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Old Light
Old Light is a Portland, Oregon based musical group active since 2009. Current members include Garth Klippert, Patrick Finn, and Scott DeMay. They have released six full length albums, an EP, and have had songs featured on compilations. They have periodically toured throughout in the United States and Canada and have played several music festivals.

History
Old Light have been making music since 2009. The Portland trio started initially as a band featuring two drummers, an autoharp, and vocal harmonies. Their debut album, "The Dirty Future," was released by Arena Rock Recording Co. in 2010. Over the next two years, the band played numerous shows in the Pacific Northwest, attracting a diverse group of listeners and a solid reputation amongst fellow area musicians. John Dwyer (Thee Oh Sees) described Old Light's first lineup as “Crosby, Stills, and Nash if they didn’t suck." This lineup reached its peak playing the Pickathon festival in 2011. When founding member Charlie Hester left the band following their West Coast tour in Summer 2012, Old Light decided to continue as a 4-piece. Abandoning the Autoharp and the folding chairs they had sat in onstage, Old Light drove their music into more aggressive, psychedelic territory over the course of a busy 2012. By then, the band had shared bills with acts as diverse as Black Mountain, Sallie Ford, Jolie Holland, and Sonny & the Sunsets.

In January 2013, Curly Cassettes label owner Sam Farrell encouraged Old Light to record their live set. The band enlisted engineer Brent Asbury (Pinback, Thingy) to record it on a Tascam 388 in frontman/songwriter Garth Klippert’s basement. Asbury mixed the live tracks direct to cassette master, and within less than a week, Old Light had a full-length cassette, titled “NO," for sale at a show. Shortly thereafter, Old Light announced their intention to write, record, and release five full-length albums worth of music in 2013. The band decided to use the 5-cassette project as an opportunity to explore the creative process together, nominating one of its members to act as “producer” each time. Scott DeMay (drums, keyboards, and guitar) produced the second tape, TIME, and enlisted Mike Coykendall (M. Ward, She & Him) to engineer and mix it. A more contemplative album than “NO," "TIME" was released April 20, 2013. The band then got to work on the third album, this time with (drummer) Todd Roper producing. Roper and Klippert set up the Tascam 388 in Klippert’s basement again, and worked on a large amount of improvised material that would culminate in the next release, “YES."

Following a self-booked Midwest tour that included the Nelsonville Music Festival and a Daytrotter session, the band returned home to play Pickathon 2013. Then, as suddenly as things had picked up for the band, drummer Todd Roper moved to California. Remaining members Klippert, Finn, and DeMay resolved to complete the 5 album cassette project, as planned. "SPACE" used several of Roper’s drum tracks, as well as heavily featuring the work of (now full-time drummer) Scott DeMay. Engineer Seth Lorinczi (Circus Lupus, Corin Tucker Band) mixed the nine-song album. The fifth and final album of the series, “MAGIC," is a sound collage culled from all of the master tapes and live recordings the band recorded over the course of the project. It is composed of two 16-minute tracks, titled Variation I and Variation II.

"O.L.V. - Old Light Variations,” a box set of all five cassettes, was released on October 5, 2013. The 3-piece lineup supported the release with a West Coast tour that included dates with Thee Oh Sees, Kelley Stoltz, and Eric D. Johnson (Fruit Bats).

Musical Style
Old Light have explored many styles and genres, yet maintain a consistent sound anchored mainly by Klippert’s singing style and vocal harmony arrangements. From the band’s inception until Hester’s departure in June 2012, the electric Autoharp was a central component of the band’s sound, as well as the two full drum sets played by Roper and DeMay. Since 2012, the band has moved the music into a heavier, more economical direction, with influences from psychedelia, surf-rock, hard rock, classic metal, and heavy soul. In interviews, Klippert has variously referred to Old Light's music as "dance-metal," "completely self-indulgent," and "like classical music, but shittier."

Full-length albums
2013 - “MAGIC” - Full-length cassette, Curly Cassettes, 10/5/13

2013 - “SPACE” - Full-length cassette, Curly Cassettes, 10/5/13

2013 - “YES” - Full-length cassette, Curly Cassettes, 5/20/13

2013 - “TIME” - Full-length cassette, Curly Cassettes, 4/20/13

2013 - “NO” - Full-length cassette, Curly Cassettes, 1/25/13

2010 - “The Dirty Future” - Full-length CD, Arena Rock Recording Co., 10/10/10

EP's
2013 - “Ocean Waves” - 4 song 10” vinyl EP, released by Old Light Records on 6/15/13

Compilations
2013 - “Ocean Waves” - single on “ PDX Pop Now! 2013 Compilation,” PDX Pop Now, 6/14/13

2013 - “Let Me Be Your Song” - single on “Fraggle Rock - Dream A Dream And See,” Beta Petrol/Jim Henson Company, 7/25/13

Box Sets
2013 - “O.L.V. - Old Light Variations” - 5-cassette box set, Curly Cassettes 10/5/13

Videos
2013 - “Trenchcoats” - directed by Inger Klekacz, 8/20/13

2013 - “Transformation” - directed by Inger Klekacz, 4/21/13

2013 - “Empty Head” - directed by Samuel Farrell, 1/29/13

2012 - “Ocean Waves” - directed by Karl Koch, 11/2/12