For
reviews of "The Kids At The Club" go here
For reviews of "Profit In Your Poetry" by Butcher
Boy go here
For reviews of "Fill Up The Room" by Saturday Looks
Good To Me go here
For reviews of "The Penguin League" by Antarctica
Takes It! go here
For
reviews of "React Or Die" by Butcher Boy go here
For reviews of "Flight Paths" by Pocketbooks go here
Single,
video and live reviews of Haiku Salut
A Closer Listen
Haiku
Salut leads off the album with the Christmasy “If It’s Not
Baroque, Don’t Fix It”. Glockenspiels are responsible for
the sweetness on this piece, but the trio’s combination of electronics
with happy instruments (accordion, ukulele, piano) on last year’s
debut EP has earned them fitting comparisons to early múm. (It’s
also nice to see other writers distinguish early múm from later
múm.) Jump to track three, and the theme continues with “Maybe
I Can’t Fix Myself”, which also invites comparison to the
twinkly efforts of Pawn. And yet, the trio is not exactly like either
act; the organic instruments differentiate it from the latter, and the
unmuddied optimism from the former. Haiku Salut is well on its way to
a signature sound, which is difficult to do in such a short time. With
a debut album due soon, there’s never been a better time to discover
the work of this pleasantly magical act.
Textura
Don't
let the lame pun in Haiku Salut's opening track title turn you off as
“If It's Not Baroque (Don't Fix It)” makes for a very pleasing
entry-point for the half-hour release. Pretty and melodic, the song
invites comparison to early Múm in its march-like wedding of
piano, strings, and tiny electronic noisemaking and especially in the
glistening music box-like episode that emerges halfway through the song.
The trio's second contribution to the EP, “Maybe I Can't Fix Myself,”
is as much of a charmer as the first and is, frankly, even more Múm-like
in its sound design—not that that's necessarily a bad thing when
Haiku Salut's material offers such pleasure to the ears.
This
Is Fake DIY
On
their début offering – a 100-edition 3” CD-R EP entitled
'How We Learned To Get Along After The Yarn Bomb' – Derbyshire's
Haiku Salut came across as the soundtrack to the best animated children's
flick never released. Intricate and enchanting, it took you on all sorts
of crazy journeys. They've grown up a bit for their first full-length
– as 'Los Elefantes' testifies – but they've lost none of
their skill for an immersive, almost cinematic experience, with this
initial cut begging your imagination to go wild and think of an accompanying
short film. Magical.
Sweeping
The Nation
A
Yann Tiersen soundtrack, chamber piano and accordion to hand, as rearranged
and sent into something less definable and more experimentally playful
by a Derbyshire instrumental trio whose debut album Tricolore is released
on March 11th.
Sound
Of Confusion
An
all-girl trio from the Derbyshire Dales, Haiku Salut's music is, as
their name may suggest, a little bit more exotic sounding. Their debut
album 'Tricolore' is due for release in March and here they're giving
us a sample of what's to come. 'Los Elephantes' fuses sounds from far
and wide, having classical piano as its lead, they gradually add layers
of French accordion and an Asian flavour to create a great dreamy instrumental.
Bochi Crew
Ever
wanted a soundtrack to accompany you, making you feel removed from it
all? Haiku Salut can certainly do that. A mix between quintessential
Parisian street music and soft, composed melodies, "Los Elefantes"
delivers your daily dose of magic. The trio primarly utilizes the likes
of piano, accordions, ukeleles, and glockenspiels to craft their sound.
Haiku Salut hail from the eastern midlands of England known as Derbyshire.
An intriguing and rather useless fact about Derbyshire, the Romans were
infatuated with the spot as it produced significant yields of lead ore
in the abundant limestone cliffs. Now while mulling over the Roman empire
enjoy, "Los Elefantes."
Sounds
XP
Derby’s
finest (and almost certainly only) Baroque-Pop-Folktronic-Neo-Classic
something or other band release their latest offering on the consistently
brilliant How Does It Feel to Be Loved Label. Last seen at London Popfest
being all a bit too ramshackle I wasn’t quite sure what to expect
from this lot but this wonderfully polished slice of Yann Tiersen inspired
instrumentalism is a world away from that performance.
A dreamy piano holds the first couple of minutes together accompanied
by some wheezing accordion and a smattering of fairly sparse electronics
bringing to mind when Elbow strip things back and go for the heartstrings
instead of the arenas. Just when you think you know where the whole
things going there’s a tremendous break down as the piano gives
way to marimbaesque electronic beats before being joined by the ever
present accordion and there’s even a guitar outro thrown in for
good measure, it’s all a lot more thrilling than it has any right
to be. This sort of wonderfully balanced instrumental music is hard
to get right but Haiku Salut have certainly pulled it off here, though
the real test will be whether they can do it consistently over a whole
album without it becoming (admittedly very tasteful) background music
The
Girls Are
Derbyshire
orchestral-baroque-instrumental-everything-but-the-kitchen-sink lasses
Haiku Salut have revealed the video to their new single. The clip to
‘Los Elefantes’ is a bit of a surreal wonder, seeing an
unsuspecting bloke being enticed into an alternate world by a woman
with red balloons and a gas mask – as you do. To tell the truth,
we wouldn’t have resisted either… ‘Los Elefantes’
is taken from the trio’s forthcoming LP Tricolore, which is released
on CD and vinyl (with a free download code too, in case that’s
more your bag) on March 11 through How Does It Feel To Be Loved?.
Norman Lebrecht
This
piece of cinema verité has been shot to accompany a debut release
by Haiku Salut, a trio from the Derbyshire Dales who are part neo-classical,
part electronica, part folk. It reflects the way they, and most of us,
go about our daily biz. The piece is called Los Elefantes. The primary
influence (see below) is Swedish.
For
Folk's Sake
Our
esteemed friends at How Does It Feel to be Loved recently announced
their latest signing Haiku Salut. The three-piece are planning to release
their debut album Tricolore this year (you can pre-order it now). We
had a sneak preview of the album, and were delighted to hear that our
favourite track Los Elefantes is to be the first single. 6music are
predictably ALL OVER IT, and it’s been played by Gideon Coe and
Tom Ravenscroft. You can download it for free here. And see the rather
wonderful video below.
Nothing But Hope And Passion
Although
the Derbyshire-based instrumental trio HAIKU SALUT is not that famous
yet, NOTHING BUT HOPE AND PASSION is sure they soon will be due to the
fascinating music these three ladies create. Their first longplayer
Tricolore is set for a march release via label How Does It Feel and
already today the band gives away its first single, Los Elefantes, for
free. A romantic littlle piece that reminds us of artists like MÚM,
DETEKTIVBYRÅN or YANN TIERSEN. HAIKU SALUT use accordions, ukeleles,
glockenspiels, pianos, loopery and laptopery to create this specific
and romantic soundscape and we’ve already fallen in love with
Los Elefantes. There is also a beautiful video which you can watch right
here too.
The
Endless Tail
Put
simply Haiku Salut are a wonderfully infectious, rambunctious, and perhaps
a little ramshackle sometime electro alternative trad all female three
piece instrumental band...oh, and are utterly impossible to take your
eyes and ears off of. I'm quite certain that this must be a popular
consensus as the atmosphere throughout the set was intense to say the
least. They are one of very few bands who can render a crowd entirely
speechless to such an extent that there wasn't even any background chatter
audible during the quieter elements of the set!! They also happen to
have just released a debut album called Tricolore on the How Does It
Feel To Be Loved label which I for one bought immediately after their
set.
SYFFAL
The
second this video starts you know it's going to be fucking awesome.
Vibe, instrumentation, pace, fucking creepy chick in a gas mask holding
99 luft balloons. Whoever this band Haiku Salut are, they're fucking
awesome. That accordion could play at my fucking funeral it's so damn
crispy bacon. Los Elefantes means "trippy ass chase through urban
and forest settings while high on salvia" in Europeanish, or so
says my alta vista web crawler. Peep the download of the single they're
offering on their Soundcloud page, and join me in hoping their album
that is dropping in March is as magically delcious as this teasing ass
display of gorgeousness.
Inforty
In
“Los Elefantes”, Haiku Salut offer us a fiercely poignant
and cinematic study of solitude and uncertainty. A dash of the fantastic
against the drudgery of urban life draws our hero into a mysterious
woodland… or does it?
Fensepost
Haiku
Salut is a new band out of Derbyshire Dales in the UK. The instrumental
trio is said to be influenced heavily by Yann Tiersen and early Mum,
and you can hear that in their song “Los Elefantes”. The
band has released a new video for the song, which you can check out
below. The video, written and directed by Joshua Dunlop, also follows
the likes of Mum with interesting twists and a unique storyline. In
it, the protagonist catches sight of a girl in a gas mask holding several
red balloons. Like the Little Wings video we talked about last week,
this one seems to be yet another play on reality and sanity.
Unsigned
Bands Online
Haiku
Salut are a female fronted trio from the Derbyshire Dales who probably
do best to describe their own music as “Baroque-Pop-Folktronic-Neo-Classical-Something-Or-Other”
and they probably do more to affirm the statement that music is an endless
process of discovery than any act I've ever heard. The video track 'Los
Elefantes' is taking from their forthcoming album Tricolore and was
released as a free download on the 7th January, 2013. It draws on a
whole range of artistic influences, from soundtrack specialists Yann
Tiersen and Benoît Charest to the masterful electronica of acts
like Ametsub and early Múm. The result is an elegant, atmospheric
and extremely inventive collage of pure spellbinding art and I really
hope that this stuff catches on. We will all be better off for it.
This
Is That Song
If
you only listen to one song tonight, make it “Los Elefantes”
by Haiku Salut (2013, from the forthcoming album Tricolore). Haiku Salut
is an instrumental folk-rock trio from Derbyshire, England. I know nothing
about them They’re three gals who will be releasing their debut
album in March on How Does It Feel To Be Loved Records. I got a note
about this song in the mailbag a few days ago, and I’m pretty
into it, so I’m passing it along to you. Everything that that’s
ever been written about this band includes the phrases “like early
múm”, and “they have an accordion”. I’m
running late tonight, so I won’t get too far into the details,
but I definitely understand the comparisons to múm.
For the first 40 seconds, it’s kind of reminiscent of Rachel’s,
with the sweeping piano solo. When the accordion and the melodica come
in a bit later, it’s something else entirely. Totally folky and
pretty cool. The piano continues with that Rachel’s thing, but
at 1:46, it takes a sharp turn and all of the laptoppy stuff comes in.
That’s when it turns into something that sounds quite a bit like
múm. By the way, I’m stunned to discover that I’ve
never written about múm. They keep adding elements and instruments
and textural levels throughout the song, and it makes for a pretty wild
ride. A wild ride in two disparate parts. For extra credit, I highly
recommend the official video here. The three “spirits” hanging
out in the trees are the band members.
Music
OMH
Thursday’s
opening band, Haiku Salut, are another prospect entirely. The Derbyshire
trio are due to release their debut album on the recently resurrected
How Does It Feel To Be Loved in March, and woo the crowd with their
high concept instrumental set, which manages to merge woozing folk,
dubstep and classical sensibilities. It’s what Gold Panda, Devotchka
and Yann Tiersen would sound like if they were all thrown together.
Dans Le Mur...Du Son
De
l'intérêt de vous parler d'un EP qui n'est peut-être
même plus disponible au moment ou j'écris ces mots, vu
qu'il ne sort qu'en version physique (oui, en 2013...) et dans un tirage
ultra-limité. Mais 1. il est très bon, 2. l'album d'Haiku
Salut arrive très bientôt et 3. vous devriez être
capable de trouver d'autres travaux d'Hopeless Local Marching Band si
vous le souhaitez.
Le plus étonnant dans ce split EP est son étonnante cohérence,
sachant que les univers des trois petites anglaises et du japonais,
qui alternent les titres (deux chacun) sont quand même bien différent.
Or on a l'impression qu'ils se passent la main et arrivent à
rebondir sur le titre de l'autre. Ainsi au rigolo 'If It's Not Baroque
(Don't Fix It)' semblant mêler néo-classique, jouets et
glitch succède comme une évidence un 'Sleepwalker's Night'
à la fois dreamy, ambient et spacial qu'Haiku Salut semble continuer
dans le totalement alien 'Large Sleepers From Little Splinters Grow'
avant que l'interminable 'Paradoxial Insomnia' ne vienne progressivement
transformer le silence en dancefloor fantômatique. Passionnant
et original même si par toujours évident à digérer...
