Instrumental bass & vibraphone duo CLIFFWALKER takes you into a hypnotic crime-noir universe ala John Carpenter, Tangerine Dream; Debut EP out now.

Hayes to Ghettoblaster: “We’ve broken ground on some new ideas for the next release.” | “Gloriously mesmerizing.” — Treble | “Sci-fi thriller.” — Glide

 

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CLIFFWALKER (L-R): Cliff Hayes, A. Walker Spring. Photo credit: Cliff Hayes, A. Walker Spring.
 
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PLAY, POST & SHARE
 
CLIFFWALKER | “Pulling Threads”
 

[VIDEO]: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5r8g7kUIZ00

[STREAM]: https://fanatic.lnk.to/cliffwalker-pullingthreads

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Stream “Pulling Threads” by CLIFFWALKER at the links above or here.

CLIFFWALKER, the Portland, Oregon-based instrumental duo of Cliff Hayes (Bass, Keys) and A. Walker Spring (Vibes, Drums, Keys, Guitar), released its debut EP “Painted Gray Sky” on June 24.

In its premiere coverage of the “Pulling Threads” single, music discovery site Treble says, “The duo find an unexpected harmony between ethereal, hypnotic vibes and a distorted, robotic bass groove. It’s a gloriously mesmerizing track that makes natural counterparts out of (seemingly) unnaturally paired elements—not quite jazz, not quite rock, definitely not prog but some kind of dirty lounge groove space in between. And it’s a lot of fun to listen to and get lost in.”

“When it came to making this video, I thought that Walker’s vibraphone gave the song a bit of a ‘Dance of the Sugar Plum Fairy’ feel,” says Hayes. “Combined with my microsynth-fueled bass line, the song approaches something like an electronica ballet.”

In its premiere coverage of the “Pulling Threads” video, Glide Magazine says, “ The blacklit video brings together florescent colors with a space-funk groove that showcases this unique pairing of vibes, bass and synth. The instrumental track feels like it could be the score of an 80s sci-fi thriller, or maybe just the soundtrack to your next dance party.”

Hayes further comments on the concept saying, “I was at lunch with some co-workers one afternoon when one of them brought up ‘gloving’ from the rave scene. Inspired by gloving, I realized I could buy neon strings, put them on the bass, wear white gloves and perform under UV light to get a somewhat similar effect. We focused on our hands (or mallets) to get interesting shapes and perspectives of our performances.

“It just worked out that our instruments filled up the frame while cutting off our heads and that was perfect because I wanted the focus to be on our hands not our faces. The homemade ‘I'm hiding from the cops’ shirt is what Walker chose to wear when I came over to film her.”

Hayes recently chatted with Ghettoblaster Magazine about what comes next for CLIFFWALKER. Read the in-depth full interview here.

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CLIFFWALKER
“Painted Gray Sky” EP
(S/R)
June 24, 2022

Streaming Link:

STREAM FULL EP

Track Listing:
 
01. Calm Sea
02. Painted Gray Sky
03. Reflected Sun (STREAM)
04. On Her Last Legs
05. Pulling Threads (STREAM | VIDEO)
06. Punching Clocks (STREAM | VIDEO)
 
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CLIFFWALKER | “Punching Clocks”
 

 

[VIDEO]: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OQGuuBO9hpE
 
[STREAM]: https://Fanatic.lnk.to/cliffwalker-punchingclocks
 
“Delightfully teeters on the edge of chaos...” says music discovery blog Independent Clauses in its coverage of “Punching Clocks,” the debut single by Portland-based duo CLIFFWALKER. “‘Punching Clocks’ is the sort of thing that the word post-rock was made for. It’s rock put in the service of other moods. The interplay of the leads produces the experience of a spy-movie chase scene.”
 
The Portland, Oregon-based instrumental duo of Cliff Hayes (Bass, Keys) and A. Walker Spring (Vibes, Drums, Keys, Guitar) took inspiration from DEVO’s “Beautiful World” for its “Punching Clocks” video.
 
 “‘Punching Clocks’ draws inspiration from the daily dread of going to a job you dislike and the conditioning of human existence to the dictates of time,” says Hayes of the song. “Depicting these themes in the video, we see birth, followed by the ticking of the clock as the child is expected to jump through the hoops of schooling.”
 
