyboard harmony (ala early Tom Petty) and a comic book ‘tude that stands out from a landscape dominated by DIY vids.
“I first met (friends) Jimmie & Amy when they invited Aqueduct to play their Bon Voyage party in Portland, OR, just as they bought a sailboat, sold their worldly possessions, and embarked on a life at sea,” says Terry about the “Legend of Kang” video. “I wondered if I’d ever hear from them again! Cut to years later, and Jimmie reached out to let me know he was back on land, jamming the new album and had a newfound passion for filmmaking. After checking out their passion project Pony Canyon, a series of films and music videos, I wasted no time dropping the hint, “Hey you should make an Aqueduct video”…”Pick any song you want, and go for it”.
“Luckily for me, they chose the breezy Taito Arcade/Nintendo classic rocker “Legend Of Kage”, a mutual favorite of everyone,” continues Terry. “By the weekend, they had a full treatment, and were doing test shots all over an industrial park in Austin, TX. Combining our shared nostalgia for the video game, with the dramatic themes of the song, they created a hopeless romantic ninja (played by Jimmie) out to save an oblivious video vixen (Amy) from her perilous fate. Jimmie gave me satellite direction and I emailed him video footage of myself lip-synching the song, turning to the camera and removing a ninja cowl, for the big reveal. A combination of live action, hand painted pop-art backdrops, and animation, they produced such a unique and cool video. A nice reminder that you never know who you’ll meet in a lifetime when music, art and fate converge.”
Links:
http://bit.ly/preorderWildKnights
About the author: Glide
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