Windy & Carl is an American

ambient Ambient or Ambiance or Ambience may refer to: Music and sound * Ambience (sound recording), also known as atmospheres or backgrounds * Ambient music, a genre of music that puts an emphasis on tone and atmosphere * ''Ambient'' (album), by Moby * ...

duo based in

Dearborn, Michigan Dearborn is a city in Wayne County in the U.S. state of Michigan. At the 2020 census, it had a population of 109,976. Dearborn is the seventh most-populated city in Michigan and is home to the largest Muslim population in the United States pe ...

, United States.

Overview

Cited as "a leading light of the Michigan space-rock scene" by

AllMusic AllMusic (previously known as All Music Guide and AMG) is an American online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on musicians and bands. Initiated in 1991, the databas ...

, the minimalist group formed in 1993 around the core husband-and-wife duo of guitarist Carl Hultgren and bassist/singer Windy Weber. (Most of the band's pieces feature no vocals, however.) The band was prolific from the outset up to 2001, whereupon they took a hiatus of a few years. The music of Windy & Carl borrows heavily from the sounds of 1980s era bands on

4AD Records 4AD is a British record label owned by Beggars Group. It was founded in London under the name "Axis" (after the Hendrix album) by Ivo Watts-Russell and Peter Kent in 1980 as an imprint of Beggars Banquet Records. The name was changed to 4AD af ...

, specifically that of

Robin Guthrie Robin Andrew Guthrie (born 4 January 1962) is a Scottish musician, songwriter, composer, record producer and audio engineer, best known as the co-founder of the alternative rock band Cocteau Twins. During his career Guthrie has performed ...

of the

Cocteau Twins Cocteau Twins was a Scottish rock band active from 1979 to 1997. They were formed in Grangemouth by Robin Guthrie (guitars, drum machine) and Will Heggie (bass), adding Elizabeth Fraser (vocals) in 1981 and replacing Heggie with multi-instrum ...

and various other

dream pop Dream pop (also typeset as dreampop) is a subgenre of alternative rock and neo-psychedelia that emphasizes atmosphere and sonic texture as much as pop melody. Common characteristics include breathy vocals, dense productions, and effects such as ...

and

shoegazer Shoegaze (originally called shoegazing and sometimes conflated with "dream pop") is a subgenre of indie and alternative rock characterized by its ethereal mixture of obscured vocals, guitar distortion and effects, feedback, and overwhelming volu ...

acts. Unlike noteworthy prior drone/ambient artists (such as

Cluster may refer to: Science and technology Astronomy * Cluster (spacecraft), constellation of four European Space Agency spacecraft * Asteroid cluster, a small asteroid family * Cluster II (spacecraft), a European Space Agency mission to study t ...

Brian Eno Brian Peter George St John le Baptiste de la Salle Eno (; born Brian Peter George Eno, 15 May 1948) is a British musician, composer, record producer and visual artist best known for his contributions to ambient music and work in rock, pop an ...

Popol Vuh ''Popol Vuh'' (also ''Popol Wuj'' or ''Popul Vuh'' or ''Pop Vuj'') is a text recounting the mythology and history of the Kʼicheʼ people, one of the Maya peoples, who inhabit Guatemala and the Mexican states of Chiapas, Campeche, Yucatan and Q ...

, ''et al.''), Windy & Carl's drones are primarily derived from guitar, particularly via usage of

delay effect Delay is an audio signal processing technique that records an input signal to a storage medium and then plays it back after a period of time. When the delayed playback is electronic mixer, mixed with the live audio, it creates an echo-like effec ...

reverb Reverberation (also known as reverb), in acoustics, is a persistence of sound, after a sound is produced. Reverberation is created when a sound or signal is reflected causing numerous reflections to build up and then decay as the sound is abso ...

effects, and

E-Bow The EBow, short for electronic bow or energy bow, is an electronic device used for playing string instruments, most often the electric guitar. It is manufactured by Heet Sound Products, of Los Angeles, California. It was invented by Greg Heet i ...

, rather than

synthesizer A synthesizer (also spelled synthesiser) is an electronic musical instrument that generates audio signals. Synthesizers typically create sounds by generating waveforms through methods including subtractive synthesis, additive synthesis and ...

s. Another noteworthy aspect of W&C's sound is the absence of drums.

History

"Hultgren first began recording instrumental guitar drone pieces in 1992, when he self-released a cassette tape named ''Portal'' before teaming up with Weber". It was later reissued on CD by BaDaBing owner Ben Goldberg. Windy & Carl then participated in

Darla Records Darla Records is an independent record label founded by James Agren in October 1993 while he was in New York. Darla's first release was a 7-inch by Grifters, an indie rock/lo-fi band from Memphis. Background The music of the artists on the ...

