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An Interview with The FolkWave Duo, FIELD DIVISION on Their Latest EP, Their Non-Profit Label and More!
Posted On 09 Jul 2015
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Tag: All Access, All Access Music Group, Artist Interview, Bon Iver, Brandon Clark, Brandon Darner, Des Moines, Evelyn Taylor, Father John Misty, Field Division, Fiest, Fleetwood Mac, Imagine Dragons, Iowa, John Lennon, Josh Tillman, Mars Cafe, Nicholas Frampton, Of Lives We've Never Known, Reverie State, Robin Pecknold, Southwestern Community College, Station 1 Records, Stevie Nicks, SWCC
Evelyn Taylor and Nicholas Frampton make up the folkwave duo, Field Division.
Their newest EP, “Reverie State” was recently described as a “Walk through the woods, but ends with a crashing of the waves. It has both a journey and a destination. It’s an honest to god travel epic in song form.”
They are the first artist to sign with the new non-profit label, Station 1 Records, out of Des Moines, IA. Station 1 Records is Iowa’s first and largest non-profit record label , and it’s revolutionizing the record labels’ existence and function in the music industry.
Learn more about Field Division and how they got involved with their label in the following All Access interview:
Where does this interview find you today?
Mars Cafe in Des Moines, Iowa.
Your newest EP, “Reverie State” was recently described as a walk through the woods, but ends with a crashing of the waves. Can you elaborate on that a little?
Field Division came to be years and years ago in the form of dreams and visions.
The melodies and stories would haunt me at nigh. It felt like I couldn’t rest until I explored this creative side of my mind. (That feeling hasnt gone away) I brought the project to Nick in early 2013. He helped me transform these ideas and songs into the soundscapes I had always envisioned. Mother Nature inspires a lot of our songs and melodies, so I think that just comes out naturally in the music.
On the Reverie State EP elements of the ethereal are really what hold it all together, both sonically and lyrically. There are themes of vulnerability and uncertainty, and there are also momentous feelings of strength and propelling forward – whether it be an eloquent or a heavy trudge home – the movements of each song are the arrival of a new landscape. Every moment can be a new landscape.
I have read that you are the first artist to be on the new non-profit label, Station 1 Records. Thats very cool! How did that all happen?
Last year while Brandon Clark was helping me setting up an LLC, I turned him onto our newly mastered Reverie State, and then we danced.
How has being from Des Moines, Iowa influenced you as musicians and your music in general too? In recent years, we’ve been involved in the local indie scene.
I didn’t begin playing in bands until after moving to Iowa in 1999 – so I would say Des Moines has a lot of influence on me, if not the most.
However, the two times I left Des Moines were to pursue music and those experiences were pivotal for my musicianship. Studying jazz and classical theory, voice, and performance in Creston, Iowa at SWCC (Southwestern Community College) was incredibly rewarding. I learned the essence of dynamics and Im pretty sure I gained dozens of life-long friends from there. Its a family. Then of course a two-and-a-half-year-long rendezvous in Nashville. What was that? It was great. I kind of miss it; not really. But I’ll never take back all I learned down there.
What artists have consistently inspired you and your music? Who would you love to work with and why?
John Lennon, Robin Pecknold, Josh Tillman (Father John Misty), Stevie Nicks. Collaborating with Robin, Josh, and Stevie would be so cosmic.
Their lyrics, melodies, and stories continue to inspire me.
Whats it been like to be compared to artists like Feist, Bon Iver and Fleetwood Mac?
Whats it like is pretty ideal I suppose. These are a few of our top folk and rock influences, so, its good that people can grasp that from what we produce.
When do you hope to release your first full-length debut album?
When the time is right.
On this record, you are working with Brandon Darner (Imagine Dragons). How that end up happening?
We’ve known him for several years. He plays in one of our favorite Des Moines bands.
Is there anything else you would like our readers to know about you or your music?
We have a video coming out this month for “Of Lives We’ve Never Known.”
Also, we’re touring the Midwest in August and then heading West in September. You can visit fielddivisionmusic.com for more info.
