Denver's Real Magic, the project of Andrew Englander brightened our 2013 February winter with "The Trance" and his album Deep Breathing from Holy Underground Records. Nearly a year to the date, Englander brings the magic back once again, with the disco lit premiere of his video for, "The Trance", from Fridge Media. The visualization of this hyper ballad blends the days with nights, neighborhood streets with the downtown boulevards, where the rave lights cross beams with sun rays and the moon's glow is met by utility lamps.
And where the aspects of day, night, city, and valley all blur together, "The Trance" hypnotizes with an ambiguity of audio origin. The magic of Drew's Real Magic vehicle is the electronic obfuscation of geography, where the progressive song takes cues from the clever economies and crafts of Swedish bedroom beat-makers, UK denizens of plugged in-pop, an NYC savviness, with a San Francisco synthesis. The Denver approach to dance deliverance takes on the various notions of transformations, that shine through the blue and red lamps in "The Trance" of discovery; "something we've never known, there is no need to think this through." Andrew expounds upon his thesis of, "but oh to be loved, and to love somebody too", with the club keys to illuminate and highlight an inner care that becomes both enraptured and lost in a mix of euphoric confusion. The video itself takes the techno tempest of "The Trance" from it's home in the Colorado Rocky Mountains to the Bay Area's surrounding locales of entrancing inspirations.
Real Magic's Andrew Englander joins us again to take us deeper into "The Trance", tour notes, hints of a follow-up to Deep Breathing, discusses making up our own reality through the vague, familiar world of unknowns, and more.
What are you feelings about having the vulnerable and exposed aspects of "The Trance" being translated to the town, country, and club visuals translated by Fridge Media?
We wanted to do something that started off in an intimate and mundane setting – just myself on a walk in a neighborhood – and then have it progress into a more fantastical/surreal feeling and obscure the sense of time as it moves between day and night, inside and outside, natural light and artificial light, etc.
We were thinking about lyrics such as, 'whether we've made this up, we're entranced by its truth… everything all at once, so familiar but always new', and trying to portray the idea of floating through this vaguely familiar world of unknowns, making our reality up as we go.
It is like your dramatic narratives visually transcend and transform from the club beat aesthetic to skating through the streets to rave lights being juxtaposed to the time elapsed images of San Francisco's busy Market Street. Further thoughts on the lingering beauty of your single "The Trance" traversing through the constructs of the electronic mediums, taking components from the former 'trance' sub-genre, and other extensive elements?
"The Trance," like most of my songs, was actually written as a quiet introspective piano piece, then fleshed out afterward with synths and drums. I usually start small and quiet like that – if something is strong enough to be played on a piano or guitar alone, then you've got a good foundation. Once you have that, you can go crazy and experiment. I've always loved good song-writing first and foremost, but I also think a song needs the less cerebral side — the playful experimentation that results in something you can't plan for.
Tour notes you can share from your travels with Emancipator and ODESZA?
Tour has been awesome so far. It's really my first tour, so I'm learning a lot. Performing is a totally different beast than writing/recording. It's been so helpful to be able to perform every night for mostly large crowds. You start to see very quickly what works and what doesn't and it's fun to learn how to connect with totally different groups of people each night.
Follow ups in the works for Deep Breathing? Other recordings? Collabs?
I'm definitely working hard on a follow-up to Deep Breathing. I have quite a few new songs in the works, I just need some time to get in the studio and record them! Be on the lookout for a new single in the coming weeks.
I don't want to divulge any info about collabs at the moment… but yes, they will happen.
Real Magic's Holy Underground release Deep Breathing is available via Bandcamp for a price of your designation.
Catch Real Magic with Emancipator and ODESZA on tour now via the following dates:
February
12 – The Met – Pawtucket, RI
13 – Theatre of Living Arts – Philadelphia, PA
14 – Best Buy Theater – New York, NY
15 – Paradise Rock Club – Boston, MA
16 – Soundstage – Baltimore, MD
18 – Tally Ho Theater – Leesburg, VA
19 – Lincoln Theatre – Raleigh, NC
20 – Orange Peel – Asheville, NC
21 – Terminal West – Atlanta, GA
22 – Georgia Theatre – Athens, GA
