"Move over mountain, here come the stars!" - We Can See Mars,
Pilfershire Lane.
About the album, Pilfershire Lane:
From the dark, sweet, blizzard-driven imagination of Tara Busch
comes her analog synth drenched, electro-orchestral pop album,
Pilfershire Lane. It is an album based on a young girl's lonely,
melancholic childhood in the 1970's, surrounded by the music of
Bowie, Zeppelin, ABBA and Janis Joplin.
We journey in the seat of her rocket ship in "Over the Radio"...
through the tantrum-stamp of her high school marching band in
"Superfriends"...We then tunnel to the depths & fill our lungs with
day old wine and cigarette ash to find the deep sadness of "Get Drunk
& Fuck" until we are thrown a lifeline of sweetness, resurfacing with
"This is Love"...finally, we return where we start- in her bedroom
window wishing on stars & distant planets in "We Can See Mars". We
never leave her head.
About Tara:
Tara grew up in a looming "mansion full of sadness" on Pilfershire
Lane, situated high in the hills of Simsbury, Connecticut. Tara was
the youngest in a large family. Discovering her musical talent at the
tender age of 3, she was fed a stream of exotic, groundbreaking music
from her older sibling who had lived in Reykjavik and Paris. After
spending several years in rock bands and working as a session
musician, Tara traveled to the UK and formed the "lounge-core"
outfit, Dynamo Dresden on Plastic Raygun Records. It was here that
Tara's interest in production and general "gear nerdery" began to
ignite at the sight of a Roland SVC 350, a Yamaha CS5 and a Minimoog
Model D.
As tides turned, Tara and her film maker husband Maf moved to the USA to
be with her family. Tara exiled herself under lock & key for several
months writing, producing and engineering what would become her debut
album, Pilfershire Lane. Insistent on producing and engineering her
music herself, it was during the making of this album that Tara's
fascination with analog synthesizers, vintage combo organs and all
things bleepy, screechy and tweekable truly blossomed as well as her
dedication to her craft (...always with her tape recorder in tow,
Tara has cited that her inspirations come "from dreams, houses,
childhood, space, nursery rhymes, films...mostly things that are
nonmusical "- and that most of her musical ideas are "written in my
dreams"...).
As far as the vision for Pilfershire Lane, Tara said she "knew
exactly what this album will sound like - it played in my head from
beginning to end"...The sounds required for the songs of Pilfershire
Lane demanded tools that were capable of otherworldly sounds, and
these "machines" - Minimoog Model D, Sci Pro One, Optigan, Mellotron,
Mystery Circuits Breadbox Synth, Polymoog, countless pedals &
noisemakers were among the great arsenal that fit the bill.
Tara was greatly inspired by Brian Wilson's uncompromising production
style, creating complex vocal harmonies and questioning, testing,
& turning her songs upside down until they met her satisfaction...often
a grueling yet satisfying process full of experimentation.
Meanwhile, as Tara clamored away in the studio on one end of the
house, Maf set up shop in the attic studio above, creating beautiful,
perfectly reflective videos such as "Motorcrash" and "Tag” - honing
his exceptional visionary skills as creative director for the visual
side of Tara's music. Back in the music studio, after all the
fundamental keyboard parts, programming and countless vocal takes
were complete, Tara called upon the extraordinary musical talents of
Mike Walters, Nick Speaks, Alex Maiolo to further
translate into reality the sounds Tara needed for the album.
As the album approached completion, Tara and Maf packed their life
into a small U- Haul & traveled west to the glistening Pacific,
landing beneath the swaying palm trees of southern California. Here,
Tara's interest in production grew stronger as she kept a firm eye
outward to educate herself on new/ vintage gear & new production
methods.
Around this time, she began creating a strong network online
dedicated to the love of gear, production and of course, making
music.... Enter AnalogSuicide.com. Inspired by her insatiable
curiosity and desire to become a better artist and producer, Tara
filmed such musical luminaries as Brian Wilson, 808 State's Graham
Massey, Alessandro Cortini and Thighpaulsandra. Currently,
AnalogSuicide.com serves to create a supportive network amongst the
gear/ music communities online.
When Pilfershire Lane was finally complete, it grabbed the attention
of Tummy Touch Records label boss, Tim 'Love' Lee. With the album
tucked firmly under the label's wing, Tara decided to flex her
production muscles further, remixing artists such as Polly
Scattergood, Annie Lennox and Bat For Lashes...as well as re-scoring the 1954
classic, The Red Balloon.
Equal parts "reclusive studio rat" and spellbinding performer, Tara's
live performances consist of avant-garde sonic swoops from her pedals
and synths, and a cappella live sample looping of her heavily
orchestrated compositions from Pilfershire Lane.
What's next? Commence countdown...."let's climb the face of space and
time....."
