ROPE, INC.

ROPE,INC. FULL LENGTH OUT IN MARCH ON SECOND SHIMMY RECORDS.
This collection of 11 songs composed by MATT MENOVCIK and produced by KRAMER are brutally quiet and perfectly presented; a deftly assembled marriage of 70’s-era Eno and BECK at his very best.The ultra-eroticism of MENOVCIK’s vocal performances forms the bedrock of this collaboration,focused and drawn to a series of subtle points by Shimmy-Disc founder KRAMER’s production genius. Although remembrances of NEU and Joy Division will pepper the listeners experience upon first hearing the often graphic soundpoems found in ROPE, INC.’s haunting debut full-length release, one finds a haunting originality in both voice and production, and a freshness that holds true and honest through repeated listens.With Matt recording his electric piano, vocals and loops in Seattle, and Kramer adding arrangements, instrumentation and some of his most stunning guitar work at his studio in Florida, SONGS OF LOVE & WAR will keep listeners attention rigid long past bedtime.
KRAMER
Kramer, is a musician, composer, performer, record producer and founder of the NYC record label Shimmy-Disc. He was a member of such diverse musical entities as Butthole Surfers, Shockabilly, B.A.L.L., Bongwater, Half Japanese,The Fugs. He also performed regularly with John Zorn and other improvising musicians of New York City’s “Downtown scene” of the 1980s. His most notable work as a producer has been with bands such as Galaxie 500, Low , Half Japanese, Gwar, King Missile,Alice Donut,Will Oldham’s Palace Songs, Daniel Johnston, and the hit single for Quentin Tarantino’s Pulp Fiction, Urge Overkill’s “Girl,You’ll Be A Woman Soon”.
MATT MENOVCIK
Matt Menovcik is the songwriter, guitarist and singer for Seattle based band SAETA as well as the bass player for pop-punk band Ms. Led. Menovcik is also half of the collaboration known as ROPE, INC. with renowned producer, Kramer. The Duo’s first ep,“Is That All?”, was released in September of 2006 on Fish The Cat Records, which is run by Menovcik and Lesli Wood. Menovcik is a self-taught musician/ composer from Detroit, Michigan, who now resides in Seattle,Washington. He plays piano,guitar,accordion,percussion,and bass and has been composing music for over twenty years.
TRACK LISTING:
BELIEVE
PROMISE
STRANGE
HOLD
BECOME
ESCAPE
CIRCUMSTANCE
STAY
WRONG
UNKNOWN
BEGIN
For further information contact:
Diane Podolak, Publicist
myspace.com/dp_publicrelations
www.allegro-music.com • www.naildistribution.com
fishthecatrecords.com
secondshimmy.com
PRESS:
Seattle Times
May 18, 2007
Rope, Inc.He's not nearly as famous as Gibbard, but Matt Menovcik just might be as talented, though in a strange, nonmainstream way.While Saeta remains Menovcik's spooky main band, he has launched something called Rope, Inc. It has electronic and spacey edges, a shimmering setting for his deep, pained voice.The other half of Rope, Inc. is the brilliant producer Kramer, who collaborated with the singer to put out an EP released last fall and now an album called "Songs of Love & War." Kramer was a member of bands such as Butthole Surfers and Half Japanese, and produced notable works from Galaxie 500, Low and Daniel Johnston. (As well as the Urge Overkill/Pulp Fiction version of "Girl, You'll Be A Woman Soon.")"I recorded my parts for the album [voice, keyboards, programming] at my apartment, which I call Fish The Cat Studios," Menovcik explained, via e-mail. "I then sent the files I created to Kramer in Florida, and he added his parts at his studio, Noise Miami, and mixed and mastered it there."Kramer really produced and arranged a lot of the songs on this album. He also added a lot of the instrumentation and had his wife, who I've never met, lend her vocal talents to several of the tracks."Menovcik met Kramer when he was sending around Saeta's second album. Kramer also produced a new Saeta album, "which will be coming out in Italy in early 2008 and we will be touring over there to support that. I haven't yet figured out what I want to do with the album domestically yet."Kramer won't be there, but Menovcik performs Rope, Inc. songs at Café Venus at 9 p.m. Sunday ($6).
