MAKE PHANTOMS

Two Year Anniversary - FREE DOWNLOAD No.2

**(Expires 3AM May 27th)**

Two Year Anniversary - FREE DOWNLOAD No.1

**(Expires 3AM May 27th)**

Hello tumblr readers, fans and anyone who happens to stumble upon this post, I’m writing this brief entry in honor of the 2nd anniversary of the release of our debut album.  It was exactly two years ago today that we finished up the album and played our album release show at The Camel in Richmond, Virginia.

This album was born out of our collective passions and extreme hard work.  It was the album I think we all wanted to make at some point in our lives, at least it was at the time. 

We were on our own set time constraint when making the album.  Even though we set the time it had to be completed, we held firm to that deadline as if it was a big record label giving us the deadline by which to be done with the record.  I feel that deadline we set was both a blessing and a curse.  It got the album completed but I do feel some of the songs were rushed and thus suffered a bit.  Looking and listening back there are definitely some things I would like to change and/or do over. However, that’s all in the past, it’s out there for the world now and all we can ask and hope for is that those who hear it find something they connect with and enjoy it for the fine overall work that it is. 

Make Phantoms is not a casual album but more an artistic statement.  For me there’s definitely something special about this album, and despite any flaws I might hear in the mixes, it’s an album of which I am extremely proud.  I think Barth and Alisander would probably agree.  

We hope, as the years go on, the album will find more listeners and ultimately more fans.

In honor of the anniversary we are offering up TWO FREE TRACKS from the album.     *OFFER EXPIRES at 3AM on May 27*

Enjoy!
Morty

Here’s yet another positive review of our newly released EP, Solitary.  Please head on over to www.indiemusicreviewer.com

I must say, based on the critics thoughts on the EP thus far, we are quite pleased and proud of our work. 

We hope you enjoy the latest review and while you read it we hope you are listening and enjoying our music. 

Once again, the kind folks over at The Midnight Bandwidth really do seem to love Make Phantoms, or at least they love the music we create.  They have done yet another “mini-feature” on us.  This one features one of the many fine, stand-out tracks from our self-titled debut album.

Read the feature below and if you want to hear the song in a much higher quality version you can find it here.

midnight-bandwidth:

Who: Make Phantoms

Song: Paper Lanterns

Written By - Marie

Why You’ll Love This: So, a little while ago, a dear friend of mine told me that I just HAD to check out this band, because they were totally gonna blow my mind. Now, generally, I’m more than a little wary when someone says something like that. After hearing praise like that, it’s hard for a band to live up to my expectations. Let me tell you something. Make Phantoms did more than live up to my expectations. They totally blew them out of the water!!!

I’m sure that I’ve mentioned before how much I love a good, solid set of harmonies. I may have also mentioned that I love it when an artist leaves a little room for the listener to play around with. As a singer, this music is something that I could either just listen to, or add my own little harmonic flair. The weaving lyrics and creative placement leaves me in a sort of happy daze for hours after I’ve listened to their music. 

Comparing Make Phantoms to another band just doesn’t do them justice. If Deathcab and Aqualung got married and had music babies, it might come close, but these guys have done an amazing job at making a sound all their own. 

I’m so excited to see what else Make Phantoms has in store for us! Seriously, I could listen to this all day. Check them out, give them a listen, and give them some love. They deserve every bit of it.

Hear more from Make Phantoms
Tweet us at www.twitter.com/TMBandwidth 

Make Phantoms - Solitary (EP)
Released: December 20, 2011
Stranger Than Fiction Records

Find more about Make Phantoms and their music at the following links:

FACEBOOK: https://www.facebook.com/pages/Make-Phantoms/170310688216
TUMBLR: http://makephantoms.tumblr.com/
BANDCAMP: makephantoms.bandcamp.com
TWITTER: https://twitter.com/#!/makephantoms
YOUTUBE: http://www.youtube.com/user/MakePhantoms
OFFICIAL SITE: http://www.makephantoms.com

My new sounds: Solitary EP - check it out and share with all your friends. Thanks - MP

midnight-bandwidth:

Who: Make Phantoms

Song: Shadowed Doorways

Why You’ll Love This: If you love Death Cab For Cutie without all the Twilight hang-ups and long for the days when depth could dance through the luminous mountains of your friend-forgetting mind then you’ve got to make room in your life for Make Phantoms, a truly marvelous indie band on the cusp of greatness.  Capturing the soul of indie that’s been lost in the frivolous nature of modern record-selling, Make Phantoms is a band that will transport you far and away to the esoteric valleys of transcendental pulchritude.  Like a lighthouse amidst the blustering tempest of modern music-making drek, there’s something hopeful in their music, a distant lament longing for the  days when an artist’s heartbeat could be bottled and bartered.  Get familiar with their wonderful sounds and begin to decipher their enigmatic wonder.

Hear more from Make Phantoms
Tweet us at www.twitter.com/TMBandwidth 

The wonderfully kind and supportive folks over at The Midnight Bandwidth have done a another feature on us.  We think they must truly love our music.  We are calling it a “mini-feature”.  The song they’ve decided to share in this feature is “Shadowed Doorways” and is taken from our self-titled debut album, Make Phantoms.

