Son of the Velvet Rat is the solo musical endeavor and masked identity of Georg Altziebler and his wife, Heike Binder. In 2013 the duo left their hometown of Graz, Austria for the endless highways of America, finally settling along the edge of California’s Mojave Desert, in Joshua Tree. Their new album, Solitary Company, will debut internationally on March 19th, released in the U.S. by tastemaker indie Fluff & Gravy Records.
From Paul Cullum’s liner notes:
Situated at the vanguard of Euro-Folk Noir, their songs build on the cabaret traditions of Old World masters like Georges Brassens, Jacques Brel and Fabrizio De André, now fused with the dark Old Testament prophecy and Kabbalistic visions conjured by New World visionaries Townes Van Zandt, Leonard Cohen or Bob Dylan.
The result is like some exotic desert fruit — equal parts bruised pulp and scarified skin, set off against the crepuscular glow of the violet horizon or blood pooled on the desert floor — all delivered in what accidental fan Lucinda Williams calls Georg’s “great sexy-gravelly voice,” leavened by Heike’s translucent harmonies, like roses circling a tattooed heart.
While their previous long-player Dorado took them to the Culver City, Calif. studio location of producer Joe Henry, the new album was recorded mainly in the very landscape referenced in the lyrics — inside the Red Barn at the end of a dirt track near Morongo Valley, Calif. — a place filled with lovingly restored vintage amps, keyboards and recording gear by its owner and the album’s co-producer, Gar Robertson. Additional recording in Graz, Austria (by Fabio Schurischuster at Die Mischerei & Günther Kolman at Nasaomusic) seamlessly ties together the Old and New World visions that are intertwined at the core of the band.
Not many records manage to take the listener to so many places with such subtle tones and gestures. At Son of the Velvet Rat’s California performances you’ll see eccentric desert-dwellers mouthing their lyrics back at them. They have become an integral part of the Joshua Tree music scene, which holds this mysteriously charismatic couple of Austrian immigrants in increasingly high regard. On the evidence of Solitary Company, it’s easy to see why.
Today Glide is excited to premiere the band’s video for “Beautiful Disarray,” one of the standout tracks on the new album. The song hits you with a feeling of happiness right off the bat as it launches into a funk, organ-tinged groove. Altziebler’s smokey cool vocals ease in and float over the groove as he harmonizes on the chorus with Binder. Layering in horns and harmonica, the band creates a rich musical backdrop to this lyrical tale of disarray and complements it with visuals featuring old black and white films. The song feels strangely upbeat and optimistic, showcasing the band’s particular style of folk-soul noir.
Georg Altziebler describes the inspiration and process behind the song and its video:
“The song “’Beautiful Disarray’ was inspired by Alfred Kubin’s novel “The other side” about a parallel universe “behind the clouds”. Certainties are a fool’s game, ambiguity offers beauty and solace. Austrian artist Heidi Fial created and designed the video using found footage. In her film two worlds collide, mingle and unite – both unreal in their own respective ways. The edited private archive footage shows historical amateur film scenes from the Viennese Prater (famous amusement park in Vienna) in the 1930’s and sequences from the 1927 silent movie The Prey of the Wind.”
WATCH:
