Sun Airway
Philadelphia, PA
Dream Pop, Electronic, Psychedelic
Animal Collective, The Flaming Lips, Andrew Bird
In 2008 Philadelphia residents Jon Barthmus and then A-Sides bandmate Patrick Marsceill decided to start fresh, assuming the roll of co-collaborators once again in their electro-pop project Sun Airway.
The story of Sun Airway is a rather straightforward one: two bandmates play together in the emo band A-Sides for years, while guitarist Jon Barthmus continues to write songs on the side, devoting more and more energy to his new found sound while testing a few tracks on the A-Sides towards the end of their tenure. When the band eventually broke up in 2008 Barthmus was left with an album's worth of songs ready to be perfected with the help of previous bandmate Patrick Marsceill. Tired of the long employed guitar driven dynamic, Barthmus and Marsceill decide to strictly use electronic samples for their debut LP, Nocturne of Exploded Crystal Chandelier.
Recorded in Barthmus' basement, Sun Airway's album occupies a unique space within the realm of electronic music, structuring their songs in a traditional rock style while opting for guitar samples and synthetic ornamentation. It's this distinction, and the resulting layers of overlapping sound, that has marked Sun Airway as a band to watch by everyone from Pitchfork to NPR.
Influenced by the dense production of folks like Brian Eno and My Bloody Valentine, and the imagery of novelist Haruki Murakami, Sun Airway's songs culminate into a cinematic soundscape made accessible through their emphasis on melody both instrumentally and through Barthmus' soaring vocals. Just off a tour with electro pop companions Small Black, Sun Airway will be highlighted at The Pitchfork Music Festival this July, while fans continue to subsist on occasional remix tracks until the arrival of their next album.
Yourstru.ly Presents: Sun Airway "Oh, Naoko" from Yours Truly on Vimeo.
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