High Places - Process

Process

High Places' overall sound consists of bass-heavy yet crisp beats, lilting vocal melodies, syncopated rhythmic lines performed on folk percussion instruments, guitar duets turned into treated samples, and percussive lines created from the manipulation of household objects. The duo has an “exquisite corpse” style of songwriting where they exchange ideas back and forth, challenging each other's ideas in an organic way.

In a live setting, the band creates their layered recordings with Mary singing and simultaneously manipulating her vocals with various delay and reverb pedals, while playing some hand percussion, recorders, and creating and controlling various loops. Rob handles the music, triggering a variety of percussive sounds with sampling drum pads and traditional samplers, as well as various percussion, wooden blocks with contact mics, and singing some ambient vocals.

High Places’ self-titled debut was recorded by Rob and Mary in their apartment in Brooklyn’s Bedford Stuyvesant neighborhood between January and May 2008. In making the album they employed a wide variety of instruments, including 12 string guitar, banjo, shakers and rattles, bass, bells and Kalimba, as well as plastic bags, mixing bowls, wood blocks and other common household objects. Rob created the High Places artwork by using photos taken by both band members.