Happiness of Living [CD]

This is Happiness of Living: the latest musical transmission from On Fillmore, the long-running duo of percussionist Glenn Kotche (Wilco) and bassist Darin Gray (Tweedy). Carved from an ecstatic multi-day session in Rio de Janeiro, these 11 new tracks, which make up their fourth studio album, move effortlessly between pools of celestial vocals, deep cosmic pockets and occasional pop tunes, to create a glowing mood unlike any previous dispatch from On Fillmore. Sculpted from eight hours of sessions made with old and new comrade musicians, including esteemed producer Kassin (Caetano Veloso, Arto Lindsay), On Fillmore has invited others into their deepest creative space for the first time with Happiness of Living. Emerging from something deeper than improvisation, the sessions unfolded in a spirit of openness: like the analog tape loops borrowed from an installation by Sao Paulo artist, Chiara Banfi; or the voice of Brazilian-American singer-songwriter Gabriela Riley; the otherworldly percussion of Mauro Refosco (Atoms for Peace, Red Hot Chili Peppers); or even the words sang by Guillereme Valerio on "Jornada Inteira”, who is the brother of their Sao Paulo promoter. The synchronicity of those recordings is evident upon listening to Happiness of Living, from the first touch of thumb piano (kalimba) on album opener, "Pintado." First visiting Brazil to perform at the 2005 Perc Pan Festival in Salvador and Rio, On Fillmore had what they describe as "a musically life-changing experience." They arrived, laden with mini-discs and effects pedals, to play music from their then-new album Sleeps With Fishes (Quakebasket, 2004), but it was while watching a performance by +2 collective (Domenico, Moreno, Kassin) that something shifted. A friendship with those musicians took root and grew into an ensemble performance later that year at Museum of Contemporary Art in Chicago which, though unrehearsed, remains one of the duo's favorite shows. It opened the door for what continued to