Camp Candle | photo by Tiana Timmerberg for WXPN
The Key Studio Sessions: Camp Candle
Philly duo Camp Candle caught our ear last year with ERE, which is a totally fun thing to say out loud. Really though, that’s the name of their debut, and its blend of body-moving beats, suave vocals and harmonized textures is entrancing. It calls to mind any number of forward-thinking, electropop-driven acts dotting the modern rock landscape these days, from the sleek guitar lines of The xx to the bold saxophone leads of M83 and the rhythmic grit of Phantogram.
As our writer John Morrison put it when profiling the band in an August interview:
ERE is full of well-executed ideas, tempering the band’s abstract electronic production with a knack for strong, poppy songwriting. Songs like “The Way” recalls the dancepunk that labels like DFA Records specialized in throughout the 2000’s, while “Wake Up” and “Until The Morning” wouldn’t be out of place on a Sia or Rihanna album, or the latest Soulection mix.
Since then, Camp Candle’s Hetepsa (guitar / vocals) and Nu Ra (beats / vocals) happened upon some exciting news: their next EP, Light…, will be released this year by L.A. boutique label Manimal Vinyl, which has an impressive roster of releases by artists including Warpaint, Bat For Lashes, Yoko Ono and more.
In the Key Studio Session the band recorded for us this week, we get a taste of that new record in the sonic sunburst of “Fogged Glass,” which brings the five-song set to a close. The performance also shows us a good sampling of what Camp Candle is capable of, from the wavy psychedelia of “Weapons” – one of Hetepsa and Nu Ra’s first collabs, and the one that made the project reality for them — to the drumline rhythms of “Birthday Circle,” which the duo wrote to capture the feelings of wandering around after a rain storm on Nu Ra’s birthday in 2015.
And of course there’s the opening track, “One Day My Friend,” which is probably Camp Candle’s highest-profile single, and one that radiates hope in a confused world. Listen to the entire set below, grab a free download on Soundcloud and get with Camp Candle on Facebook for more info on upcoming gigs and releases.