Musée Mécanique (band)

This article is about the Portland, Oregon band, Musée Mécanique. For the San Francisco, California museum, see Musee Mecanique.

Musée Mécanique
Photo by Laura D'art.
Background information
Origin	Portland, Oregon, United States
Genres	Indie folk
Years active	2006–present
Labels	Frog Stand Records
Website	http://www.myspace.com/museemecanique
Members
Micah Rabwin Sean Ogilvie Matt Berger Jeffery Boyd Brian Perez

Sean Ogilvie (left) and Micah Rabwin (right) on their first European tour at the Kult in Niederstetten

Musée Mécanique is an American Indie folk band based in Portland, Oregon, United States, fronted by singer/songwriters Micah Rabwin(vocals/guitar/musical saw/keyboard) and Sean Ogilvie (vocals/keyboard/guitar/accordion/melodica). The other members of the band are Matt Berger (drums/percussion/glockenspiel), Jeff Boyd (bass/glockenspiel/cassette player) and Brian Perez (keyboards/lap steel/glockenspiel/melodica/percussion). The band's debut LP Hold This Ghost was released Sept. 30, 2008 on Frog Stand Records^[1] of Brooklyn, New York.

History

The band's chief songwriters, Micah Rabwin and Sean Ogilvie have been writing and performing music together since childhood. Ogilvie is formerly of San Diego, California post-rock band, Tristeza. Musée Mécanique was founded in 2006 with the addition of Berger, Boyd and Perez.

The band is named after San Francisco, California museum, Musée Mécanique. Ogilvie said, "We love to make a song that has its own soul, just like the machines they have over there at the museum".^[2]

Hold This Ghost

This record's sound has been described by music and culture magazines XLR8R "a layered, delicate take on folk, meticulously arranged with an ear for atmosphere and texture, with surprises unfolding every moment"^[3] and by Metroland (newspaper) as "subtle, elegant, yet fully modern folk-pop." Musée Mécanique has been compared to Neutral Milk Hotel and Beirut.^[4]

This album was produced and engineered by Rabwin and Ogilvie and mixed by Tucker Martine who has worked with The Decemberists, Sufjan Stevens and Laura Veirs.

'Hold This Ghost' received a 7.2 (on a 10 point scale) on Pitchfork Media. Writer Rebecca Raber said, "Musée Mécanique distinguish themselves from the throng [of Portland, Ore. folk acts] by ignoring Americana influences and infusing their brand of intimate melancholia with lush arrangements and electronic underpinnings."^[5]

The song, "Like Home" was featured on the internationally-syndicated NPR show "All Songs Considered" on Nov. 17, 2008.^[6]

Musée Mécanique toured extensively in support of 'Hold This Ghost' including multiple tours in both the United States and Europe. They have shared the stage with such acts as Iron & Wine, Beach House, Laura Gibson, M Ward and many others.

The band plans to release a second full length record in the Fall of 2011 and to tour the United States and Europe in support of it.

Cover of Hold This Ghost

Track listing:

1. Like Home
2. Two Friends Like Us
3. The Propellors
4. The Things That I Know
5. Fits and Starts
6. Somehow Bound
7. Under Glass
8. Sleeping In Our Clothes
9. Nothing Glorious
10. Our Changing Skins

References

1. ^ http://frogstandrecords.com
2. ^ http://ww.sfbg.com/entry.php?entry_id=6001&catid=107&volume_id=398&issue_id=408&volume_num=43&issue_num=10
3. ^ http://www.xlr8r.com/features/2008/10/defined-resistance-portland-soun
4. ^ Echert, Jeff “Sound Advice” ‘’Inlander’’ March 2008
5. ^ http://www.pitchforkmedia.com/article/record_review/147672-muse-mcanique-hold-this-ghost
6. ^ http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=97029604

External links

• http://music.aol.com/artist/musee-mecanique/829734
• http://www.riotactmedia.com/artist_mm.php
• http://soundcheckmagazine.com/reviews/album-reviews/1159-review-musee-mecanique-hold-this-ghost
• http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2008/10/03/PKKT131U1J.DTL&type=music
• http://localcut.wweek.com/2008/10/24/muse-mcanique-hold-this-ghost
• http://www.portlandmercury.com/music/once-more-with-feeling/Content?oid=905040
• http://frogstandrecords.com