Magmana, the duo of Joan Tick (formerly of the Phenomenal Handclap Band) and Caleb Lindskoog are preparing their album Fiend for Fall release from Tacky Records and debut today their Raymond Park directed video for "Disco Ball". From the opening shot you are shown baby blue skies, beautiful NYC, followed by the sun descending into the electric hum of nightfall. Tick sends out vocals like descending doves or ship signals in the night to provide a sense of shared belonging to the lonely feeling, sleepless revelers. The "ooooohs" and "aaaahs" resound like the summons of a new age, as Lindskoog's guitar picks notes lighter than air to fly about the city lights until the sound is met and shared by the intended recipient.
Joan Tick sings out a song for the disco ball to keep all company during the night. Her vocals bring a light for the night's darkness, as the visuals overlay the duo's faces and frames over municipal spanning street lights and sidewalk scenes that gives their combined harmonies an added evening soaring element of character. "Disco ball, let everyone dance under you". Joan and Caleb take their ode to the outskirts of NYC where vocals and soft strummed guitar strings cover the city in a blanket of comfort. Caleb's progressions create the same inner feeling of watching the sun or moon rise, as the strings send support for the dancefloor spherical mirrored globe light beacon from Joan's sung's empathies of, "I know how it feels to shine, in your fractured light." The video leaves you with Joan standing solemn in a fluorescent buzzing empty dive's ballroom floor where only the invisible spirits from the evening before are present.
Joan talked with us about life after the Phenomenal Handclap Band, filming the video during a lightening storm, and friends; new and old.
No Magmana song can ever just be surficial, so explain to us what may or may not be at work with "Disco Ball": A metaphor for the world? A physical manifestation of our inner spirit/chi/ whichever?
I think it could certainly be all those things, but it was originally written as a goodbye song. In particular, a goodbye to the Phenomenal Handclap Band, a big band collective that I sang with for a couple of years. It was quite different from my own song writing with Caleb. I toured a lot with that band and I think part of the band's success centered around being a kind of disco party band, much to the chagrin of the band's founders. There was always a very high expectation of us to make people dance and to put on a very energetic show, but that never came easy to me, and something about that kind of performing, although fun for me too at times, only made me feel loneliness under the surface, in me and what I imagined in the members of the audience. There was a connection being made, but not the honest one I was looking for.
There is a real tranquil vibe with the late night NYC footage, is this song perhaps a warning label advisory to maybe watch out for perhaps too much disco dancing, late nights, poor life decisions, et cetera?
I had become really close friends with everyone in that band and especially the other lead singer, Laura Marin. She was also the only other woman in the band, and I really loved her like a sister. Although I was quitting the band for good reasons, there was a bit of the unknown ahead, and it really broke my heart to say goodbye to her, to that shared time that was definitely an era for us both, traveling the world singing in unfamiliar space after unfamiliar space, and where we might never be as familiar and close with each other again afterward. The director for this video is Raymond Park, also a good friend, who I think did an amazing job of pairing these opposing ideas and feelings—the parties and the heart of longing spread across the shadows, meanderings, and unexpected findings of New York City, and in his case that unexpected element was shooting guitar solos with Caleb when a lightening storm blew in.
What other singles and upcoming Magmana magic and musical richness can we expect to hear more of from your upcoming Tacky Records release, Fiend?
I think we are planning one more single release before we release Fiend in the fall. That song definitely contains magic because there is time travel, potions, and shape shifting at hand. Caleb is also singing this time, which makes it extra good.
Magmana's upcoming album, Fiend will be available this Fall from Tacky Records.
