Eight weeks after releasing “Where the Threads are the Thinnest”, the first of a series of singles slated for 2012, Feeding Fingers has released their second single of the year – “Inside the Body of an Animal”.
Included in this release as a b-side is a solo piano rendition of the Feeding Fingers song, “Where Mimes Come to Say Goodbye” from the album, “Wound in Wall” (2007) performed by frontman, Justin Curfman – along with artwork and lyrics.
“Inside the Body of an Animal” is available NOW at FeedingFingers.com as a digital only release in both .mp3 and losless .wav formats, Amazon.com and all other major music retailers.
The release of Feeding Fingers’ first maxi single of 2012, “Where the Threads are the Thinnest”, initiates a new direction for the band –
straying away from the usual album format to keep their listeners from waiting so long between releases and to offer them a chance to hear unreleased and past work in a new light.
Feeding Fingers will be releasing a series of maxi singles throughout 2012. Each single will include new material along with accompanying b-sides, demos and other rarities.
The new single, “Where the Threads are the Thinnest” also includes an intimate version of the song, “My Imagined House” (from the album “Detach Me From My Head”) for ukulele and voice, along with a version of “Manufactured Missing Children” (from the album, “Manufactured Missing Children”) for piano and cello – both arranged and performed by frontman, Justin Curfman.
“Where the Threads are the Thinnest” is available now (MP3 – 320 kbps and Lossless FLAC) exclusively at www.FeedingFingers.com.
The physical CD and the usual iTunes, Amazon, etc. distribution channels will be made available in late January / early February.
And for those of you that may have missed it, “Wrecker”, the debut novel from Feeding Fingers’ frontman, Justin Curfman, is available now in trade paperback and Kindle editions at Amazon.com.
Best Wishes,
David I. Nunez, Management
Tephramedia (Germany / USA)
Justin Curfman’s debut novel, “Wrecker” is shipping now (over one month ahead of schedule) from Tephramedia Publishing and
Amazon.com. “Wrecker” is available in:
Thank You for Your Support,
David I. Nunez
Tephramedia
ATTN. REVIEWERS:
If you are interested in reviewing “Wrecker”, please contact David Nunez at –
tephramedia@gmail.com
When Justin Curfman asked me in January if I’d be interested in directing a music video for Feeding Fingers I was delighted. I’d recently bought Detach Me From My Head and was struck by the rich atmospheric production on this third album, and by how much Justin’s voice had developed over the years.
We had been in touch since early 2006 when I discovered his website
Tom Brown (London) - Director / Animator of the Feeding Fingers Music Video, "My Imagined House"
during a short-lived stop motion animation craze. I watched his trilogy of short films quite often around that time and the strange world of “Tephra” he had created stayed with me long after I’d seen them. As the years went by I feel we were offered little glimpses into this world through windows that came in different forms: Curfman’s animations, blog posts and art books, Feeding Fingers and their music videos by directors such as Steven Lapcevic and more recently Ronny Carlsson and Michelle Alyse Rodriguez (although I have no idea whether the latter would agree). This is why I jumped at the chance to become the next explorer in a world I felt was much more expansive than it appeared at first glance.
Given the choice of two songs I immediately picked My Imagined House as it had a muted, numb style to it which I personally connected with and found pretty inspirational. The song itself seemed to be a description of a couple whose relationship had turned into a dull routine, perhaps living in the same physical space but emotionally distant from each other and reduced to poor reproductions of their former selves, putting a brave face on but liable to disintegrate at any moment.
Something I’ve been very interested in recently is communication between people. Is it ever possible to truly make another human being understand how you feel in a form as pure as the original thought? More often than not language acts as a filter, with the individual’s subjective experience and the words themselves turning the analogue signal of pure thought into the equivalent of a poor-quality MP3 on a hard disc. This is what I’ve been exploring with Magnetic Foragers, an audio-visual collaboration with James Allard, and it seemed to extend naturally into My Imagined House, or at least the way I interpreted the song.
I’m sure there are specific reasons for every image in the video (an alley near my house offers a view through a window into a bare room filled with plastic mannequins), but the ice and grainy old CRT screen effect were ways of representing the hard shells that have built up around the characters and the layers of “noise” that have got in the way during the decline of their relationship. The TV screen was meant to tie in with the idea of us looking through windows into the world of Tephra as I mentioned above. Additionally, something I can’t seem to stop doing is interpreting music as a landscape to be travelled across. I don’t know why this is.
