We’ll be perfectly honest here, rarely if ever do we recognize any of the band names that Jeff Bundschu books for his Huichica Music Festival (or the other shows throughout the year, for that matter), and next Thursday, April 16 is no different.
But, to us, that’s an opportunity to discover new musicians from all walks of life right in our own backyard – or, in this case, at the venerable Gundlach Bundschu Winery. The historic grounds at Rhinefarm were home to the very first Valley of the Moon Vintage Festival back in 1897 - and if dirt could talk, the stories would be endless.
Once again, Bundschu has brought two eclectic acts to appear on the new “Cave Stage” (while the historic redwood barn undergoes seismic retrofitting) - Panda Bear and, in support, Ducktails. We lamented years ago that we’ve essentially run out of band names, and the kids these days are getting pretty creative. Panda Bear is actually Noah Lennox, who grew up in Maryland and was Waldorf-schooled until eighth grade. He was always drawing panda bears on his early musical releases and the nickname became the artist. Primarily a keyboardist, his genres are essentially “house” and “techno,” with his formative years spent in Animal Collective, where he even contributed tracks on guitar and drums. While contributing to the band, he has been releasing solo albums as well since 1999. His latest release, “Panda Bear meets the Grim Reaper,” was released in January of this year.
His albums tell stories with music. “Some of the songs address a big change, or a big transformation,” says Panda Bear. “Meeting the Grim Reaper in that context, I liked a whole lot.” The album signifies a pivotal point for an artist who has proven he can continue to evolve while remaining at the top of his game. “It’s sort of marking change, not necessarily an absolute death, but the ending of something, and hopefully the beginning of something else.”
Opening for Panda, Ducktails is actually Matt Mondanile of the band Real Estate, and this is his alleged solo act, though he managed to include many musical associates on the tracks from his latest album “The Flower Lane.” Musicians like Daniel Lopatin from Oneohtrix and Point Never, Joel Ford from Lopatin, Madeline Follin of the Cults and Sam Mehran from Outer Limitz, to name a few. The band’s music has been described as “hypnagogic pop,” “woozy, horizontal pop,” “lo-fi”, and “chillwave.” Early recordings were freeform jams, once described as “bizarre, krautrock-influenced sound collages” by Ryan J. Prado of the Portland Mercury, but his later material has more conventional song structures, more akin to his work in Real Estate.
Show starts at 6:30 p.m., for tickets and more info, point your browser to gunbun.com/calendar.
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