Lee Ranaldo	Electric Trim
Mute Records/Pebble Records	Sept. 15th, 2017

             ^{Lee Ranaldo — Electric Trim (Sept. 15, 2017)} ο♦♣ο     Although Ranaldo bristles at a question about whether he feels a new freedom without Sonic Youth, he says he’s happy exploring new territory. “I feel like, after 30 years of my radical electric guitar treatment,” he says, “for me to be picking up an acoustic guitar is kind of an experimental project.”      
ο♦♣ο     Stepping further from the shadow of Sonic Youth, Lee Ranaldo delivers solo album number 12 and it flows like wine into a glass.                                                                   © Lee Ranaldo, Exit~In
Birth name: Lee Mark Ranaldo
Born: February 3, 1956, Glen Cove, Long Island, New York, USA
Location: New York
Album release: Sept. 15, 2017
Record Label: Mute Records, Pebble Records
Notable instruments:
ι•ιι   Fender Jazzmaster
ι•ιι   Fender Telecaster Deluxe
ι•ιι   Gibson Les Paul
ι•ιι   Moonlander
Duration:     55:05
Tracks:
01. Moroccan Mountains     7:29
02. Uncle Skeleton     5:19
03. Let’s Start Again     5:28
04. Last Looks (feat. Sharon Van Etten)     6:25
05. Circular (Right as Rain)     4:27
06. Electric Trim     6:28
07. Purloined     5:12
08. Thrown Over the Wall     7:28
09. New Thing     6:49
PLAYERS:
ο♦ο      Lee Ranaldo — vocals, acoustic & electric guitars, keyboards, electronics, drums, marimba
ο♦ο      Raül Refree — acoustic & electric guitars, keyboards, electronics and programming, bass, drums, backing vocals
ο♦ο      Sharon Van Etten — vocals
ο♦ο      Alan Licht — electric guitar
ο♦ο      Tim Luntzel — bajo
ο♦ο      Nels Cline — electric guitar
ο♦ο      Steve Shelley — drums
ο♦ο      Kid Millions — drums
ο♦ο      Xavi de la Salud — trumpets and flugelhorns
ο♦ο      Cody Ranaldo — electronics
ο♦ο      Mar Girona — backing vocalsDescription:
♣   The nine~track album marks a return to the Mute family for Ranaldo, who says: “I’m so excited about this record, it represents new developments and directions for me and I can’t wait to hit the road and play this music live. I’m also so pleased to partner with Mute for this release — it’s like a homecoming of sorts as Sonic Youth’s early records were released on Blast First / Mute. To me Mute has always been a true artist’s label, concentrating first and foremost on the music. I can’t wait for everyone to hear this music.”
♣   Electric Trim was recorded in New York City and Barcelona in collaboration with producer Raül ‘Refree’ Fernandez and extends the work of Ranaldo’s solo canon, the most recent being his 2013 album, Last Night On Earth.
♣   Through his collaboration with Fernandez, Ranaldo moves into some rich new sonic territories and production techniques, experimenting with electronic beats and samples alongside live players.
♣   Ranaldo is a co~founder of Sonic Youth, a visual artist, producer and writer. In addition to Fernandez, he worked with several special guests on Electric Trim, including Sharon Van Etten who sings on six of the tracks and duets on ‘Last Looks’ and Kid Millions (aka Man Forever) as well as longtime friend and collaborator Nels Cline (Wilco). In addition, the album features Ranaldo’s band The Dust (fellow Sonic Youth member Steve Shelley, guitarist Alan Licht, and bassist Tim Luntzel).
♣   Ranaldo collaborated with award winning New York author Jonathan Lethem (Motherless Brooklyn / The Fortress of Solitude) for lyrics on six of the songs and the American artist, Richard Prince, who previously painted the sleeve for Sonic Youth’s 2004 album Sonic Nurse, created the artwork for the album.LEE OCTOBER ART SHOWS + PERFORMANCES, BELGIUM:
Lee Ranaldo — new works: drawings, paintings and prints
→↔•      Galerie Jan Dhaese
→↔•      Ajuinlei 15B
→↔•      9000 Gent, Belgium
→↔•      Oct 15, 2017 — Dec 19, 2017
Lee Ranaldo – “Lost Ideas” (selected works, ‘80s, ‘90s, ‘00s)
→↔•      Stadsmuseum’t Schippershof & Cultuurcentrum De Steiger
→↔•      Rijselstraat 77, 8930 Menen, Belgium
→↔•      Oct 13, 2017 — Dec 17, 2017
→↔•      Oct 13~ LR electric gtr short performance at opening
→↔•      Oct 14~ LR acoustic solo show in the evening
Label: http://mute.com/
Label: https://pebblerecords.co.uk/
Interview, by Kory Grow. Sept. 14, 2017
♣   http://www.rollingstone.com/music/features/lee-ranaldo-on-electric-trim-lp-life-after-sonic-youth-w502276
Julian Marszalek, September 14th, 2017 10:31
♣   The harmonic string buzzes and open chords of ‘Moroccan Mountains’ are deliciously evocative of parched vistas and shimmering horizons, as elsewhere ‘Circular (Right As Rain)’ is a kaleidoscopic yet subtle trip. What’s also apparent is how much Ranaldo has improved as a singer; his voice is strong and confident and he’s on far more intimate terms with infectious melodies. Best of all is ‘Last Looks’, his tender duet with Sharon Van Etten that switches up several gears to move into further psychedelic territories.
•ιι   Self~assured and comfortable in his skin, Lee Ranaldo is properly striking out on his own and sounding all the better for it. (excerpt)
•ιι   http://thequietus.com/articles/23197-lee-ranaldo-electric-trim-album-review
Solo albums:
•ιι   From Here to Infinity (1987)
•ιι   Scriptures of the Golden Eternity (1993) (Recorded 1988~1989)
•ιι   Dirty Windows (1998) (Recorded 1991~95)
•ιι   Amarillo Ramp (For Robert Smithson) (2000) (Recorded 1990~95)
•ιι   Outside My Window The City Is Never Silent ~ A Bestiary (2002) (Recorded 1991~95)
•ιι   Music For Stage And Screen (2004)
•ιι   Ambient Loop For Vancouver (2006)
•ιι   Maelstrom From Drift (2008)
•ιι   Between the Times and the Tides (Matador Records, 2012)
•ιι   Last Night on Earth (with the Dust) (2013)
•ιι   Acoustic Dust (with the Dust) (2014)
•ιι   Electric Trim (2017)
Singles and EPs:
•ιι   A Perfect Day EP (1992)
•ιι   Broken Circle / Spiral Hill EP (1994)
•ιι   Countless Centuries Fled into the Distance Like So Many Storms (2008)
Compilations:
•ιι   East Jesus (1995)♣♣♣♣♣♣♣♣♣♣♣♣♣♣♣♣____________________________♣♣♣♣♣♣♣♣♣♣♣♣♣♣♣♣

Lee Ranaldo	Electric Trim
Mute Records/Pebble Records	Sept. 15th, 2017

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