* En anglais uniquement
Also the name of a state park in Georgia, experimental outfit
Cloudland Canyon carry on the abstract electronic sounds pioneered by such artists as Ash Ra Tempel and
Edgar Froese, while touching on elements of dream pop and occasionally flirting with stargazing disco rhythms. The project began in 2002 when Kip Uhlhorn, the Brooklyn-based guitarist for
Panthers (and prior to that screamo band the Red Scare) met German multi-instrumentalist Simon Wojan when Uhlhorn was touring Europe. Following a brief recording session and a few years of track-trading between Uhlhorn and Wojan -- along with contributions from
Jacob Morris (
the Double), Jerry Fuchs (
Turing Machine,
the Juan MacLean), and Kelly Winkler (wife of Uhlhorn) -- Tee Pee released the debut
Requiems der Natur 2002-2004 in 2006.
The band moved to Kranky for its 2007 EP
Silver Tongued Sisyphus and released
Exterminating Angel, a 30-minute single-track collaboration with
Lichens, later that year on Holy Mountain.
Lie in Light followed on Kranky in early 2008, and a split 12" EP with
Mythical Beast appeared on Not Not Fun that year. Wojan left the group, eventually joining
King Khan & the Shrines.
Cloudland Canyon returned to Holy Mountain, establishing their own imprint Intercoastal Artists and issuing the more shoegaze-flavored
Fin Eaves in the fall of 2010. The album was well received, leading to tours with
the Flaming Lips,
Interpol, and
Bear in Heaven.
Following limited 7" singles on Intercoastal Artists (a split release with
Citay) and Bathetic Records,
Cloudland Canyon centered around the lineup of Kelly and Kip Uhlhorn as well as Memphis-based drummer
Ross Johnson, of
Tav Falco's Panther Burns. The trio worked with producer
Sonic Boom (formerly of
Spacemen 3), who mastered three 12" releases by the group in 2012: Born Blonde (Trensmat), Prophetic Frequencies (Monofonus Press), and Aureliua (The Great Pop Supplement). The group also collaborated with
Robert A.A. Lowe (
Lichens) on the score to the 2012 Indian drama film Miss Lovely.
As
Cloudland Canyon began working on their third proper album with
Sonic Boom, they released a split 7" single with
Disappears on Sonic Cathedral Recordings in late 2013, and a split 7" with
Lorelle Meets the Obsolete on God Unknown Records in 2015. Finally, the full-length
An Arabesque appeared on Medical Records in early 2016. Featuring a vast lineup of guest musicians including
M. Geddes Gengras,
Sonic Boom, and former members of
Big Star,
the Flaming Lips, and
LCD Soundsystem, the album found the group incorporating a cosmic space disco influence along with its usual Krautrock and dream pop sounds. ~ Kenyon Hopkin & Paul Simpson