casino
versus japan general press
URB
- january 2003
Casino
versus japan
Boards
of
Canada
, Russian satellites and the allure of seasonal change
Growing
up in Manitowoc, WI, a small ship-building community that sits on lake Michigan,
was somewhat uneventful for erik Kowalski. “I
think the most famous thing that happened in
manitowoc
,” he says, “is a piece of sputnik fell
right fuckin’ downtown.” They
built a lot of cranes there, and, mesmerized his theme song to “
Miami
vice,” young Kowalski listened to a lot of
jan hammer there. He moved south to
Milwaukee
to study English and philosophy, but he never
finished his degree. Now 29, he
works in the same record store where’s he been since 1995.
he just made a lot of money from licensing one of his songs to a hummer
commercial, but he’s spending it on equipment rather than on a vacation.
“I suffer from panic disorder,” he says.
“I can’t stand freeways and I can’t stand airplanes.”
As
casino versus japan, Kowalski records electronic pop music that shows the
influence of his favorite artists – cocteau twins, my bloody valentine, boards
of
Canada
– in voluptuous melodies that cruise over a
falling backdrop of rough pink noise and heavy close-clipped rhythms.
Living in the upper
Midwest
and experiencing the full range of seasons
somehow lends itself to music so lustrous. So
what if autumn colors get hyped up a bit; that doesn’t make the actual foliage
any less awesome. “the transition
from summer to fall is one of the more dramatic and beautiful,” says kowalski.
“the whole idea of transitions has a profound influence on emotional
cycles.” So can the death of a
sibling. The new casino versus japan
album, whole numbers play the basics,
is the first music kowalski’s done since the suicide of his brother Justin.
Though erik seems humble to promote his record by attempting to tease out
its role in his dealing with his pain, there’s a quote from his brother on the
inside cover – a few strange, sad lines about jackets.
Kowalski’s far from self-important about his music though, so talk of
influence eventually turns to the massive body of water that serves as the
eastern border to both
Manitowoc
and
Milwaukee
. “lake
Michigan,” he says,”got to give props to the old lake.”
-
Daniel chamberlin