The Hundred in the Hands bring a century of history to their debut album

The Brooklyn duo mix explain how they successfully mix wartime themes with modern music

By Erin Lyndal Martin
Published: October 5th, 2010 | 12:00pm

"We weren't making a concept record or anything," says the Hundred in the Hands' vocalist/instrumentalist Eleanore Everdell of the inspired process behind the band's newest album, "but we spent a lot of time looking at images, watching films, and just talking about history."

For their self-titled debut LP, released in September on Warp Records, the Brooklyn-based duo (completed by guitarist and programmer Jason Friedman, formerly of the Boggs) became enamored by the patterns of history, specifically World War II and early U.S. and Native American history, and the complex repercussions on the towns and people who are forcibly involved.

"We don't see a lot of that—that feeling of being in a place that is fragile and a target," says Everdell of the post-apocalyptic feeling of war that has escaped recent generations in America. "Our cities are like organisms. They grow and develop, they can get sick, they can get injured, they can get practically destroyed and have to build up themselves again. That's where the whole notion of geography became interesting to us; that's why we kept coming back to these scenes in the music."

Besides historic narratives, the band's record has modern grips with contemporary themes and futuristic music that converge in the varied songs. The album boasts a near-perfect marriage of live and electronic instruments alongside Everdell's icy vocals and Friedman's impressive arrangements. Some songs, such as the standout "Dressed in Dresden," showcase all of these elements while capturing the band's more intellectual interests. The haunting "This Day Is Made," calling to mind images of zombies and vampires, builds a perfect soundscape that is nothing but grim. Despite such sci fi tendencies, the band—named for an 1866 Native American skirmish—grounds themselves in history in a number of ways, beginning with the story of electronic house music that rose out of Detroit and Chicago decades ago.

"Most of our background is in live instruments, so what's exciting now is learning how to use electronic instruments," says Friedman of the band's choice to use programmed beats alongside live instruments. "Although, some of that was just out of necessity since it's just the two of us and we didn't have a drummer."

For Friedman and Everdell, making music has always been an intuition-led affair—and one that is anchored by a DIY aesthetic, save for their invitations to various producers who eventually worked on the album.

"We didn’t have a lot of gear or a lot of equipment, so we were kind of limited by what we could and couldn't do. One thing we always wanted to do from the start, however, was to work with really good producers. We didn't want to make something that was a lo-fi record," explains Friedman. "We probably recorded 70% of the album at home, and the rest we took to producers to have them fix it. All those producers had good collections of vintage synths and vintage compressors and tape echoes that we could work with."

Tackling the album in such a way was the most effective use of Friedman and Everdell's complementary training. While Friedman has gathered most of his experience playing in rock bands, Everdell comes to music from a more classical tradition. A lifelong choir singer who once considered opera, Everdell studied musicology in college and lends formality to the band's project. Although, both members agree that it is helpful to have the other's experience to rely upon.

"I feel really lucky to have had those experiences, but I try not to think too much about them when I make this kind of music," says Everdell. "What we're doing is basically following our intuition, which really aligns with the tenets of classical music since it's often quite cerebral and structured. I focused a lot on musicology when I was in school, but rock 'n' roll is a different world than all of that." With all of the experimentation and new techniques for reaching the desired final result, it looks like the Hundred in the Hands aren't content with repeating history, but rather staking ground as leaders in modern music.

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The Hundred in the Hands official site

The Hundred in the Hands MySpace page

Warp Records