Here’s a direct link:  http://midnight-bandwidth.tumblr.com/post/15799536973/who-make-phantoms-song-shadowed-doorways-why

We’d love for you to check out this “mini-feature” and while you’re at it, please read about and support other artist they feature as well as show your support for the blog itself by following them.  We should all support one another here. 

midnight-bandwidth:

Midnight Mp3 - Make Phantoms

Song: Solitary Sleeps

For Fans Of: Arcade Fire, Death Cab For Cutie, Brendan Benson, Phoenix, Coldplay, Ryan Adams, Hurricane Bells

Written By - Randall

Why You’ll Love This: These days anyone can make music.  With all the modern technology and the scourge known as autotune, it’s pretty darn easy to take a relatively small amount of talent and parlay that into a hit (see: Mike Posner, Taio Cruz, everyone with the word “Lil” in their name, etc.).  But the danger of such musical types is that inevitably after the song fades to black all that’s left is the damaging quiet of emptiness.  

Enter Make Phantoms, a passionate yet peaceful band from the heartland of Richmond, Virginia that has found a way to harness the pure emotion of this twisted life we lead.  Hear me now and believe me later, this is the next great band in indie music.  

Take the most haunting aspects of Death Cab For Cutie and fuse them with the most tempered grandiose elements of your favorite Coldplay song and what you’ll be left with is the paradoxical wonder of Make Phantoms’ sound.  Comprised of 3 multi-faceted musicians, Barth T. Wooster, Mortimer Skarsgaard, and Alisander Borealis make up the simple-yet-outrageously-complicated sound that their prose excavates from the depths of the human soul.  While there are certainly some sounds taken from other acts their entire feel is the unforeseen triumph of independent music making. 

Completely working from a perspective of DIY technical developing, this is a band that defines the term “indie.” Their beats, every gorgeous vocal, and all the wonderful keyboarding is created solely by Make Phantoms.  In an age where bands are so quick to lease out their precious artistic endeavors to whatever person will let them use their studio, this is far more than unique, that’s freaking badass.  It is this individualistic dedication to standing alone that gives then so much of their distinguished creativity. 

Their serene soul-chasing can be exceptionally heard in the resplendent, “Solitary Never Sleeps,” one of the most exquisite tunes you will hear anywhere.  With such intricacy and a marvelous display of sublime, tempered rhythmic intonation; this is the type of music to listen to when the troubles of life are too much to handle as you fall asleep in bed each night.  Yet, despite the calming vocals and angelic melodies there’s a dazzling amount of depth that this band produces, both lyrically and emotionally.

Here we’re hand in hand
Just tracing ‘round the ghosts to see them off
Wave goodbye, then laugh
Our newly scared selves to sleep alone
Together
Yes
Alone! 

Pair lyrics that have this much wonder with the harmonizing waves of a smoky, enchanted rhythm and often times it feels like the soundtrack to the Aurora Borealis itself.

I know that up until now you’ve probably never heard of Make Phantoms.  Unless you’re a dedicated music connoisseur from south of the Mason-Dixon line it’s unlikely you’ve been exposed to one of the best kept secrets in modern indie.  But aren’t you tired of the music that does nothing but leave you empty inside?  Do not be betrayed by the siren’s song of the sounds that pander to the lowest denominator; take some time to appreciate that which is worth appreciating.  Music like the majesty of Make Phantoms is more than simple notation, it is the foundation of that which is life changing.  They may be under the radar now but if they continue to push boundaries and challenge the perception of beautiful music I assure you that it won’t be that way for long. 

Click here for a free official download of ‘Solitary Never Sleeps”
Get their EP “Solitary” exclusively on itunes.  

More Make Phantoms reviews coming in. The very kind folks over at the indie/”under the radar” music blog site, The Midnight Bandwidth, have taken quite a liking to our music, our latest singles and EP. They will be doing a review of our music and it will be posted at 9 EST on Tuesday, January 10th. Be sure to check it out. Don’t worry though, if you forget we will be sure to remind you. In the meantime, please check out The Midnight Bandwidth and discover some great new music!

http:// midnight-bandwidth.tumblr.com/

ps - We’d love to thank our long time friend and fan, Ashley Lester for the tip.

The fine folks over at CardinalPlaylist.com liked “Solitary”, our latest EP release so much that they wrote this wonderful review of the EP.  Please go check it out right now.

http://cardinalplaylists.com/2011/12/30/make-phantoms/

We just released the 5-song EP, Solitary.  It’s a collection of songs inspired and influenced by our shared interests in ghosts, ghost stories, haunting things and mystery, while also incorporating solitude and loneliness as recurring themes. 

We also wanted to convey an autumnal feel and why not.  We love autumn and that is a somewhat haunting yet lovely time of year.  With that autumn feel in mind, we came to the realization that acoustic instruments often reminded us of that time of year.  We approached this EP with that constantly on our minds and tried our best to keep the production limited, as best we could, to only acoustic instruments to add to that overall vibe.  We did throw in a few electric guitars, subtle organs and Mellotron but only really for ambient effect.

We hope you enjoy our efforts and share in the musical mysterious and haunting musical mini-journey we call, Solitary.

Released in November 2011, this single features 2 songs.  The a-side is “Solitary Never Sleeps” taken from the forthcoming Make Phantoms EP entitled, Solitary.

The b-side is a demo of an unreleased song called, “Secret Road”.

We hope you enjoy the new music.

Make Phantoms - Jolly Old St. Nicholas (single) (by MakePhantoms)