Tristeza is an American
post-rock band. The band is currently based in
Oakland, California
Oakland is the largest city and the county seat of Alameda County, California, United States. A major West Coast of the United States, West Coast port, Oakland is the largest city in the East Bay region of the San Francisco Bay Area, the third ...
, and was established in
San Diego
San Diego ( , ; ) is a city on the Pacific Ocean coast of Southern California located immediately adjacent to the Mexico–United States border. With a 2020 population of 1,386,932, it is the eighth most populous city in the United State ...
in 1997.
Biography
The group formed in San Diego in 1997, and included Christopher Sprague, Luis Hermosillo, Jimmy LaValle (
The Album Leaf
The Album Leaf is an American musical project founded in San Diego, California, in 1998 by Jimmy LaValle. He is known for his use of electronics, synthesizer, and Rhodes piano. His performances often feature projected visual art.
History Inc ...
), James Lehner, and Stephen Swesey. This line-up recorded all material that was released through 2003, including the albums ''Spine and Sensory'' (1999) and ''Dream Signals in Full Circles'' (2000).
The ''Spine and Sensory'' album was recorded at Tim Green's Louder Studios, a basement studio in
San Francisco
San Francisco (; Spanish for " Saint Francis"), officially the City and County of San Francisco, is the commercial, financial, and cultural center of Northern California. The city proper is the fourth most populous in California and 17th ...
.
It took one week to record and mix the album in the Autumn of 1998. Green has since left San Francisco and moved his studio to
Grass Valley, California
Grass Valley is a city in Nevada County, California, United States. Situated at roughly in elevation in the western foothills of the Sierra Nevada mountain range, this northern Gold Country city is by car from Sacramento, from Sacramento ...
.
In January 2003, Tristeza played its last concert with Jimmy LaValle as a main member, but he has joined the band occasionally since.
Their second album ''Dream Signals in Full Circles'' was recorded and produced in Chicago by
Dave Trumfio
David Trumfio (born August 16, 1968) is an American record producer, mixer, engineer and musician, best known for his production work with artists such as Wilco and his recordings with his own band The Pulsars.
Production work
Trumfio grew u ...
at
Kingsize Soundlabs
Kingsize Soundlabs are three recording studios in Los Angeles County, California, run by record producer Dave Trumfio.
Background
Located in the Silverlake, Glassell Park, and Atwater Village areas of Los Angeles. The Glassell Park studio i ...
during the Spring of 2000. The album was recorded and mixed in 10 days.
During 2004, the band enlisted guitarist Alison Ables and keyboardist Sean Ogilvie to begin writing songs for ''A Colores''. This line-up recorded all material that was released during 2005 and 2006.
''A Colores'' was recorded during three winter weeks of 2005 at Key Club Recording in
Benton Harbor, Michigan
Benton Harbor is a city in Berrien County in the U.S. state of Michigan. It is 46 miles southwest of Kalamazoo and 71 miles southwest of Grand Rapids. According to the 2020 census, its population was 9,103. It is the smaller, by population, o ...
by Bill Skibbe and Jessica Ruffins.
The album was mixed during the summer of 2005 by
Alan Sanderson in
San Diego
San Diego ( , ; ) is a city on the Pacific Ocean coast of Southern California located immediately adjacent to the Mexico–United States border. With a 2020 population of 1,386,932, it is the eighth most populous city in the United State ...
.
At the start of 2007, the core of Tristeza (Sprague, Lehner, and Hermosillo) with the assistance of Ogilvie, began collaborating with various musicians around the
San Francisco Bay Area
The San Francisco Bay Area, often referred to as simply the Bay Area, is a populous region surrounding the San Francisco, San Pablo, and Suisun Bay estuaries in Northern California. The Bay Area is defined by the Association of Bay Area Go ...
, including Camaron Stevens on guitar, and released the ''Fate Unfolds'' mini album in 2009.
In 2010, Tristeza recorded the album ''Paisajes'' with Tim Green, who also recorded the band's first album, at Tim Green's Louder Studios in
Grass Valley, California
Grass Valley is a city in Nevada County, California, United States. Situated at roughly in elevation in the western foothills of the Sierra Nevada mountain range, this northern Gold Country city is by car from Sacramento, from Sacramento ...
in the winter and spring of 2010.
Tristeza's many other various EPs, singles, tour CDs, demos, DVD, cassettes, etc. were mainly self-recorded by the band, as well by Matt Anderson, Alan Sanderson, Mike Hammel, and Pall Jenkins.
Critical reception
CMJ New Music Monthly
CMJ Holdings Corp. is a music events and online media company, originally founded in 1978, which ran a website, hosted an annual festival in New York City, and published two magazines, ''CMJ New Music Monthly'' and ''CMJ New Music Report''. Th ...
described Tristeza's style in a review of their album, ''Dream Signals in Full Circles'': "A typical Tristeza track involves a down-shifted take on emo's rhythmic lopsidedness, beds of washy, behind-the-beat keyboards, and Christopher Sprague's arpeggiated, effect-drenched guitar melodies."
Discography
Studio albums
* ''
Spine and Sensory'' (1999)
* ''
Dream Signals in Full Circles'' (2000)
* ''Mixed Signals'' (2001)
* ''March of the White Lies'' (2005)
* ''
A Colores'' (2005)
* ''
En Nuestro Desafio'' (2006)
* ''Fate Unfolds'' (2009)
* ''Paisajes'' (2010)
EPs
* ''Insound Tour Support Series No. 1'' (1999)
* ''Mania Phase'' (2002)
* ''Tristeza/Lemko Hall'' Split-EP (2002)
* ''Espuma'' (2003)
Singles
* ''Foreshadow'' (1998)
* ''Macrame'' (1999)
* ''Are We People'' (2000)
* ''Bromas'' (2005)
References
{{Authority control
American post-rock groups
Musical groups from San Diego