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Brent Arnold attacks the cello with fiery intensity and delicate subtlety, with an unconventional approach that often sounds like anything but a cello. He sings his genre-defying songs while fingerpicking the cello like a guitar, pounding it like a piano, or creating mysterious, electronic-sounding tones. His avant-garde yet populist approach calls to mind forebears like Tom Cora and Arthur Russell, as the cello becomes an extension of his imagination and an expression of his vast and inclusive musical vision. He has worked with artists including Modest Mouse , Sleater-Kinney, DJ/Rupture , Eyvind Kang , Brand New, Filastine , Lia Ices , Haale , Lenny Kravitz, Jihae , Maggie Kim , many more.
In his original songs, understated vocals tell troubador stories, with loops of cello providing richly layered, shimmering backdrops. The music ranges from simple and acoustic to experimental and chaotic, often within the same song, and he also drops in some very surprising covers-- hearing an Al Green song with nothing but cello and voice is both strange and unexpectedly soulful.
In his hands we hear the cello freed of its constraints and veering into rock and folk, free improvisation, South Asian and Middle Eastern melody, and a deconstructive spirit that finds him taking songs apart and putting them together in new ways. When his stomp-box effects pedals are added, the cello becomes a raw soundmaking synthesizer made of wood and horsehair.
After studies with Walter Gray of the Kronos Quartet and jazz violinist Michael White in Seattle, Brent found himself playing cello for indie rock darlings like Modest Mouse, Sleater-Kinney, and Quasi, and his band The Spheres made a critically-acclaimed album for Up Records. Today he lives in Brooklyn, NY, collaborating with artists such as Haale, Lia Ices, DJ/rupture, and the Invincible Hummingbirds.
"Cinematic in scope, methodically surprising, and densely layered in sound..." POPMATTERS"...most definitely a musician's musician..." PITCHFORK
"...a perfect mix of compositional genius and lo-fi charm." ALTERNATIVE PRESS
"...some of the most innovative tracks heard in recent memory...huge in sound and powerful in vision..." OUTBURN
"...more dynamic range in a single song than many bands achieve on entire albums..." THE STRANGER
"...the balance between the dramatic and fragile is perfect...a beautiful set of songs..." SENTIMENTALIST
"...one of the most talented and prolific multi-instrumentalists currently operating in independent music..." GUER ILLAONE
Brent Arnold's Cinema Deep Crush CD is available from:
Post-World Industries
Up Records
iTunes