We reported it was happening back last year, now its finally out for release! Panda Transport’s new music video in support of the summer breeze anthem “Saint’s Revel” is here. After what has been a day of utterly awful weather, this song has warmed up my day! Stay tuned for a second video coming shortly too. Enjoy!
Posts Tagged ‘Panda Transport’
Most Viewed: February 2010
Well February 2010 saw our busiest month ever at Higher Plain Music as we hit a record number of views on the website. Thank you so much to everyone that comes to visit. One man completely dominiated though with 3 threads in the top 10 viewed and that’s Brendan Perry as the anticipation of Ark reaches feverpitch. It was also the first month when game reviews really notched up the hits with both winter games reviews grabbing 4th and 5th on the most viewed chart. Also with the new way the stats are made, I have over 700 unaccounted views, so please remember to click the actual posts for views to count! Here’s the top 10 artists and top 5 games of February.
Top 10 Artists
01. Brendan Perry (^)
02. Naoyuki Hiroko (Halo Legends crew) (NE)
03. Cris Velasco (NE)
04. Lisa Gerrard (^)
05. Garry Schyman (NE)
06. Jesper Kyd (RE)
07. Yoko Shimomura (NE)
08. Imogen Heap (v)
09. Panda Transport (NE)
10. Akira Yamaoka (v)
Top 5 Games
01. RTL Winter Sports 2010 (PS3)
02. Vancouver 2010 (PS3)
03. Musaic Box (PC)
04. Numblast (PS3)
05. Zoocube (PS2)
The next week may be a bit sporadic due to my own album being released this week but after that its back to usual!
Whispers of the Plains: Panda Transport
After reviewing their latest EP “Monorail”, HPM was lucky enough to get a few minutes with the fabulous duo Panda Transport. Lovely people, here’s what they had to say.
So where did you guys come up with a spectacualarly fantastic band name?
Thierry: Kathy’s idea…Panda’s are gentle and we have to travel a lot to make things happen.
Kathy: I read the phrase in a book on U2 by bill flannagan- the writer said the band was treated and transported around with more care than that of rare pandas. And pandas are furry fuzzy and cuddly like our voices and “transport” indicates mechanics and machinery like the machines our music is derived from.
As both of you have quite individual musical careers prior to Panda Transport, what inspired you to collaborate together and how did the sound that has become your own come about from that?
Thierry: The fact to live in the same place during a while..so, we were sharing, music, book and movies.
The complicity and to imagine Pantrans like a person, also to ask ourself all the time, “Do you think Pantrans will like it?”
Kathy: Thierry was working on a severin 24 (his solo work) joy division cover and since I was crashing on his couch while pursuing my own musical endeavours, he asked me to sing the song to assist with the english accent. He liked my voice enough to keep it. it ended up getting a bit of radio play on the biggest station here in france, FRANCEINTER. After being solo artists, it also felt good to collaborate. Someone to share the drive and stage with.
Congratulations on being featured on Grey’s Anatomy. How does it feel to have your own music on a massively popular TV show? How did you feel when you first saw it?
Thierry: No-one believed me in France, so I was sad! I missed it on TV, because my fav football team (Olympic Lyonnais) were playing at the same time on an other channel. I realised the day after..
Kathy: I did see it and it was surreal. I had a stop watch in my paws because royalties are paid according to duration of play amongst other variables. Being on a tv show also wins mommy points. Mommies can understand this line of being a musician. “That’s my baby singing on the TV!”. I think it’s wired into us. Making the owner of the original venue proud.
You’ll be making a video for Saint Revel due to the popularity from the song with the Grey’s Anatomy team. How is that progressing?
Theirry: Justin the director will realise in real what I use to do with cartoon and few euros, so it’s simply great! I love his ideas.
Kathy: It’s going to be a ripping experience. The treatments he’s sent us are very pantrans and fun. I am doing a lot of bollywood booty to get ready for the booty to be photographed. We also really look forward to making new connections and friendships out on the west coast. It’s our first trip out there.