' ''Bliss Out Series'' in 1997, contributing the maxi-EP ''Antarctica''. That year, they also issued the limited-edition album/maxi-EP ''A Dream of Blue'' on U.K. label Ochre Records, with individually painted cover art by Weber (on the 10" vinyl version). ''Depths'' was released by Kranky in early 1998. In 1999, the couple teamed up with synthesist Greg Gasiorowski to record under the name Five Way Mirror. They released a few singles under that moniker, in addition to ''Transcendence'', a 1999 full-length album. ''Consciousness'' came out on Kranky in 2001. The band then went on hiatus (after Weber's mom died), returning with ''Dream House/ Dedications to Flea'' in 2005. (Flea was their recently deceased dog.) There was a singles compilation released in 2001, ''Introspection'', which is 3 CDs of singles, live tracks and previously unreleased recordings. In 2006, they released ''Akimatsuri'', a one track (33:16 min) limited album under their label Blue Flea. It was recorded at their home between March and October 2006. The unique track is made up of 5 subtracks. Windy & Carl have been a mainstay of the various

Terrastock Terrastock is a music festival organised periodically by Phil McMullen, formerly editor of the ''Ptolemaic Terrascope'' and since 2005 the publisher of the Terrascope Online website. The event typically features independent bands playing psyche ...

music festivals. In the fall of 2000 they released a CD with The Lothars, titled ''& Windy & Carl & The Lothars'' that featured live performances by each band from the

San Francisco San Francisco (; Spanish language, Spanish for "Francis of Assisi, 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 List of Ca ...

festival as well as a 28-minute collaborative piece recorded at the

London London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a majo ...

festival. The group has issued several other

split record Split(s) or The Split may refer to: Places * Split, Croatia, the largest coastal city in Croatia * Split Island, Canada, an island in the Hudson Bay * Split Island, Falkland Islands * Split Island, Fiji, better known as Hạfliua Arts, entertai ...

ings as well as a 3-CD

box set A box set or (its original name) boxed set is a set of items (for example, a compilation of books, musical recordings, films or television programs) traditionally packaged in a box and offered for sale as a single unit. Music Artists and bands ...

, ''Introspection: Singles & Rarities 1993-2000''. They embarked on a national tour in the summer of 2001 with

Landing Landing is the last part of a flight, where a flying animal, aircraft, or spacecraft returns to the ground. When the flying object returns to water, the process is called alighting, although it is commonly called "landing", "touchdown" or ...

; the bands released a split tour-only EP to commemorate it. A highlight of this tour was being able to perform a private audience show for

Sonic Youth Sonic Youth was an American rock band based in New York City, formed in 1981. Founding members Thurston Moore (guitar, vocals), Kim Gordon (bass, vocals, guitar) and Lee Ranaldo (guitar, vocals) remained together for the entire history of the b ...

. October 2008 saw the release of ''Songs for the Broken Hearted'' – their 4th album in 11 years for Kranky. In December 2008, American

webzine An online magazine is a magazine published on the Internet, through bulletin board systems and other forms of public computer networks. One of the first magazines to convert from a print magazine format to being online only was the computer magaz ...

Somewhere Cold Somewherecold Records (formerly Somewhere Cold Records) is an American independent record label established in late 2004 by Jason T. Lamoreaux. The record company was founded in Lexington, Kentucky, but is currently headquartered in Shelbyvill ...

'' ranked ''Songs for the Broken Hearted'' No. 5 on their ''2008 Somewhere Cold Awards Hall of Fame''. Hultgren and Weber ran a record store in Dearborn, called Stormy Records, until it shut down permanently. Windy & Carl's influence can be heard in bands such as

The Sight Below The Sight Below is an American ambient techno/ shoegaze act from Seattle, Washington. Its main member is the American post-minimalist composer Rafael Anton Irisarri. Sam Valenti IV signed The Sight Below to his Ghostly International imprint in ...

, Kranky labelmates White Rainbow, Growing, and

Yume Bitsu Yume Bitsu (meaning "dream beats" in Japanese) was an American post-rock band from Portland, Oregon, active from 1995 and 2002. History Their debut ''Giant Surface Music Falling to Earth Like Jewels From the Sky'' was self-released in 1998 and ...

Discography

Albums

* ''

Portal Portal often refers to: * Portal (architecture), an opening in a wall of a building, gate or fortification, or the extremities (ends) of a tunnel Portal may also refer to: Arts and entertainment Gaming * ''Portal'' (series), two video games ...

'' (

Ba Da Bing! Ba Da Bing Records is an American record label based in Brooklyn, New York. The name is derived from the saying "ba da bing, ba da boom", common among Italian-Americans, especially in New Jersey. The label was founded in Leonia, New Jersey in 19 ...

, 1995) * '' Drawing of Sound'' (Icon, 1996) * ''

Antarctica Antarctica () is Earth's southernmost and least-populated continent. Situated almost entirely south of the Antarctic Circle and surrounded by the Southern Ocean, it contains the geographic South Pole. Antarctica is the fifth-largest contine ...