When You Motor Away
Gemma,
Louise and Sophie, three women from the UK's Derbyshire Dales, form
Haiku Salut. Their music really is its own genre - experimental, baroque,
instrumental music with folk and electronic elements. Instruments include,
but probably are not limited to, loop pedals, accordions, and melodicas.
Their album Tricolore will be out in March on London's How Does It Feel
To Be Loved label. The single "Los Elefantes" was released
in January, and is available as a free download here below. It is a
gorgeous song and I look forward to the album.
Louder
Than War
Proving
that indiepop doesn’t have to be all whimsical or backward glancing
Haiku Salut are breaking out of the scene with an debut full of atmospheric
instrumentals. A delayed release means the debut won’t be released
until the end of March but lead single Los Elefantes is a brilliant
introduction to what’s to come. It is, in fact, a perfect combination
of continental accordion, electro beats and percussion creating a creeping
yet up tempo track. In fact the rich layers of instruments are part
of the intrigue; elsewhere they use – in their words – “accordions,
ukeleles, glockenspiels, pianos, loopery and laptopery to create a soundscape
that has been likened to early múm, Detektivbyrån and the
soundtrack to Amélie”. It can be dark, it can be playful
but it’s an endlessly fascinating and vast soundscape to explore
and luxuriate in. And if it’s that good to listen to it’s
equally great to see performed. The ease at which the band swap instruments
and move around each other is almost a dance, a wonderfully choreographed
but very natural, mellow dance. We can tell you their debut is a very
special collection of atmospheric instrumentals, playful retro stabs
and mesmerising beats but more about that in an album review in a few
weeks time.
Eaten By Monsters
Pitched
in the under-explored middle-ground between Mogwai and Yann Tiersen,
Haiku Salut are a trio of Darbishire lasses with a mesmerizing sonic
palate and a distinct francophile sensibility. And if the menu on their
homepage is anything to go by they’ve got a good eye for a bad
pun, too, which makes me like them even more. There’s an album
in the works, called Tricolore and out in March, but as a tantalizing
foretaste they’re giving away their track Los Elefantes as a free
download.
Sounds From The Other City
One
of the many acts that we’re excited about seeing this year are
Haiku Salut, who Underachievers have graciously arranged to play their
stage at Sounds from the Other City 2013. They claim to be Baroque-pop
folktronic neo-classical something-or-other – which is kind of
a modest way of saying they’re pretty special and not really the
kind of thing you’re going to be hearing many other bands do.
Holy Moly
We
don’t want any music PRs getting ideas about sending us unsolicited
music in the hope we might play it (as if!) but someone asked us to
listen to this the other day, which we begrudgingly did and were instantly
transported to a better place. Haiku Salut’s bandcamp page describes
what they do as “Baroque-pop folktronic neo-classical something-or-other”
which is sort of right. Who doesn’t love a bit of that? They’re
also from Derbyshire. More bands should be from Derbyshire.
Drafted
Haiku
Salut are an all girl trio from Derbyshire who craft experimental pop
music that makes unlikely bedfellows of styles as diverse as baroque
and electronica. Accordions, glockenspiels, pianos and laptops are the
tools of their trade and their debut EP ‘How We Got Along after
the Yarn Bomb’ was an impressive showcase of both influence and
ability. Interestingly, despite the bands many allusions toward all
things twee – their facebook page cites their interests simply
as ‘primary colours and hiking’ – the highlight of
the EP was a song called ‘Vowels as Clear as Church Bells’,
which, clocking in at over six minutes, felt grandly cinematic and achingly
melancholic. Their debut album ‘Tricolore’ is set for release
on March 11th and out of the goodness of their hearts they’re
giving away their wonderful new single ‘Los Elephantes’
on their website as a free download. Piano and accordion set the tone
in the manner of a particularly wistful piece of French cinema before
giving way, quite unexpectedly, to burbling electronica and skittering
drum patterns.
God
Is In The TV
Finding
a home on celebrated indie-pop Club night and record label How Does
it Feel to be Loved, Derbyshire trio Haiku Salut have made first single
‘Los Elefantes’ available for free download on their soundcloud
pageWith Melodicas, accordions and piano curling around looped drums
and synths its easy to see why the band have been tarred with the ‘Folktronica’
brush but for fans of Yann Tiersen and The Album Leaf, forthcoming album
‘Tricolore’ (out March 25th) will be an essential listen.
Beats Per Minute
Haiku
Salut are three-piece from the Derbyshire Dales in the UK who perform
live without ever speaking a word on stage. Such a feature might come
off as down right unsocial, but it reinforces the idea that sometimes
it’s best to just let the music do the talking. And Haiku Salut’s
music has plenty to say, evoking worlds of their own, but also giving
a commentary of sorts with each deliberate note. The trio will release
their new album, Tricolore in March on How Does It Feel To be Loved?,
following their 2011 extraordinarily-titled How We Got Along After The
Yarn Bomb EP. Below you can watch the video for one of the new album
tracks, “Los Elefantes” which follows the arrival of a young
man in London who is soon led astray by a gas mask-wearing girl with
a bunch of red balloons. Soon he’s transported to an idyllic forest
where he’s stalked by spirits (played by the band members) in
a series of wonderfully executed shots.The track’s a mystical
affair, too, with plenty of accordion that will bring to mind Yann Tiersen
but which also manages to makes steps past that comparison. Watch the
Joshua Dunlop-directed video below, and you can head over here to download
the track for free.
Time Out
All the way from Derbyshire, Haiku Salut make fidgety, experimental
folk-pop from layers of acoustic and electronic instrumentation. It's
tricky to pin down, but it would be the perfect soundtrack for a grainy
1970s home video of a sunny day at the beach.
Architecture Of Happiness
Haiku Salut are kinda like a post-modern glitchy folk instrumental team.
If anyone has seen the episode of Star Trek TNG “11001001”
with the alien race called Binars which communicate as one single being,
it was like three of those playing 23rd century Beirut covers.
The National Student
Haiku
Salut are a modern-pop enigma: their electro influences co-mingle with
French composers, head-on and beautifully.
The female trio from Derbyshire have suitably folky undertones weaved
into their music. Haiku Salut take chimes, trumpets, accordions, piano,
and then turn it upside-down with samplers and loop-pedals.
You won’t find some electro rework of Mumford and Sons, though.
If you’re a fan of Tiersen’s soundtrack for Le Fabuleux
Destin D’Amelie Poulain, their debut album can go into the same
playlist. The theatrical riffs and the odd call to old-time Paris run
elegantly throughout the album, developing into an electronic update
and bouncing back again.
Sound a bit confusing? It’s meant to be. Haiku Salut called their
album Tricolore with the primary colours in mind: “three colours
that create everything in the spectrum but when spun on a colour wheel
become nothing at all."
It’s okay if we don’t get what’s going on, the idea
is simply to enjoy each nugget of inspiration and each turn the music
takes. The album is certainly meticulously crafted, but not to be taken
too seriously.
Haiku Salut is for the aloof among us.
This Is Fake DIY
At
the risk of sounding like half of your Twitter/Facebook feed, this weather
eh? Never fear though, because there's at least one silver lining amongst
this relentless barrage of clouds, that of it being perfect weather
to listen to the new Haiku Salut track (and, as of Monday, the parent
record 'Tricolore'). 'Glockenbar' continues the Derbyshire trio's seemingly
effortless ability to create rolling, cinematic instrumental soundscapes
to lose yourself in, with glitchy electronic percussion being joined
in by reflective accordion and glockenspiel lines. If you're on the
hunt for a new exploring soundtrack for this particularly cold March,
look no further.
Mouser
UK-native
baroque pop outfit Haiku Salut have a gently driving optimism about
them. “Glockelbar” gradually builds layer upon layer of
soft sounds like gentle hands stroking your back.
Beats
Per Minute
Tricolore,
the debut album from three-piece Haiku Salut was released this week
via How Does It Feel To Be Loved? We’ve already seen the enamouring
video for “Los Elefantes” and below you can hear another
album cut called “Glockelbar.” As might be guessed for the
title, the track features plenty of plinky, glimmering glockenspiel
that’s surrounded by accordion wheezing and electronics buzzes
and chirps. A friendly and mutated take on the original instrument,
just like the title suggests.
Music OMH
In
a time when band names can tend to gravitate towards the uninspired
or formulaic the appearance of Derbyshire all-girl trio Haiku Salut
has been one of the most eye-catching musical discoveries of 2013 to
date. Their name may be phonetically agreeable (go on – say it
one more time), yet it’s also strangely somehow reflective of
their music, capturing the sense of individuality and otherness present
in their music.
Tonight’s show at the Buffalo Bar is the launch event for their
enchanting debut album Tricolore. Support comes from The Understudies
who impress with an assured, melodic acoustic set that subtly references
the likes of The Smiths, Tindersticks and The Housemartins. By the time
they close with latest single Everyone Deserves At Least One Summer
Of Love they’ve won over the crowd, some of who eagerly ask when
their debut album will be out (the band are still looking for a label
to release it). Next, Birmingham trio Kate Goes push the evening in
a different direction with their quirky, kitschy, offbeat girl-pop before
Haiku Salut take to the stage.
The bijou nature of Tricolore (clocking in just over half an hour in
length) ensures that most of it gets played tonight. One of the most
impressive aspects of the show is how they swap instruments effortlessly
(throughout the gig each member plays accordion, glockenspiel, synthesiser,
percussion and laptop not to mention individual contributions of ukulele,
trumpet and guitar). Indeed, it is the refreshing mix of instrumentation
and fluid integration of electronics that shines through as their biggest
strength. The music may be entirely instrumental but it has personality,
femininity and appeal in abundance. There may be occasional nervous
glances shot across the stage but judging by the reactions on their
faces the band are enjoying it as much as the sell-out crowd.
Sounds Like There’s A Pacman Crunching Away At Your Heart begins
quietly but blossoms into something vivacious and animated that recalls
Icelandic ensemble Múm. A similar progression happens on Six
Impossible Things as the layers of accordion gradually flower into something
bigger, whilst the backfiring opening beats of Leaf Stricken elicit
similar comparisons.
Picking out likenesses to other bands might not be too difficult but
these influences are subsumed and presented in an original, embraceable
way. They may not quite have the string-based refinement of Icelandic
quartet Amiina but they definitely share common musical ground (especially
evident on Glockelbar), whilst the piano-led Watanabe has a slight Penguin
Cafe Orchestra feel to it.
The latter part of the set features Los Elefantes which has a distinct
Parisian charm to it, evoking the music of Yann Tiersen. They are joined
on stage by A Little Orchestra for Train Tracks For Wheezy, ensuring
it sails away blissfully just like on record and they also play No,
You Say It which, powered by a euphoric 4/4 beat and containing hints
of Dan Deacon, is the perfect set-closer. The music on Tricolore may
not be the easiest to replicate in a live environment but tonight Haiku
Salut succeed, capturing our hearts along the way.
God
Is In The TV
I
was intrigued by Haiku Salut, from the moment I saw the playful and
mysterious video for Los Elefantes. The instrumental music transported
me a world away from any other new indie artists – combining tremulous
piano cadences with French accordion; akin to Yann Tiersen’s work
on Amélie but with lively electronic beats and a sense of urgent
pop underpinning. The focus being entirely on the music – and
their classical musicianship and unique inventiveness that goes with
it – marks them out. How many more four or five man 4-beat guitar/bass/drums
bands can we take? I recently opened up two or three free music magazines
on the same day to find that almost every page was adorned with men;
bearded men. There was complete homogeneity in these gangs of men and
their beards. It was totally dispiriting to see that any females that
did feature in these widely distributed publications were afforded only
tokenistic spaces. Even the blustersomely great Joy Formidable took
a back-seat in the scheme of things.
In Haiku Salut we have three richly talented females, and if the world
has any sense, their music- making and spirited approaches to songwriting
will be celebrated from the rooftops – although, quietly, tenderly
in people’s hearts is perhaps more apt.
It was wonderful to see the band live at a How Does it Feel to Be Loved?
night. The night was laced with true elegance. Never have I been to
such a gently wonderful gig – nor with such a prominence of violins
and other interesting and undervalued instruments in alternative music.
Little Orchestra were just that, and there was a nice hush at times
as we all strained to attune to this new experience of silence playing
its part in between grand sweeps of classical-like compositions. I feel
like I was being reprimanded for daring to squeeze past people to get
to the toilets at one point! The next couple of bands were a bit different
– there was a squeaky dog toy at one point. With Haiku Salut,
there was a sense of expectancy and thrill in the air of welcoming such
a positively creative new band. Here, the glockenspiel sound was particularly
welcome, and the songs tinkled with dreamy delight. The sound of video
game style electronic blips and beats hurrying gladly along work so
well against the stark sophistication of piano, violin, acoustic guitar,
and so on. I love the variety of acoustic drums too – sometimes
just a primitive tap of drumsticks across the metal top of a bass drum,
or some Jesus and Mary Chain style soft mallets played standing up.
I wonder if the indie basement retreat, the Buffalo Bar, was quite the
right settings for such sounds, though. There ought to have been a revered
hush, and not the gaggle of chatterers filling the air, but it was a
Friday night atmosphere, what with it being the night before a long
bank holiday weekend. Carried away by the grandeur of the cinematic
sounds, and merry liquids imbibed, I said to my friend: They should
be playing the Royal Albert Hall, not this place! A bit extreme at this
stage, but I do mean it that this is the kind of new alternative music
I want to be elevated to great heights, and Haiku Salut really fill
me with imagination and inspiration.
The Guardian
A
quick glance at Derbyshire-based trio Haiku Salut's official website
immediately dispels any notion that their delicate instrumentals are
the works of po-faced musos with a sense of humour bypass. For starters,
the site's home page header features the following description of the
band's sound: "Baroque-Pop-Folktronic-Neo-Classical-Something-Or-Other".
The list of instruments they use starts with the factual – "accordions,
ukuleles, glockenspiels, pianos"– before moving on to "loopery
and laptopery". Apparently featuring some of the aforementioned
instruments and a "glitch plug-in", the beautiful Glockelbar,
the latest single to be taken from their debut album Tricolore, pads
and patters about charmingly, a slowly bubbling electronic undercurrent
juxtaposing with the creaking accordions. For the video – premiered
here and featuring the work of Japanese animator Mitsuo Toyama, who
was on a long list of people the band had always wanted to work with
(alongside Joanna Newsom and Madonna) – we're lead into a lovingly
created fantasy world of children riding shooting stars by a giraffe
wearing a scarf.
Hatch'd
When
asked to compile a list of people they wanted to hear the album, Haiku
Salut ambitiously wrote down names such as Haruki Murakami, Madonna,
The Spice Girls and Mitsuo Toyama. One of those people would answer
the call, and no, it wasn't Madonna.
Instead, Toyama, who was responsible for the incredible Serph video
Luck, immediately offered his services. The result is a childhood like
dream following a giraffe wearing a scarf, effortlessly gliding through
an autumnal night sky. Seeing is believing on this one folks.
Beats Per Minute
The
debut album from Derbyshire group Haiku Salut, Tricolore, is currently
available for your listening pleasure, via How Does It Feel To Be Loved?
The trio already have a fine video to their name in the form of the
enchanting “Los Elefantes” and they’ve got another
one to go alongside it. Featuring animation by Mitsuo Toyama, the video
is a soft-edged weary tale of a young boy travelling through the night
on the back of a giraffe that feels like something channelled through
early 1900?s cinema. Watch it below, via The Guardian.
The Musically Inclined
I
don't write about a ton of instrumental music on here, probably because
of my own overwhelming bias toward words, but I thought I'd break that
pattern today. Check out "Los Elefantes" by U.K. trio Haiku
Salut. "Los Elefantes" is a really lovely little tune that
mixes a bit of electronica with gorgeous pop-y folk sounds. I love how
delicate and layered it is– it's the kind of piece that demands
your full attention. Haiku Salut's album drops in the U.S. tomorrow
(April 16). It's called Tricolore and I'd be willing to bet it's a great
headphones record. If spring has sprung in your part of the world, find
a sunny spot and take "Los Elefantes" for a spin.
OK
West
No,
they aren’t Japanese. Not Spanish either. The members of Haiku
Salut, Louise, Sophie, and Gemma, hail from Derbyshire, England, and
will release an album’s worth of baroque-pop-folktronic (their
words, not mine) on 16 May. Check out the first single off the disc,
the beautiful instrumental “Los Elephantes,” below. The
track begins with a beautifully composed piano piece, before an accordion
gets thrown in. The songs takes an even wilder turn about halfway through
with the addition of some subtle electronic effects, before tribal drums
bring the whole thing full circle.
