A band with a quite singular purpose, Iceage recently surprised fans by delving into warped Americana for their third album.
Well, it seems that this experimentation now extends to other projects. The band’s Elias Bender Rønnenfelt has introduced his new group Marching Church with debut album ‘This World Is Not Enough’ set to arrive via Sacred Bones (Posh Isolation in the UK) on March 30th.
Elias explains: "Although I have done a few things under the Marching Church moniker since 2010, the project, as in the constellation on this album, was born in November 2013 with Kristian Emdal and Anton Rothstein (Lower), Cæcilie Trier (Choir of Young Believers), Bo H. Hansen (Hand of Dust, Sexdrome) and Frederikke Hoffmeier (Puce Mary).”
Asked to play a warehouse show, the group sketched out new material and relied heavily on improvisation – something which seemed to open up a new area for the Danish artist.
“Improvisation, something I have never done before, was crucial in the making of this album. The album works because of the band’s incredible ability of breathing life into these loosely written and at times very simple ideas and experiments. Though Marching Church might be a dictatorship, This World is Not Enough was very much a collaborative effort. Everyone involved does other projects as well, but I wouldn’t want to see it as a "side project". That term seems degrading.”
Name-checking artists such as James Brown and David Bowie’s ‘Young Americans’ phase, Marching Church have placed new cut ‘Hungry For Love’ online. Deranged soul-punk with just a shade of Nick Cave, you can tune in below.
Buy Clash Magazine
Get Clash on your mobile, for free: iPhone / Android