ESTER DRANG

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NEWS


THE BIG TAKEOVER PREMIERES NEW VIDEO FOR “IT’S TOO LATE” // 3.27.19

Very excited to share the new video for The Appearances track “It’s Too Late”, which premiered on The Big Takeover. The video was made by Blake Studdard and Seth McCarroll of Atria Creative and Old Blood Noise Endeavors. Watch the video and read the feature here.


ESTER DRANG & LORD BUFFALO / OKAY Vinyl Series Vol. 4 // 3.18.19

The fourth and final entry into the OKAY Vinyl Series pairs Tulsa’s Ester Drang with Austin’s Lord Buffalo to bring the series to an epic conclusion.

Ester Drang’s track “Mindlessly” is a gorgeous shoegaze jam awash in fuzzy guitars and mellotron, while Lord Buffalo’s “Llano Estacado” showcases the dusty, howling post-Americana sound they’ve honed over the years. These songs present two bands at the top of their game, each demonstrating their own approach to building a maxed-out headphone-filling wall of sound.

The split single follow’s Ester Drang’s 2018 comeback EP The Appearances and Lord Buffalo’s acclaimed 2017 self-titled debut LP. The bands will support the release with a joint tour in June, with dates to be announced.

The record will be released on April 12, and is limited to 300 copies on transparent olive green vinyl.

Previous entries into the OKAY Vinyl Series have included exclusive tracks from Samantha Crain, John Calvin Abney, Husbands, Tallows, Doug Burr, and Beau Jennings & the Tigers. All songs from the series were recorded by Scott Johnson and Dustin Ragland at Stowaway Recording in OKC, and mastered by TW Walsh.

Purchase OKAY Vinyl Series Vol. 4 here.


THE APPEARANCES EP // 10.28.18

Celebrated post-rock band Ester Drang just released a new EP, “The Appearances,” on Oklahoma City independent record label Clerestory AV. The combination vinyl, CD and digital release was the band’s first in 12 years.

Original members Bryce Chambers (songwriter and multi-instrumentalist) and Kyle Winner (bass) have returned for the band’s reformation, with Ester Drang’s signature lush, atmospheric sound bolstered by Tommy McKenzie (NET, Stardeath and White Dwarfs) and Hank Hanewinkel III (Nuns, Native Lights).

“The Appearances” is a half hour of the expansive, effects-laden songcraft on which Ester Drang built its dedicated following, but it also demonstrates marked growth—developed over time spent in interim bands, on the road as a quartet with English rock band Echo and the Bunnymen and through a long recording process both at Chambers’ home studio and in sessions across the country—for a band in its second era.

Chambers credits the Bunnymen tours for sparking the Ester Drang flame after such a long hiatus. He described working on the new music as “like seeing an old friend that you haven't seen in years. Just a rush of old memories come back, and you sit a while, catch up on life and become friends yet again.”

In addition to the new lineup, a number of notable musicians with Oklahoma connections appear, including: James McAlister (founding drummer of Ester Drang who has worked with Sufjan Stevens, St. Vincent, the National and more), cellist Jon Paul Pope and Nathan Price of BRONCHO.

“I've been a fan of Ester Drang since their first record release show in 1999,” said Clerestory AV owner Chris Stellman. “They were the first local band I saw break out of the Oklahoma music scene and receive acclaim on a national level. I knew they'd been playing some shows again after a long hiatus, and I and reached out to Bryce about working together. I was thrilled when he replied about doing an EP. I honestly think this is the best music they've ever made, and I'm honored to be working with them.”

The track list includes “The Union,” originally released in July 2017 as a pre-tour single, and a cover of influential shoegaze band Starflyer 59’s “2nd Space Song.” — Becky Carman  

Purchase The Appearances here.


NPR PREMIERES “FROM THE RUINS” // 9.13.18

We are honored to have NPR’s Lars Gotrich premiere The Appearances opener “From the Ruins” on All Songs Considered. Read the article and hear the song here.


DISCOGRAPHY


IMAGE GALLERY

Photos by Ryan Magnani.


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