As for influences, I very much admire the stark black and white work of film-makers such as Jim Jarmusch and Anton Corbijn (as in his video for Joy Division’s Atmosphere), but also the way Ridley Scott seems to build up layers and layers of (visual) atmosphere through lighting and set design in films like Blade Runner. I believe elements of these contrasting styles are in there also.
In terms of the video’s production it was a very straightforward job as I had so much time to create the animated scenes and to draw out a full storyboard, not to mention total creative freedom. The fact that the thing was shot in three different countries – by myself (in England), Justin Curfman (in Germany) and Steve Stussey (in the USA) could have been a real nightmare but due to the entire band’s professionalism and dedication it went very smoothly. It was a joy to work with Christine Schuster and my brother Alex Brown, who were more than happy to be bossed around and perform ten or fifteen takes of every shot. I am also grateful to Fiona Baldwin (hair and makeup) and Jack Martin who provided an additional computer for rendering the 3D animation.
Tom Brown
May 2011
London
FEEDING FINGERS: “MY IMAGINED HOUSE”
“I Promise to Build You a Machine” is the second music video off of Feeding Fingers‘ latest album, “Detach Me From My Head”. The video was animated and directed by Miami urban artist, Michelle Allyse Rodriguez, the co-creator and illustrator of “Jonathan
Michelle Allyse Rodriguez: Animator / Director of Feeding Fingers: "I Promise to Build You a Machine"
Fishfeet” – an unusual children’s book that follows the story of a boy who is born with dead fish for feet.
The colorful and geometric characters that appear in Rodriguez’s work recalls that of artists such as Jhonen Vasquez (“Invader Zim”, “Johnny the Homicidal Maniac”, “Squee”, etc.) and Roman Dirge (“Lenore”) of Slave Labor Graphics and Nickolodeon.
“I Promise to Build You a Machine” and all other Feeding Fingers music is available at iTunes and everywhere else you buy music.
Feeding Fingers: “I Promise to Build You a Machine”
Please, go here, for more information about Michelle Allyse Rodriguez and David Israel Nunez’s illustrated childrens’ book, “Jonathan Fishfeet”.
The following interview with Justin Curfman is from Ascension
Magazine #26 (Italy). Please support this publication. Order physical copies directly by writing them via Facebook, here. The interview is available in both Italian and English below:
You may read the original Italian here:
Feeding Fingers: La Poetica del Songo
Or read the English transcript here:
Feeding Fingers: The Poetry of Song
The following is an English transcript of an Interview with Justin Curfman, frontman for Feeding Fingers, for “Ascension Magazine” #26 – 2011 (Italy) – conducted by Maria Rita Pugliesi.
Can you describe your music to us?
I am afraid that I can’t answer that question. I think that question can’t be answered by any artist working in any medium without sounding presumptuous or pompous.
What are your influences to write music?
I am most often influenced by small things – fragments of
conversations, dreams, violent children, certain gestures – among other, more personal things. I don’t find much beauty or much worthy of remark in politics, popular culture, religion, etc. – to be honest. For me, those things are all sort of a dull, unreasonably complicated and unnecessarily dramatic social and economic game. I do find certain elements of those games novel and absurd enough to capture, sculpt and use as material sometimes. But, ultimately – none of it really says anything to me. I feel that I understand much of it, but I don’t relate to it. And music itself influences me less and less as time moves on. I can usually find more influence and inspiration in a pair of wet socks than I can in music.
What is your songwriting process like?
Music and lyrics are two almost entirely different entities, for me. I write music first – nearly always. I cannot write lyrics first and then write music around words. It doesn’t work for me. However, there is, I admit, two songs on “Detach Me From My Head” where I did dabble in writing lyrics first and music secondly. Those two songs have been well-received by the public and viewed as symbols of growth for Feeding Fingers, but I can’t say that I am altogether pleased with them. I will not say what those two songs are, but our listeners that have stuck around for these past five years or so are probably able to point them out.
Typically, my songwriting process begins with a dream, a hallucinatory moment or some exploration of sensual or psychological indulgence – a small event or fragment that I like to dwell on or find some joyful place in my imagination – nothing ever with an agenda or a literal “message”. I sit on these moments and make note of them and elaborate in one medium or another. If I feel that the thought or fragment it best explored, developed and expressed in song or tone, I do so. But, even still – I don’t write music to the idea itself or the words associated with it. I do my best to never force anything. I think of my songwriting process as something more akin to sculpting.
