Blouse Performs “Videotapes” at MFNW 2012

During the recent MusicFest NW in Portland, we put our heads together with friend and longtime MFNW producer Trevor Solomon to curate “Room 205 Live.” After filming more than 30 episodes and 90 videos in a tiny 15×20-foot rehearsal space, we wanted to have a go at collaborating in front of a live audience. Held at venerable downtown venue Ted’s, (formerly Berbati’s Pan), the night showcased five of our favorite past collaborators from Room 205, including Blouse, Crystal Antlers, Craft Spells, Tropic of Cancer and Chelsea Wolfe.

Based in Portland, Oregon, Blouse is comprised of members Charlie Hilton, Patrick Adams, Jacob Portrait, and Paul Roper. Here we find them swooning elegantly through the standout track, “Videotapes,” from the 2011 debut album, BLOUSE, on Captured Tracks. Wildly pitch-shifted and wonderfully out-of-whack, this song is near-perfect in almost every imaginable way. Enjoy.

Blouse – Ghost Dream (at Room 205)

To accompany the down tempo lilt and shuffle of “Ghost Dream,” director/editor Paul Stec employs the strangely attractive alchemy of CGI animation at this special performance of Blouse in Room 205.

Blouse – Time Travel (at Room 205)

Blouse receives the CGI gone meta-matrix treatment from director Paul Steck in this wonderfully wandering live performance of “Time Travel” at Room 205.

Blouse – They Always Fly Away (at Room 205)

Unbound from the corporeal constraints of Room 205’s 15 x 20-foot landscape, this very special episode of Room 205 with Blouse offers a near-perfect flux of ethereal pop, live performance and poetic imagination.

Blouse Perform “Ghost Dream” in Room 205

With nearly maniacal glee we premiere the final installment of Room 205 with special guests Blouse. To accompany the down tempo lilt and shuffle of “Ghost Dream,” director/editor Paul Stec employs the strangely attractive alchemy of CGI animation to plop a fitting final exclamation point on an already befuddling bender of an episode. Enjoy!

Special thanks to Charlie, Patrick, Paul and Misty of Blouse for making this episode of Room 205 possible. It is a great joy to work with such adventurous friends. Thanks also to director Paul Stec, set designer Tamarra Younis, engineer J. Clark, DP Conor Simpson, producer Arlie Carstens, and web czar Marcel Appelman. You weirdos and wizards make the impossible possible.

Room 205 will be back soon with new episodes featuring some of our favorite artists. In the meantime, be sure to check out our SoundCloud page, featuring streaming tracks of live performances recorded in Room 205.

Blouse Perform “Time Travel” in Room 205

Today we’re excited to premiere the second installment of Room 205 with special guests Blouse. To match the uptempo energy of “Time Travel,” director Paul Stec meticulously stitched the session’s live footage into an elegantly turning view of an entirely non-existent space. Huh? Exactly. The result is a spinning snapshot of the band moving in time to a room without place. It doesn’t get any more interstitial than this. Enjoy!

Blouse started in the summer of 2010 after Los Angeles native Charlie Hilton met Patrick Adams in art school. Based out of a warehouse in Portland, OR, they began spending nights recording with Jacob Portrait (also of UMO). After posting two demo tracks to Bandcamp, the group released the 7” single “Into Black” on Captured Tracks in March 2011, soon followed by “Shadow” on Sub Pop. Their self-titled debut LP was released by Captured Tracks in November 2011. Drummer Paul Roper and keyboardist Misty Marie currently round out the live band as Blouse embarks on its first whirlwind tours of Europe and the US.

Look for the final Blouse x Room 205 performance, “Ghost Dream,” to launch Monday, June 4th.

Blouse Performs “They Always Fly Away” in Room 205 Debut

We are so excited to welcome Blouse to Room 205. In this episode, director Paul Stec and audio engineer J. Clark guide us on a woozy shoegaze through the gauzy, interstitial dreamworld of Blouse.

Blouse started in the summer of 2010 after Los Angeles native Charlie Hilton met Patrick Adams in art school. Based out of a warehouse in Portland, OR, they began spending nights recording with Jacob Portrait (also of UMO). After posting two demo tracks to Bandcamp, the group released the 7” single “Into Black” on Captured Tracks in March 2011, soon followed by “Shadow” on Sub Pop. Their self-titled debut LP was released by Captured Tracks in November 2011. Drummer Paul Roper and keyboardist Misty Marie currently round out the live band as Blouse embarks on its first whirlwind tours of Europe and the US.

director paul stec_drummer paul roper

Unbound from the corporeal constraints of Room 205’s 15 x 20-foot landscape, this very special episode of Room 205 offers a near-perfect flux of ethereal pop, live performance and poetic imagination.