He continues, “Then adolescence hits, followed by a quick progression to adulthood where the reality of the working world hits hard. As the pace of the clip picks up, there are huge crowds of workers, industrial workplaces and assembly lines. Scenes of arguments, fighting, drinking, and laughter are all precursors to the conflicts that emerge between nations. Only humans can wreak havoc on the world in such a unique way.”
 
While the song and its video address dark themes, Hayes points out, “I'm not always doom and gloom. Honestly, I do have a decent sense of humor!”
 
Stream “Punching Clocks” by CLIFFWALKER at the links above or here.
 
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CLIFFWALKER | About
 

 
CLIFFWALKER is not just a cool name for a band.
 
The Portland, Oregon-based instrumental duo of Cliff Hayes (Bass, Keys) and A. Walker Spring (Vibes, Drums, Keys, Guitar) are just lucky to be named that way. To take the serendipity a step (sorry, had to) further, the sound of the pair’s upcoming “Painted Gray Sky” EP (out June 24, 2022) is also edgy.
 
We can dispense with the puns now, let’s talk about the music:
 
It’s like if a sexy Kraftwerk had joined in on the sessions with jazz legend Don Cherry and composer Ron Frangipane scoring Alejandro Jodorowsky’s “The Holy Mountain.”
 
Or maybe they picked up John Carpenter on the way to Tangerine Dream’s studio to make the music for Michael Mann’s neo-noir heist action thriller “Thief.”
 
The repeating riffs of minimalist composers such as Steve Reich, Philip Glass, and Terry Riley are also touchstones, and for those born more recently, Hayes and Spring suggest that the instrumentation on “Painted Gray Sky” is in the vein of Tortoise, but driven by bass lines a la Death From Above 1979.
 
Either way, the 1970s are coming in hot, no matter what!
 
Skipping forward a half-century, CLIFFWALKER came to fruition under the gray skies of the Pacific Northwest as Hayes was constructing a “library of bass riffs” (“Cliff’s Riffs!”)
 
“My toying with riffs started to morph into learning cover songs and then trying to cover these songs entirely on bass,” Hayes explains.
 
As it turns out, the “library of bass riffs” further morphed into “Painted Gray Sky,” as the melodic bass work of Hayes laid the foundation for Spring’s hypnotic vibraphone, guitar, and synth lines.
 
As well as playing in Portland’s beloved indie rock outfit Point Juncture, WA since 2004, Spring has co-hosted a weekly songwriting podcast since 2020 called “Honest Jams,” where she’s honed a diverse set of arranging skills, which are given free rein on “Painted Gray Sky.”
 
From Classical, through to Jazz and post-Rock, instrumental music is not novel. It’s not Pop either, but here, CLIFFWALKER manages hooks without the aid of vocals. This quality lets the natural rhythms of CLIFFWALKER’s songs shine without distraction.
 
And all of these references to musical genres count as influences in the CLIFFWALKER sound.
 
While Hayes was working to become a top-notch Jazz bassist in his early college years by “practicing a lot of scales and arpeggios and reading a lot of charts,” he was also immersed in all kinds of music as a record store employee, the guilty party in so many musicians’ burgeoning career paths.
 
“Nearly all my waking moments were spent playing, listening, or learning about music,” he remembers.
 
Hayes relocated to Portland in 2005 and some years later, via fleeting meetings at the gigs of mutual friends, found himself in a conversation about artificial intelligence (in 2014!) with a producer friend of Spring’s.
 
“I was discussing how AI could be created to produce music by feeding it a library of riffs to train itself,” Hayes says.
 
Soon after, Hayes started recording his riffs at home with this idea in mind, and eventually wondered if Spring might be interested in playing drums with him on some material.
 
“Before I left that first session, we had already started recording the basic bass, drums and vibes that are on the final EP.”
 
“Painted Gray Sky” by CLIFFWALKER is out now. Members of CLIFFWALKER are available for interviews. Contact Josh Bloom at Fanatic for more information.
 
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CLIFFWALKER | Links
 
ASSETS : INSTAGRAM : YOUTUBE : BANDCAMP
 
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Josh Bloom at Fanatic Promotion | Contact
 
WEBSITE : FACEBOOK : TWITTER : INSTAGRAM : YOUTUBE : SOUNDCLOUD : SPOTIFY : BLOG : E-MAIL