I will find a sonic motif of some sort from somewhere in my imagination. I will play this motif on a piano, guitar, bass – or in the case for the “Detach Me From My Head” album – a ukulele, until it becomes something like wordless mantra. Then, I will place a bass structure underneath it, followed by percussion, keys and lastly, guitar. Once the music is arranged and recorded, I will sing a non-lyrical melody over the music – essentially nonsense. I will sing over the music until something works – until there is some melodic cohesion. Then, finally, I write lyrics. This process sometimes takes ages. I can’t write campfire-style pop songs. That type of writing feels fraudulent to me. I am not, by definition, much of a musician at all.
Why did you choose the name “Feeding Fingers”?
The name of the band comes from some apparent pre-occupation with oral fetishism and a certain aesthetical joy found in a recurring dream involving girls, walls and a man living between them – feeding his fingers to the girls.
What can you tell us about your album “Detach Me From My Head”? What is the meaning of the title?
It is, I think, my most personal musical work to date. I can tell you that it was released September, 28 2010 from Tephramedia. It has eleven tracks. It is a little over forty minutes long. It is, hopefully, a forward-sounding release from the band. We are currently touring the album. As for the meaning of the title… after knowing the title and hearing the tile aloud and in my head for over a year, and performing the title track on two different continents and never quiet understanding it… I think that might have finally figured it out. But, it isn’t anyone’s business. I can tell you that it is something of a modest plea. I can tell you that it was granted in some figurative way.
Do you think that your new album is similar or different from
“Baby Teeth”?
The new album is very different from “Baby Teeth”, I think. But, I feel that it is complimentary to both “Baby Teeth” and “Wound in Wall”. The three releases are not so far removed from one another that one might be alienated by one or the other. I feel that the albums, as with all of my work, are pieces of the whole and not really one thing unto another unto themselves.
Can you tell us something about your surrealistic lyrics? What are your usual themes and inspirations?
I can tell you that I don’t write anything with intent. I don’t “look” or even “think” of lyrics. Lyrics find me. I don’t know how to answer this question in a more honest way. I have no conscious theme in any of my lyrics. I have no conscious theme in any of my work. I don’t even remember writing most of my lyrics. Sometimes I find them in notebooks and wonder where they came from and hope that there are more, useful and better ones somewhere.
To celebrate the release of the album ‘Detach Me from My Head’, Feeding Fingers are touring the US and Europe. Can you tell us your impressions about the tour?
Feeding Fingers toured the USA and Europe rather extensively in late 2009 through early 2010 in support of “Baby Teeth”. Those narratives are available, at length, online.
As far as the current tour is concerned – Feeding Fingers are performing only four shows in the USA. We are performing:
January 22 in Atlanta, Georgia
January 28 in Jacksonville, Florida
February 2 in New York, New York – with David J (bassist from BAUHAUS and Love & Rockets)
February 4 also in New York, New York
I am interested in how the shows in the USA will be received since our relocation to Germany from the USA. I can give you my impressions on of the USA shows the day after they are over, on February 5 – if you are interested. Just get in touch with us. You will have to wait until then.
Feeding Fingers will then re-group and start performing again in Europe in June 2011, beginning with a show at Wave Gotik Treffen (WGT) in Leipzig, Germany on Friday, June 10.
Can you talk us about your video artist activity?
I am primarily a stop-motion puppet animator. There are examples of some of my work available online, if you are interested. I have a few other video, animation and film projects in development now which will being to be produced in 2011 through 2013, during times that I can sort of step away from Feeding Fingers and explore other things a bit.
Tell us about the film ‘Ticks’- why did you decide to make the film and what is it going to be about?
“TICKS” is a feature-length animated film which myself and my long-time friend and collaborator, Steven Lapcevic are working on. The film has been in production since 2006 with numerous production complications and interruptions along the way – mostly as a result of a snowball effect of activity that Feeding Fingers has had on my life since 2006.Around the summer of 2010, Steven and I began to work on the film together. Those of you that know Feeding Fingers know Steven’s work. He directed the Feeding Fingers animated music video for the song, “Fireflies Make Us Sick”. Much of the content of the film is summarized in the Feeding Fingers song, “Manufactured Missing Children”. “TICKS” is planned to be completed and released in 2012.
Why do you decide to live in Germany from USA?
I knew for a long time that Feeding Fingers needed to be exported to Europe for the group to stand a chance at having any real acceptance, relative success and longevity. Our tour of Europe in 2010 affirmed my assumption. But, that is just a small reason with regard to the big picture in my own, personal life.
“American Gothic: Feeding Fingers Struggle with Gothic Misperceptions” – Creative Loafing (Atlanta – USA – Feb. 2011)
This is the full article (hi res scan) from Creative Loafing (Atlanta – USA) – CLICK TO ENLARGE: