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1. MP3: Mercury Switch
2. MP3: Cornish Guilt
3. MP3: Mr. Fritz-Fantasia
4. MP3: Future Nails
5. MP3: No Huffy
6. MP3: Fallsway
7. MP3: Space Caesar

Download the entire set in FLAC.

The Water
Kick – shure beta 52
Snare – shure sm57
Floor tom – sennheiser 421
Overheads – spaced pair (angled out) – shure sm81
Guitar amp – sennheiser 421
Keys – DI
Dan’s pod – DI
Stage – apex 460 tube (set to omni)
Stage – mxl 990 (angled at 45 deg in towards the middle of the stage)
Mid room – oktava 012 (x/y)
Back room – AT boundary

Recorded by Matthew Leffler-Schulman & Alex Champagne @ Windup Space
Mixed by Matthew Leffler-Schulman @ Mobtown Studios

Tracked with Logic 9.1

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MP3: The Water – Future Nails

Tonight’s headliners are one of the newest acts on NoVo’s roster. Baltimore duo The Water only really started playing out in 2009, and swiftly gained some traction and notable fans around town, snagging big gigs like the Metro Gallery’s Rufustival. Comprised of Dan Cohan (drums, electronics) and James Klink (guitars, keys, electronics), their self-titled and self-released EP was recorded with NoVo co-curator Matthew Leffler-Schulman in 2009, and serves up a strong cut of straight-up post-rock. Technically tight, but not overly complicated, their music works in the realm of nuance with an ear for great arrangements.

All well and good, but it doesn’t do justice to their immersive and dazzling live show. This is to be expected, considering what Dan told WYPR’s the Signal at the end of last week: “We spend a lot of time on what a show should look like. As much time as we spend on what it should sound like.” Undoubtedly, their pièce de résistance is a fast-track to myth, homemade “light obelisk” that changes color when they play. And as anyone can tell you, light shows and post-rock go hand-in-hand like chocolate and peanut butter.

The pot gets even sweeter when you consider that tonight’s set will feature a collaboration with guest drummer Mike Lowry of Lake Trout & Big in Japan. The lineup also features experimental guitarist Carlos Guillen’s The Expanding Man project and DJ JDay. Check out live footage of The Water’s set from Rufustival by Guy Werner after the jump.

Read the rest…