2008 Woodie Awards
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A different kind of local sound
Eugene's electronic group Fast Computers stands out from other local musicians
by Thom Brekke | Pulse Reporter
Eugene isn't shy about its hippie culture, and it wouldn't do much good if it were; with events like the Saturday Market and the staggering number of jam bands that come to stages throughout the city every year, this aspect of Eugene isn't easily hidden. Drums are more often associated with circles than machines, and you are more likely to hear the syllable "synth" as part of a tirade against synthetic fibers than alongside talk of modulation and waveforms.
Eugene has acoustic roots, and it can be hard for a group as decidedly electronic as the Fast Computers to flourish in such a clime. The group, which plays a delicately layered brand of pop music, came from Chicago to Eugene in search of open minds and a distinguished place in the city's small electronic scene.
The band began as a two-piece, with Peter Dean on electric piano and Jennifer Fox on drums, eventually adding two members as its sound outgrew its format. Dean spoke about this pursuit of the perfect Fast Computers sound as a building process, with the band adding elements and experimenting with electronics to achieve a larger sound without a larger band.
"It started very basic; I always wanted to be bigger and more polished, but to keep a focus on what we're trying to do," Dean said, emphasizing the Fast Computers' ideals of staying focused and constructing songs and records around a central idea.
The result takes the shape of "Heart Geometry," the Fast Computers' debut full-length, due out in the Northwest on June 7, with a national release set for September. "Heart Geometry" sees the Fast Computers closing in on that elusive "right" feeling, adding a whole new dimension to the sound heard on their first EP, "SP."
Dean said this evolution is related to a conscious change in his songwriting style, which has diverged from his natural tendency to hear empty space in songs and find something to fill it. The decision to alter his approach to songwriting came at the advice of guitar player and vocalist Pat Kearns, who suggested Dean break his habit while the two were recording together for Kearns' band, Portland's Blue Skies for Black Hearts.
Eugene has acoustic roots, and it can be hard for a group as decidedly electronic as the Fast Computers to flourish in such a clime. The group, which plays a delicately layered brand of pop music, came from Chicago to Eugene in search of open minds and a distinguished place in the city's small electronic scene.
The band began as a two-piece, with Peter Dean on electric piano and Jennifer Fox on drums, eventually adding two members as its sound outgrew its format. Dean spoke about this pursuit of the perfect Fast Computers sound as a building process, with the band adding elements and experimenting with electronics to achieve a larger sound without a larger band.
"It started very basic; I always wanted to be bigger and more polished, but to keep a focus on what we're trying to do," Dean said, emphasizing the Fast Computers' ideals of staying focused and constructing songs and records around a central idea.
The result takes the shape of "Heart Geometry," the Fast Computers' debut full-length, due out in the Northwest on June 7, with a national release set for September. "Heart Geometry" sees the Fast Computers closing in on that elusive "right" feeling, adding a whole new dimension to the sound heard on their first EP, "SP."
Dean said this evolution is related to a conscious change in his songwriting style, which has diverged from his natural tendency to hear empty space in songs and find something to fill it. The decision to alter his approach to songwriting came at the advice of guitar player and vocalist Pat Kearns, who suggested Dean break his habit while the two were recording together for Kearns' band, Portland's Blue Skies for Black Hearts.
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