Windy Weber, known for being half of the ambient drone duo Windy & Carl, has recorded a solo album. It is quite different from what you may be thinking – it has none of the soothing characteristics you may be expecting, and instead is full of heavy and brooding music.
"At one time or another, in everyone's life, each one of us wants an island…..a place to be away from the rest of the world, a place where no one can hurt or betray us. This record is about that island."
It is comprised of two tracks – "Sirens," coming in at 24 minutes, is instrumental, and is filled with the sound of guitars crying, rising and falling like waves crashing on the rocks. Sirens is ominous, and haunting. It is not music to sleep to, but instead could make you tense and anxious.
The second track is "Destroyed." It is 32 minutes long, and comprised of 3 suites. The first being layers of vocals, woven together to make a chorus of breathing and breathlessness, layers to make you feel as if you may be drowning in the sea…..whether that sea be the ocean, or the sea of life, the day to day world in which you must deal. The second suite becomes noisy, agitated, rumbling and distorted guitars, bass and feedback, and makes you sit on the edge of your seat wondering what is about to happen. The third suite takes you to the end of the album with it's subsonic frequencies and strange unrecognizible sounds.
This is not music for the faint of heart. Windy's dear friend Jody found herself having to pull over while trying to listen to this in the car because it made her too tense. And kranky turned it down for release, feeling it was more suited for listeners of Nurse With Wound or Current 93. Born out of frustration and anger, I Hate People is the story of how in one's life, your car, your dog, a dead bird on the ground, are not going to be as upsetting or devastating to you as another human will be – only people can make you feel so bad. Only people can hurt you, betray you, and make you feel like you want to die. I Hate People is the expression born of real life, and real pain, and is an expression of emotion that is universally shared. At one point or another, we all want an island. But most of us will never get there.
I Hate People will be issued on CD by Blueflea and on LP by Kenedik. The LP will be on limited (1000 copies) beautifully colored splatter vinyl (500 on clear with blue and green and purple splatter, and 500 on clear with blood red splatter), featuring a completely different mix and with a shorter length on each song so as to provide the best sound quality. Cover art features a wonderful selection of photos by Christy Romanick, Windy's dear friend and one of her favorite artists, and Windy's passport photo from 1987 – showing a very angry, young, punk rock beginning to this musician's career.
It is scheduled to be released on one of the most hated days of the year (tax day) April 15, 2008.