Nothing But Hope And Passion
Derbyshire-based
instrumental trio HAIKU SALUT presents a new music video. It’s
for the track Glockelbar, a little piece from their first longplayer
Tricolore which just has been released via label How Does It Feel. As
some of you might remember we already enjoyed the track Los Elefantes
back in January.
The three girls – influenced by the sounds of MÚM, DETEKTIVBYRÅN
or YANN TIERSEN – use accordions, ukeleles, glockenspiels, pianos,
loopery and laptopery to create their specific soundscape. Glockelbar
hints into a a similar direction and comes with a wonderful animated
video clip, directed by Mitsuo Toyama. Watch the new HAIKU SALUT output
right here.
SYFFAL
BROBROTHERS
AND BROSISSES, I TOO, HAVE HAD DREAMS OF GIRAFFES BRO.
Haiku Salut know the perfect spot, right in between my lust and my spare
pouch of Chamomile tea (which is located in my breast pocket bro), in
which to poke me. The song Glockelbar has sort of driven me nuts over
the last few weeks, as I keep waiting for the song to go somewhere,
but when I get there, I don't even realize I went where there was even
a there to get to from there over to here, which is where where is now
that I'm not over there.
The animation from Mitsuo Toyama is endearing in a childlike manner,
but in a way that makes you miss your childhood because you didn't realize
the world was so full of assholes.
Please joining me in loving this band.
Bochi Crew
Derbyshire's
Haiku Salut have just released an animated video for "Glockelbar."
The last feature we ran on the trio praised the release of "Los
Elefantes." "Glockelbar" stems from the same, tranquil
vein that has come to represent Haiku Salut. They land somewhere between
Message to Bears and Múm. According to the trio, their newest
"chronicles the race to death using only an accordion, a glockenspiel
and a glitch plug-in." The video, animated and produced by Mitsuo
Toyama, portrays a sleeping boy greeted by a giraffe at his window before
being taken on a sleepy ride through the cosmos. I couldn't help but
be reminded of the Little Prince. Both "Los Elefantes" and
"Glockenbar" are featured on the new album, Tricolore. Do
yourself and the band a favor by picking it up here!
Supajam
Glockelbar,
the new single from Haiku Salut, has both a mournful accordion driving
things along and a beautiful animated video by Mitsup Toyama which is
like watching a children’s dream. The band are three women from
Derbyshire, and their debut album Tricolore is out now. The video is
for fans of giraffes and lullabies.
The Backroom
Haiku
Salut are a Derby-shire based multi-instrumentalist trio whose style
is self-described as “Baroque-Pop-Folktronic-Neo-Classical-Something-Or-Other”
their album ‘Tricolore’ is out now and with a Gallic flavour
of sounds running through the album it has more in common with France
than just the bleu-blanc-rouge reference in the album title.
The album draws influences from a wide spectrum with leanings towards
Aphex Twins abstract electronica to the more obvious Yann Tiersen.
The track Los Elefantes is strikingly similar to Yann Tiersen’s
soundtrack work on Amelie (which I cannot recommend highly enough) but
the trio wrestle this influence into submission to claim as their own
in the latter part of the song as the accordians and piano blend with
glitchy electronic beats and blips.
The electronic spin does not detract from the beauty of the track; in
fact it only enhances and evolves into something quite wonderful and
unique.
Definitely for fans Amelie era Yann Tiersen looking for a new angle
on his style.
The
Joy Collective
Haiku
Salut are one of the more unlikely candidates for one-to-watch status,
being as they are ex-members of empirically terrible sixth-form twee
shower The Deirdres, but they’ve as little in common with their
early youthful stumblings as you could possibly imagine. Delivering
impeccably on their published influences of múm and Yann Tiersen,
Tricolore flits between waltz-time accordian and keyboard vignettes
recalling Tiersen or Beirut and twinkling folktronica employing pianos,
glockenspiels, harpsichords, burbling synths and stuttering laptop beats.
The effect is as breezy and playful as their indiepop roots but its
sleepy charm is fully-formed, stirring and warmly romantic.
For
reviews of "Tricolore"
by Haiku Salut press here
ku Salut is for the aloof among us.
To buy "Tricolore" go here
|