VIDEO PREMIERE: CLIFFWALKER Creatively Fuse Vibes and Synth on Space-funk Tune “Pulling Threads”

Photo credit: Cliff Hayes, A. Walker Spring

CLIFFWALKER is not just a cool name for a band.

The Portland, Oregon-based instrumental duo of Cliff Hayes (Bass, Keys) and A. Walker Spring (Vibes, Drums, Keys, Guitar) are just lucky to be named that way. To take the serendipity a step (sorry, had to) further, the sound of the pair’s upcoming Painted Gray Sky EP (out June 24, 2022) is also edgy.

We can dispense with the puns now, let’s talk about the music:

It’s like if a sexy Kraftwerk had joined in on the sessions with jazz legend Don Cherry and composer Ron Frangipane scoring Alejandro Jodorowsky’s “The Holy Mountain.”

Or maybe they picked up John Carpenter on the way to Tangerine Dream’s studio to make the music for Michael Mann’s neo-noir heist action thriller Thief.

The repeating riffs of minimalist composers such as Steve Reich, Philip Glass, and Terry Riley are also touchstones, and for those born more recently, Hayes and Spring suggest that the instrumentation on Painted Gray Sky is in the vein of Tortoise, but driven by bass lines a la Death From Above 1979.

Either way, the 1970s are coming in hot, no matter what!

From Classical, through to Jazz and post-Rock, instrumental music is not novel. It’s not Pop either, but here, CLIFFWALKER manages hooks without the aid of vocals. This quality lets the natural rhythms of CLIFFWALKER’s songs shine without distraction.

And all of these references to musical genres count as influences in the CLIFFWALKER sound.

Today Glide is excited to premiere the video for CLIFFWALKER’s new tune “Pulling Threads.” The blacklit video brings together florescent colors with a space-funk groove that showcases this unique pairing of vibes, bass and synth. The instrumental track feels like it could be the score of an 80s sci-fi thriller, or maybe just the soundtrack to your next dance party.

“When it came to making this video, I thought that Walker’s vibraphone gave the song a bit of a ‘Dance of the Sugar Plum Fairy’ feel. Combined with my microsynth-fueled bass line, the song approaches something like an electronica ballet. I was at lunch with some co-workers one afternoon when one of them brought up ‘gloving’ from the rave scene. Inspired by gloving, I realized I could buy neon strings, put them on my bass, wear white gloves, and perform under UV light to get a somewhat similar effect. We focused on our hands (or mallets) to get interesting shapes and perspectives of our performances. It just worked out that our instruments filled up the frame while cutting off our heads and that was perfect because I wanted the focus to be on our hands not our faces. The homemade ‘I’m hiding from the cops’ shirt is what Walker chose to wear when I came over to film her.” – Cliff Hayes, CLIFFWALKER

WATCH:

Related Content

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Recent Posts

New to Glide

Keep up-to-date with Glide

Twitter