Robin Foster — Where do we go from here? (2011)

Robin Foster — Where do we go from here?
Location: UK ~ Brest, Bretagne, France / Vancouver, Canada
Album release: November 18, 2011
Record Label: LAST EXIT / ANTICRAFT
Tracklist:
01.) Happy/Sad   4:19
02.) A Collapsing Light   5:52
03.) Concrete Skies   5:57
04.) Pick Your God Or Devil   4:30
05.) Forgiveness   4:26
06.) This Is Not An Exit   4:51
07.) Wait For Her   3:29
08.) Left Run   6:32
09.) Deadwood   5:58
10.) Black Mountain   4:08
11.) Sad/Happy   5:11
Web Last Exit Records: http://www.lastexitrecords.com/exclu-robinfoster.php
MySpace: http://www.myspace.com/robinfoster
Facebook RF: http://www.facebook.com/pages/Robin-Foster/46536990065
Facebook Ndidi O: http://www.facebook.com/NdidiO.Official?sk=app_2405167945
Today is the day Robin Foster’s new album “Where do we go from here?” is released. The album features collaborations with Canadian singer Ndidi O, and Dave Pen, from Birdpen and Archive.
Website: http://www.robinfoster.fr
Web Ndidi O: http://ndidio.net
English born guitarist/songwriter, started writing imaginary filmscores on grandmother’s piano as soon as the age of 5. At 16 started gigging with various bands around the northwest, disillusioned and frustrated went to university to study modern languages and moved to France. Within two weeks of being in France joined the group “Beth” and went on to tour, write and record for 7 years playing hundreds of concerts & french festivals including a prestigious friday night slot at “Les Vieilles Charrues”…
Bio:
A current flows through Robin Foster’s tracks, a mesmerising quality conjuring up images of passing landscapes, fast-paced city nights and smoky colours.
Hypnotic and hugely appealing, Foster’s intensely brooding instrumentals bring an intangible but undeniable tension, packed with lush cinematic textures, electronic loops, airy synths and all driven by waves of guitars.
Hints of Talk Talk, Mogwai, Sigur Ros, Godspeed You Black Emperor!, Radiohead, New Order or even The Smiths can be noted as Foster’s music floats back and forth between subtlety and intensity in his debut album Life Is Elsewhere. Other influences include his passion for cinema, film directors such as Michael Mann (Heat, Miami Vice), Ridley Scott (Bladerunner), David Lynch, Sean Ellis (CashBack, The Broken), film score composer Ennio Morricone (For a few dollars more) amongst others are an inspiration to his cinematic post rock music.
Popular cultural references are suggested in some of Robin Foster’s track titles and in his album title Life Is Elsewhere referring to Milan Kundera, tracks such as DOWN (by law) refer to the 1986 Jim Jarmusch movie, D A D O E S (Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep) to the Philip K. Dick novel, BLUE LIGHTS AT DUSK to the way Michael Mann captures the light in his films, SAVE THE CHEERLEADER inspired by the US hit series HEROES, just to name a few.
The success of Robin Foster’s Life Is Elsewhere is evident in his impressive online following (Facebook, Myspace) crowds at live performances and more recently he has been providing soundtracks from his album for popular US shows One Tree Hill, HBO, Rock & Roll Hall of Fame, Criminal Minds, French TV shows and brands such as Barclays, ICU in Paris, Sundek… His close collaboration with Oscar nominated British writer/film director Sean Ellis has lead to soundtracks for prestigious global brand names including Hugo Boss and Kenneth Cole.
British composer songwriter and multi-instrumentist, Robin Foster has finished recording his second album in Brittany, France, where he lives and works. His new album features exciting collaborations with singer Dave Pen (BirdPen and Archive) and Ndidi O. This new album is due to be released during Winter 2011.
Event Date: Friday, November 18, 2011 
From economist to housewife, through shop floor worker and student, the world's plight is putting this question on everyone's lips: “Where do we go from here?”
Its also the title of the second album from Robin Foster, a British musician living in France.
You might not recognise his name but his music could have underscored your television pleasure as tracks from his debut "Life Is Elsewhere" have been used by Hugo Boss, Barclay's and the US show 'One Tree Hill'.
Robin's latest mix of cool/dark instrumentals and songs features the south's Dave Pen the singer from Birdpen and Archive.
“It was an instant click between us so it just naturally transpired that we we would do something together,” Robin explained. “I was working on the new album and asked him if he fancied singing on a couple of tracks. Those 2 songs soon became 4 and so we got him over to record them. Then we had a free day in the studio and wrote another on the spot, that was the best part because I'd never worked with anyone so easily before. It was very liberating, we're completely on the same wavelength.”
And as you'd expect Dave feels the same: “I liked his instrumentations and it felt natural to write lyrics to his music. Also the fact he was an Englishman working in France had a similarity with the musical projects I am involved in and we also connected as people which made working on these songs enjoyable and slightly mad.”
The most important aspect for Robin was the enthusiasm Mr Pen brought to the project: “I love Dave's voice, he throws himself into it, he really brings a whole new dimension to the songs, it stops you in your tracks.”
The songs Dave has written lyrics for, and also poured his soul crushed vocals onto, are: “A collapsing light”, “Concrete Skies”, “Forgiveness”, “Black Mountain” and the almost pop “Wait for her”.
I asked Dave if album's title alluded to a global or inner perspective: “Its a more personal statement. The songs are about guilt, loss, hope and love, not about the state of the economy and the state of our beloved planet earth. That's in another project you will hear about soon !!”
And many Birdpen fans around Europe are busting for news about that almost album finished!
However Robin takes us a little deeper into the background of the title: “It is also a personal statement regarding two very close friends who died while I was making the album, sparking that eternal question of "what's next?"... It has many connotations really, it's also a natural follow on from the first album's title "Life Is Elsewhere". This is the next step so to speak, though it's not just a negative question, it's also a hopeful one, the whole album has the recurring theme of a light in the dark. ”
For the record I think its a great listen. There is a fine balance between Robin's instrumentals and the songs he and Dave have produced: they are like pauses during an evening's conversation. And the answer to the album's question? Onwards and upwards for both artists.

Christian Geisselmann has been shooting a new series of photos featuring Robin Foster with Ndid O and Dave Pen, the guest singers on Robin’s new album «Where do we go from here ?»

Live on Transmusicales / Photos courtesy of Christian Geisselmann, taken on December 2, at the Transmusicales festival in Rennes.

Robin Foster ≡ Where do we go from here? (2011)

 

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