'' ( Darla, 1997) * '' Depths'' ( Kranky, 1998) * ''Dream of Blue'' (Ochre, 1998) * ''Consciousness'' (Kranky, 2001) * ''Dedications to Flea'' (

Brainwashed Brainwashed may refer to: *Brainwashing, to affect a person's mind by using extreme mental pressure or any other mind-affecting process Music Albums * Brainwashed (George Harrison album), ''Brainwashed'' (George Harrison album), 2002, or the ...

, 2005) * ''The Dream House'' (Kranky, 2005) * ''Songs for the Broken Hearted'' (Kranky, 2008) * ''Instrumentals for the Broken Hearted'' (Blue Flea, 2009) * ''We Will Always Be'' (Kranky, 2012) * ''Blues for a UFO'' (2017) * ''Allegiance and Conviction'' (Kranky, 2020)

EPs and singles

* ''Watersong/Dragonfly'' (Blue Flea, 1993) * ''Instrumentals EP'' (

Burnt Hair Records Burnt Hair Records was a record label involved with Michigan's space rock alternative music scene in the 1990s. The label is said to have been most responsible for cultivating the Detroit sound of this period. Burnt Hair recorded artists in vario ...

, 1994) * ''Left Without Air'' (split single with

Füxa Füxa (pronounced like the color fuchsia) is an American rock band. Füxa was formed in Detroit in 1994 by musicians Randall Nieman (formerly of Windy & Carl) and Ryan Anderson (formerly of Asha Vida and later to join Delta Waves). Band memb ...

) (Blue Flea/Mind Expansion, 1995) * ''Green'' (split single with Hopewell) (

, 1996) * ''Emeralds/Fragments Of Time And Space'' (Enraptured, 1996) * ''Christmas Song'' (split single with Grimble Grumble) (Enraptured, 1996) * ''Crazy in the Sun'' (split single with

Silver Apples Silver Apples were an American electronic rock group from New York, active between 1967 and 1970, before reforming in the mid-1990s. It was composed of Simeon (born Simeon Oliver Coxe III, June 4, 1938 – September 8, 2020), who performed o ...

) (Rocket Girl, 1997) * ''Dream of Blue/Kate EP'' (Ochre, 1997) * ''Near and Far'' (split EP with

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) (Blue Flea, 1998) * ''Noises from the Darkroom'' (split 12" with Saddar Bazaar) (

Earworm An earworm, sometimes referred to as a brainworm, sticky music, stuck song syndrome, or, most commonly after earworms, Involuntary Musical Imagery (INMI), is a catchy and/or memorable piece of music or saying that continuously occupies a person ...

, 2001) * ''Untitled'' (split tour CD with

(Music Fellowship, 2001) * ''Akimatsuri'' (Blue Flea, 2006) * ''Intelligence in Evolution'' (split LP with Heavy Winged) (Music Fellowship, 2008) * ''You Can't Hide Your Love Forever vol. 7'' (Dwight Yoakam cover) (Geographic North, 2012) * ''Calliope'' (The Great Pop Supplement, 2013) * ''I Walked Alone/At Night'' (Blue Flea, 2014) * ''Forest Trails'' (2019)

Compilation

*''

Introspection Introspection is the examination of one's own conscious thoughts and feelings. In psychology, the process of introspection relies on the observation of one's mental state, while in a spiritual context it may refer to the examination of one's s ...

'' (Blue Flea, 2002) (3 CDs of rarities, live tracks, etc.)

Various-artist compilation appearances

* "Seiche" on ''

Brainwaves Neural oscillations, or brainwaves, are rhythmic or repetitive patterns of neural activity in the central nervous system. Neural tissue can generate oscillatory activity in many ways, driven either by mechanisms within individual neurons or by ...

'' (2006) * "3rd Stage" (live collaboration with The Lothars), "Through the Portal" (live), and "Ballast" (live) on ''& Windy & Carl & The Lothars'' (2000) * "Beyond Asleep" on ''Disco Sucks (compilation)'' (1996)

References

External links

* *
Windy & Carl
at

Bandcamp Bandcamp is an American online audio distribution platform founded in 2007 by Oddpost co-founder Ethan Diamond and programmers Shawn Grunberger, Joe Holt and Neal Tucker, with headquarters in Oakland, California, US. On March 2, 2022, Bandcamp ...

Windy & Carl
at Kranky
Windy & Carl
at Brainwashed

on Perfect Sound Forever (2013) {{DEFAULTSORT:Windy and Carl Rock music groups from Michigan American space rock musical groups Dream pop musical groups Musical groups established in 1993 American ambient music groups Male–female musical duos Rocket Girl artists Drone music groups Darla Records artists