Kurt Vile and Steve Gunn collaborate on a new EP
Kurt Vile and former Violator Steve Gunn have collaborated together on a new EP, Parallelogram on Three Lobed Recordings, a boutique label in North Carolina that “specializes in small print-run releases that cover all flavors of psychedelia.” Recorded and mixed at Uniform Recording in Philly by Jeff Zeigler, the six song EP features contributions from drummer Mike Sneeringer and Mary Lattimore on hapr and piano.
The Vile-Gunn EP is part of a collection of five EPs, each one plit between two artists. One EP features Hiss Golden Messenger 1960s folkie Michael Chapman. Another features Six Organs of Admittance and guitarist William Tyler, Sonic Youth’s Thurston Moore & John Moloney with the Alan Bishop/Bill Orcutt/Chris Corsano trio, and Philly rockers Bardo Pond with Yo La Tengo.
According to the Bandcamp liner notes:
The two artists (Vile and Gunn), originally connected by mutual friends and geographic proximity, have long pushed the other’s continued artistic development. Despite sharing many live stages over the years, this installation of Parallelogram represents the first time that the two have worked together in the studio. Vile’s side sees him recast tracks by John Prine (“Way Back When”) and Randy Newman (“Pretty Boys,” featuring some truly electric guitar flourishes from Gunn) as if they were KV originals. The theme of reinvention continues with Vile tearing through a solo banjo rendition of his “Red Apples” (originally from his “God Is Saying This To You…” LP), retitled here as “Red Apples For Tom Scharpling.” Gunn takes on a late period Nico track, “60/40,” and pulls a lysergic rocker out of the track’s goth-ish roots. The bulk of Gunn’s contribution is the epically winding “Spring Garden,” a track in the vein of some of his other long-form guitar excursions. Featuring signature contributions from Vile and Mary Lattimore, this hypnotizing cut is unmistakably a new classic in Gunn’s catalog.
Listen to the EP below.