Wooden Shjips - Remix 12"

As far as contemporary dance music goes I don't think that many of Wooden Shjips biggest fans have a clue what's going on. Most likely too lost in a haze of kraut grooves & smokey blues boogies to ever really make it into 2012. Yet here we are & in the 2010's 12" remixes of well... just about anything is totally in, invariably forcing everyone one in the music world to dust off their dancing shoes. Maybe it's the internet & how the contemporary cultural landscape is an endless sea of remixing. It always comes back to the internet...
Regardless Thrill Jockey has stepped in to make us realize "Oh Yes, Wooden Shjips are prime fodder for remix material. Situating their own unique blend of hypnotic & ethereal organ riffs, rhythmic emphasis, and penchant for head nodding stoned bliss within the realm of contemporary electronic dance music is a perfect match. Listening to Andrew Weatherall's remix of "Crossing" matches the vibe of the group's original while still allowing for the version to venture into ideas solely Weatherall's own." So there you are, or it is, & even if I'm not dancing along (I'm not necessarily the type) I'm at least bobbing my digging the deep grooves being cut.
Wooden Shjips Remix 12" will be available Feb. 21st via Thrill Jockey.

Wooden Shjips "Lazy Bones" video

On a general level Wooden Shjips rock. Period. Their take on a well trodden brand of blues-inflected psych-rock retains the hallmarks of luminaries such as Spacemen 3 and more generally Nuggets-era garage rock. The band's newest album West continues on this path, though with some added fidelity and sheen, partially due to the involvement of former spaceman Sonic Boom.

The video for album cut "Lazy Bones" Wooden Shjips have turned to Black Dice whose distinct visual aesthetic is practically dripping out of the screen. The collaboration at first glance seems strange at best but when examining the recent trajectory of BD (and the solo work of Eric Copeland) it may not be all that surprising. After all Copeland's latest single "Whorehouse Blues" makes explicit reference to some of the blues & boogie tinged work Shjips are known for. So enjoy the video while you're mind's eye begins to take out it's dancing shoes & begins to melt.

West is out now and available from Thrill Jockey records.