After performing his latest album Vestiges & Claws around the world for the past three years, many of the songs have evolved and José González has decided to capture this development with these recordings.
"When we released Vestiges & Claws I decided to put together a live band that could do harmonies, play all the guitar parts and have an awesome rhythm section. So I invited musicians from previous collaborations: Andres Renteria from LA on congas, James Mathé - Barbarossa from London on vocals and keyboard, Jakob Albinsson on guitar and vocals, Joel Wästberg - sir Was on drums, and Johanna Nordström - Jolympix on vocals. The last three are from Gothenburg. We decided to record in my favorite studio Svenska Grammofonstudion, the same studio where I recorded ‘In Our Nature’.”
- José González
New tour dates announced: http://jose-gonzalez.com/tour-dates/
The Brite Lites
This band name will be the name of whoever is in José González' live setup, so it’s not a separate band with fixed members. Now it will be clearer if he's performing solo, with a band or with an orchestra.
The Artwork
- I saw a tweet asking people of their favourite depictions of heaven. Among them was a medieval painting by Louis de Laval of lots of saints crammed together in a crowd. Without knowing too much about the history of the painting it felt like a comical image to imitate. Hannele Fernström did the drawings.
- José González
José González about the songs on the EP:
Killing for love
"‘What’s the point if you hate, die and kill for love?’. I wrote this song back in 2007. It was a reaction to the weirdness of some people falling in love with a particular idea or a historical character. Love is powerful. So powerful that it can bring out the worst in us. We should choose our loves wisely."
What will
"What will our legacy be? Humanity is at a special moment in time when most of us are living with amazing prosperity, and with increasingly powerful tools compared to other times. Still we’re sort of stuck with our tribal psychology, which makes us experts in making a difference between us and them."
Stories we build, stories we tell
"Stories and myths help us make sense of our surroundings and happenings. Collective beliefs that work as tools to push us in certain directions, sometimes for good but sometimes for bad. ‘Don’t believe in karma or hell, but in the memories and stories we tell’."
Afterglow
"On the cosmic timescale we will be gone, leaving only memories and traces for the afterglow. I was toying with the idea of cults and how many of them have doomsday narrative to scare but offer some sort of comfort if you follow them. In this song we go from minor to major with the same lyrics. First acknowledging, then accepting and almost rejoicing."
New tour dates announced: http://jose-gonzalez.com/tour-dates/
