In the summer of 2007, Chad Golda, Mike McConeghy and Dylan Rogers lived together in a small apartment on the Red Cedar river. The three friends shared an interest in sound, nature and humanity. starstarstar (Golda, McConeghy and Rogers) write music collectively, and share instrumentation switching between acoustic and electric setups.

(This release was deemed to be the 5th best netrelease of 2008 by Netlabelsrevue)

Une collection de folk-songs inspirés sous le nom de Ringo Star. Et très franchement c’est du top niveau. Will Oldam et Bill Callahan n’ont qu’à bien se tenir et Devandra Banhart peut aller se recoiffer car ces trois là ont des arguments et valent très largement le détour malgré la pochette de l’album un peu ratée.

netlabelsrevue.blogspot.com

There’s a good chance that you’ve seen the three members of Ringo Star playing guitar somewhere in East Lansing.

Drawing inspiration from the many natural recesses of MSU’s campus and the city, band members Chad Golda, Dylan Rogers and Mike McConeghy form a trio that touches on many different sounds to comprise a sort of psychedelic folk.

Golda, an MSU telecommunication, information studies and media senior, plays the drums and bass while Rogers and McConeghy, both former MSU students, play guitar, with Rogers also on synthesizer. The trio shares vocal duties.

After releasing their first record, “Soul Tide,” for Rack & Ruin Records on July 31, the band has been playing live shows, both on stage and around the city of East Lansing.

Most recently, they played during Welcome Week in the alleyway by their house on Lexington Avenue for students who happened to pass by.

State News How did you three meet?

Dylan Rogers We all lived in the dorms together at Mayo Hall. The first night we all met, we were just kind of exchanging music that we had all done. I showed them some music I had done in high school and they showed me what they had been working on.

Chad Golda It was like magic happened (laughing).

DR Magic happened and we played music all night. I think when you’re with your best friends all the time, nothing but good things happen.

SN On your band’s Web site, it says that you try to work nature and humanity into your music. How do you guys try and do that?

CG Nature, just by trying to make sounds like you’re outdoors, like you’re running through a field. That’s why I like piping the crickets in because when you’re playing that live, everyone’s just like, “Ohh.” I think the humanity comes more from the lyrics.

DR I think everybody goes through the kinds of things that we write about, you know, heartbreak and weariness of living in cities full of kids.

CG We used to live on the Red Cedar River, and we’d just wake up and look at that every single day, and that just felt really inspiring.

SN How did you end up getting signed by Rack & Ruin Records?

CG They contacted me. We don’t have a MySpace, we didn’t want to have a MySpace, we’re not trying to get out of the digital realm because we like it and it’s all free. I posted up on a couple message boards and the owner, Dean, e-mailed me saying he heard our stuff and thought it would be cool for us to put an album together.

SN Where can people find your music?

CG Rackandruinrecords.com and I made our Web site off the personal MSU space, so you can search for us there.

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On a découvert il n’y pas si longtemps tous les bienfaits du netlabel Rack and Ruin records et on a pu apprécier notamment toute la diversité et la richesse de son catalogue. Une diversité qui s’exprime ici encore avec un album de folk music, genre pas si souvent que ça représenté sur la scène net audio pour que l’on n’y s’intéresse pas d’un peu plus près… Et en plus ça tombe bien car c’est très bien !

Colocataire et partageant certains idée sur la musique et le vie en général, Chad Golda, Mike McConeghy et Dylan Rogers décident très vite de se mettre à composer ensemble et a aller tester leurs chansons auprès du public notamment dans les allées de l’université du Michigan. Résultat sort en juillet 2008 une collection de folk-songs inspirés sous le nom de Ringo Star. Et très franchement c’est du top niveau. Will Oldam et Bill Callahan n’ont qu’à bien se tenir et Devandra Banhart peut aller se recoiffer car ces trois là ont des arguments et valent très largement le détour malgré la pochette de l’album un peu ratée.

netlabelsrevue.blogspot.com

In 2007 three mates were living together in the apartment on the bank of a picturesque river meandering through one small university town in the Michigan state. Some hours after first meeting they had shared their own music and ideas with each other and the night had been spent with a huge jam session. Their aim was to express the touch of humanity and the presence of nature through their music, in a direct way opposing to despair and fatigue in people distinctive for life in the big cities. The ideas came to reality, and the band was born. At first they had named yourself as Ringo Star, later changed it as ***, and starstarstar as well.

The first side in the name of electric goose and the nylon moose (EGATNM) refers to a flirt with electric and electronic music, and the second side to the acoustic aspect presented on this album respectively. The trio consisting on Chuck Golda, Mike McConeghy, Dylan Rogers has turned their aesthetical direction a 180 degree- a bevy of alt-folk and alt-country tunes dominated on Soul Tide released in 2008 (actually being of Ringo Star at those times) has been decreased to be changed into a bit broader spectre of the music colours and genres. Beyond doubt EGATNM is a pretentious follow-up surprising us with developments in unexpected or even weird directions at times.

Golden Glow is an exploiting opening - dynamic and dreamy indie folk is flavoured with strong ingredients of soul music. Certainly it is the best choice to introduce all the album in a tease yet beautiful way. Reciprocity is a synthetic soul funk engendered from the velvety accords of electric pianos, autotuned vocals, and shimmering sonic whirls. Although Antientam, and the ending track To Good Memories! are the ballads, yet, these cuts are without of any void and disgraceful show-offs usually so characteristics to this music genre . By vocal technical side the tracks are superb as well. With warblings of the grasshoppers, and looping vocal sequences/experiments showed up on Island even if those could indeed be reminiscent of the songs of Animal Collective, though, this feeling is strongly amiable. Fellowship grows gradually through psychedelic electronic sounds into a folktronic symphony. This is a real masterpiece in itself.

Supposing that if a lot of variety and experimentation don`t disturb the harmony and its developments it actually could only strenghten the whole one throwing in it a invisible yet endearing backcloth. Every time to listen to this from start to the end it is a little miracle. Obviously it is the best free-folk/alt-folk/weird-folk album released since Paavoharju`s insuperable album Laulu Laakson Kukista. I have a feeling that I can foresee electric goose and the nylon moose will rule the charts of netaudio in the end of the running year. 9.8/10

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