Tom Scanlon
AIDING AND ABETTING ISSUE 284Rope, Inc. Songs of Love and War (Second Shimmy)http://www.aidabet.com/issues/284/284reviews.htmlTher e really is a Kramer sound. It's not so much a particular way of twisting the knobs as it is marrying a feel to the songs involved. Kramer has always managed to mutate his style to fit his subjects, and the results become even more interesting when he joins up with the outfit in question.And so Matt Menovcik writes the songs, plays the keyboards and sings, while Kramer produces, plays guitar and whatever else is necessary. Though often enough these songs do pretty well with just voice, keyboard implement, beats and guitar.The sound is vaguely dreary, I suppose, but nonetheless possessing a sort of untouchable beauty. There's a real ache to the sound on this album. It really brings out the quiet desperation of Menovcik's songs.The more I hear from Rope, Inc., the more I like what I hear. There's just not enough room here for me to give all the reasons why.Contact: Second Shimmy www: www.secondshimmy.com
BABY SUE MAGAZINE - April 2007http://www.lmnop.com/2007-April-LMNOP-Reviews.html#ancho r66199Rope, Inc. - Songs of Love & War (CD, Second-Shimmy, Pop) Rope, Inc. is Matt Menovcik (who was previously in the band Saeta) and notorious producer Kramer. Songs of Love & War is a collection of subtle dub-influenced electronic pop. These thoughtful, personal, moody songs are delivered with appropriate restraint...incorporating some very simple yet beautiful keyboards. Manovcik has a slightly raspy almost hushed voice that works very well with this sort of music. Kramer's acute attention to details gives the music the heart and soul it deserves. This is probably a bit too subdued and provocative to become the most popular download of the month...but positive word-of-mouth about this project is bound to spread which will give it the exposure it so obviously deserves... (Rating: 4+++++)
AIDING AND ABETTING ISSUE 278
Rope, Inc. Is That All? EP (Fish the Cat) Matt Mencovik and Kramer (yes, that Kramer) noodle around five songs penned by Mencovik. Those expecting truly strange fare will be disappointed. These are often pretty, sometimes delicate songs that are almost perfectly presented. There must have been a lot of cutting and pasting, but the sound is wonderfully organic. The album title is fitting; I think most folks would like to hear a whole lot more.
ALL MUSIC GUIDE ROPE, INC - SONGS OF LOVE AND WAR Review by Alex Henderson Songs of Love and War has been described as a combination of Beck and '70s-era Brian Eno, and that is not an inaccurate description of the ambient-minded alternative pop/rock/art rock that Rope, Inc. provides on this 2007 release. But there are other influences as well on Songs of Love and War, which is the duo's first full-length album - influences that include Kraftwerk, David Bowie (especially the Bowie/Eno collaborations that gave us Low, Heroes and Lodger in the late '70s), Roxy Music, Pink Floyd and '80s new wave groups like Joy Division, Spandau Ballet and Orchestral Manoeuvres in the Dark. But none of those influences are people that Rope, Inc. (an American group with a very European sound) go out of their way to emulate; this duo has an attractive personality of its own, and that personality is very unassuming. Songs of Love and War is electronica-oriented pop/rock and art rock that never rocks; rather, it floats and does so in a way that is spacey, atmospheric and sometimes ethereal. At times, Rope, Inc.'s melodies are sweetly good-natured ("Become," "Believe," "Promise"), and other times, their melodies can be darkly haunting ("Unknown," "Begin," "Strange," "Wrong"). But either way, vocalist/songwriter/musician Matt Menovcik and producer/musician Kramer (who comprise Rope, Inc.) never beat listeners over the head to get their emotional points across. Again, the word "unassuming" is applicable throughout Songs of Love and War, which is slightly uneven but has more ups than downs and is worth obtaining.
Seattle Sound - May 2007
Between singing lead vocals for Seattle trio Saeta nd playing bass for pop-punk outfit, Ms. Led, Matt Menovcik forms half of the shadowy, looping ROPE, INC.. On the duo's second album, Menovcik lays down electric piano and the gravelly vocals that haunt the album here in Seattle, while renowned producer Kramer (Low, Gwar, Pulp Fiction's "Girl You'll Be A Woman Soon"" rcorded his own guitar work and arrangements in Florida. The result: a wandering dream-sequence of a record evocative of Beck, circa Sea Change. While most of the songs lean towards the sublime and ghostly, Songs of Love & War is saved from being dull or gloomy by its glittering piano work (notably in "Become"), the occasional catchy beat ("Hold") and above all, Menovcik's abrasive and spectral vocals throughout.
-Erin Thompson
POPMATTERS MAGAZINE
MAY 7, 2007
Rope, Inc., Songs of Love & War (Second Shimmy)
http://www.popmatters.com/pm/music/shorttakes/
The tandem of Matt Menovcik and Kramer has created this rather abstract, ambient, and interesting collection of songs. Not quite electronica, but with enough textures to make songs such as "Believe" come to life rather quickly. Think of Moby circa "Porcelain", or perhaps a more obscure band like No-Man, and you'll get the idea. In fact, the music is so seamless one doesn't even notice that "Promise" has begun, another charming, reflective tune. That doesn't mean everything turns to gold here, with "Strange" being a strange affair resembling a b-side from Nine Inch Nails. However, Rope, Inc. comes back to life with the Depeche Mode-ish "Hold". Another strong effort is the hushed duet during "Escape", bringing to mind Dido fronting Portishead. The often raspy delivery might be an acquired taste for some, but "Circumstance" and the carnival-tinged "Stay" are well worth it. Even the eerie, haunting "Unknown", with its Gregorian-like hues that evoke memories of Enigma, is a keeper. 7 OUT OF 10 STARS
RADIO STATIONS PLAYING ROPE, INC:
KWCW - Walla Walla, Washington
WWVU-FM - West Virginia
KDHX - ST. LOUIS MS