Duo creates organic sound

Brookyln duo High Places’ name may conjure images of grandeur and splendor. Their lyrics may reflect on such lofty abstractions as creation, man’s relation to nature and the cosmos, and our metaphysical state of being.

However, the band’s music is a refreshingly modest and personal blend of found sound, warm aural textures, and polyglot rhythms, inviting listeners to share space in their ephemeral worlds. And tonight, High Places will bring their intimate and homespun songs to Los Angeles’ own appropriately intimate and homespun venue, The Smell.

On their self-titled debut, the duo of Rob Barber and Mary Pearson reminds listeners that it was recorded at their Brooklyn home. The tracks that compose the record convey a personalized quaintness through the sonic fingerprints left intact, no doubt attributable to home recording.

“We’ll each record little jams on simple pieces of equipment, or on things around the house that make sound,” Barber said. “We’ll then sort of scrapbook that and save it on the computer. We use a pretty old computer that’s pretty basic, so it’s not super high-tech. A lot of times one of us would do something, and the other would come home and add to it without the other person there. And then show it to the other person and then collectively start arranging things.”

The hand-sewn quality is readily apparent on the album. High Place’s music is a percussion-based blend of syncopated rhythms, electronic textures, and samples of acoustic instruments that nods towards electronic and dance music, yet their approach eschews those genres’ polished sheen, choosing rather to leave evidence of each track’s sonic stitches intact. Use of everyday household appliances and knickknacks furthers the homegrown, organic quality of their music.

“I think one reason we end up using more random objects that we’ve found is because we like dance music and electronic music, but we don’t really like the sterile quality to it,” Pearson said. “If we use the sound of us slamming a book shut for a percussive sound, we can manipulate that sound so it’s like an electric sound. So it’s kind of a combination of an acoustic, natural thing, but arranged into a dance track. I think we’ve always been fascinated with that duality.”

“I’m one of those people that’s a perpetual tapper,” Barber added. “The other day I was tapping on one of the speaker cabinets that we tour with, and thought “˜Woah, this is a really good acoustic sound (coming) from the top of this.'”

Combining instrumentation that makes significant use of day-to-day objects we all encounter, and layering them with lyrics that confront feelings of wonder and fascination with creation, nature, and the cosmos, High Places attempts to tap into a universal sentiment.

“We want the music to be something people can relate to and sound familiar to them, but not something so repetitious and obvious to where they know what’s coming next,” Pearson said. “I think lyrically, too, I try to touch on things that are pretty universal and not something specific to me.”

Downtown venue The Smell, the cherished, hole-in-the-wall spot will likely provide the perfect setting for High Places’ intimate grooves.

“A lot of times when you play a club show, there’s a lot of weird stresses that go with it,” Barber said. “Like getting there and cramming in and doing a sound check and dealing with bouncers. You sort of feel like you’re getting shoved around and pushed around in these weird ways, (and) a lot of times the people aren’t super friendly. The thing with the Smell, you just show up and sort of play. There’s no real time line to it. It’s blissfully unorganized.”

The egalitarian nature of the venue, wherein patrons volunteer to perform the tasks necessary to put on a show, complements the open, collaborative aims of High Places.

“I feel that it’s amazing that that place exists” Barber said. “I do like the fact that it’s run by the kids. Jim (Smith, the Smell’s owner) basically is hypothetically in charge but it’s sort of run by the users. I think its popularity will hopefully maybe foster more venues that are like-minded. I think The Smell is sort of leading by example.”