Originally hailing from Milwaukee, indie rock duo Eric & Magill (aka Ryan Weber and Eric Osterman) released a handful of EP’s and one well-received LP, Reel Time Canvas — produced by Chria Walla (Death Cab for Cutie) — before breaking up. But musicians have a curious knack for not staying non-musical for long, and so Weber enlisted the help of fellow Milwaukee-ian William Seidel to form Decibully, while also spending some time playing in The Promise Ring. But Weber and Osterman kept in contact and eventually that itch to record together reared its head. Despite the now considerable distance between the two, with Weber having joined the Peace Corps and moved to Africa and Osterman having relocated to Brooklyn, Eric & Magill weren’t quite done recording and releasing music. As evidenced by the band’s recent record, Night Singers (out now via Perfect From Now On), they had no problem recording and trading tracks and ideas electronically until the album began to come together.
When asked about the recording, mixing, and mastering process of Night Singers, Weber had this to say: “Mixing Night Singers was quite a challenge. Finding a studio was like nearly impossible. Thus, it was mixed in some 3 locations, a pickup truck on the Ugandan/Kenya border, on headphones in my bedroom, and a “studio” down the back alleys of Kitale, Kenya. The “studio” basically had some home stereo speakers in a cement hallway. During mixing much of my time was spent explaining what I was doing to a crew of Rastafarian rappers that were also refugees from S. Sudan. Not exactly the most ideal conditions to mix, but absolutely the strangest.”
Recently, the band handed Night Singers-cut “Love Found” over to Rupees to rework, and the resulting edit offers a slightly skewed version of the original’s dense pop veneer. Ditching the heavier beat for something more airy and lightweight, though no less memorable, Rupees highlight the ephemeral pop nature of the track rather then completely deconstructing it. The track actually benefits from this bright, shimmering aesthetic and finds itself far moved from its thudding beat-driven alt-pop tendencies toward something more spatial and atmospheric.
Beats Per Minute is pleased to premiere Rupees’ edit of Eric & Magill’s “Love Found.”