Are their any instruments you’d like to place in your next record that you’ve been dying to use?
Theirry: So many! I want to use my brand new theremin on a song and today we were looking the Jerry Jones Sitar on the net, which looks really cool. Also a cuica..we never stop to look for new instruments because it’s fun…
Kathy: …And I want to become viral because of the bad ass balloon solo I do on the next record. I’m practicing on a blow up globe at the moment. And I want to develop my own human horn sound. It is not as easy as some people make it look. And timbales and bongos. I have a percussion addiction. It’s very dangerous and difficult to control. My hands are constantly moving these days.
I simply must ask… who’s the genius behind the music video “Painting By Numbers”?
Theirry: The insects!!!!
Kathy: Theirry has been our video maestro – he comes up with all the concepts and their execution- right now he is working on a visual collage for “up the disco” that is going to be great when it’s finished. We already have 20 people from around the world performing on it.
What’s coming up in the future for Panda Transport?
Theirry: We want to tour, visit many countries and meet our fans…after that, we are lucky and always have good surprises til now and I hope it will continue this way.
Kathy: I can’t wait to hear how song collection no. 3 turns out. I think this year is going to be a good one for the panda. Our hearts have remained devoted and true to panda transport. The collaboration keeps our imaginations interested and has had something to teach us every day. We remain mischevious and curious and we get hungrier every day. Pantrans is becoming it’s own entity, the future is looking good!
Higher Plain Music would like to wish Panda Transport much success and thanks for taking the time to answer my obsessive e-mails!
Panda Transport – “Monorail” Review
Monorail is the new 6 track EP from Panda Transport and I can confirm that it is rather fantastic. The duo fuse alternative pop electronica with random extras to create a fun.
Opening with the title track, is a groovy cloud-infused piece of dream-pop that you’d be quite happy riding to work via country lanes on your bicycle to, smiling and tipping your hat to all whom pass you. It’s just delightfully upbeat and fun. I could see it opening a Japanese Animation actually.
“Saint Revel” is the song currently gaining exposure via Grey’s Anatomy and is a little more laid back and chilled out with some fantastic vocal layering and sweet electric piano with a Sitar section! How can you lose? Panda Transport’s ability to carry off placing random instruments into a relatively standard track to make it stand completely out from the crowd is one of their key assets.
“Up The Disco” is a more a lighter-swinging track as its more subdued despite its percussive bangs and while its less immediately gratifying than the previous tracks the chorus riff will stick around in your head after a few listens.
“Freak Show” is cute. From the xylophone to warping electric noises to the mariba-esque percussion, it tippy-toes about with children’s movie overtones and then bursts into a lounge jazz piece like something from the Katamari games. I actually really like the way how the whole song shifts into a more slinky mood and it certainly stands out.
“Cicadas in Stereo” see’s Kathy step down from vocals and Ti step up for a French song full of cuteness that verges on Pikmin style music. Think Jazz gone to the circus with a gallon of icing on top. The closer is “Dark Horse” is as close to a downbeat ballad as you’re going to get. Quite minimal and vocal fronted, it works really well with solomn church bells and low hummings setting the mood and is a welcome change from the other very uptempo numbers.
Monorail is a great introduction to a duo that are prepared to take a chance by going for a different approach everytime and merging things together you wouldn’t nessacarily sit together and making it work. I expect to hear of more great things from Panda Transport in the years to come as the alt-electro-pop genre continues to gather strength and popularity.
Video Vault – Panda Transport
See, it pays to contact me with new artists that I may be interested in! Some wonderful lady contacted me and said, if you like so-and-so, you might like this little duo… oh yes I did! Welcome to Panda Transport, a French-American duo who are recently getting recognition due to one of their songs appearing on the drama of drama’s Grey’s Anatomy. A video for that is due to be made, but for now I wanted to share this video gem for the song “Painting By Numbers” and long live home made animals!!! Hopefully, if all goes to plan we’ll have an interview with them in the near future.
