Two voices, one projection, and a ton of movement. Hailing from Boston, Massachusetts, Stereo Telescope is the product of two electric, erratic musicians--Kurt Schneider (This Car Up) and Nikki Dessingue (Where the Land Meets the Sea and The Campaign for Real Time)--creating a multilayered soundscape. Drawing from a collective 10+ years of experience in bands, the pair decided to see what they could do with a slew of analog synthesizers, a couple guitars, and a lot of quality time with a Mac laptop.
Schneider and Dessingue met while playing shows together with other local outfits and eventually each realized that the other’s musical specialties would perfectly compliment their own talents, officially forming Stereo Telescope in the fall of 2009. Together, the pair swiftly laid down “Geography” and after two nights in the depths of Schneider’s practice space in Allston, that track became the duo’s first single, which also has an accompanying music video shot by local artist Dan Hartshorn. More tracks quickly followed, including a second single “Lighthouse,” as did a revelation that the pair was creating a sound together that they had both always sought individually.
The duo’s debut album (tentatively titled On and Running) is materializing into a synth-heavy electronic venture filled with allusions to past and present risks and adventures, and travels and frustrations, with an overarching message of constant movement punctuated by the consequences thereof.
Barely a band for six months, Stereo Telescope decided to take its freshly-minted live show and two studio-produced singles on the road to this past year’s South by Southwest music festival. The trip was intended to be the first tour for another project of Schneider’s but upon its untimely demise, Stereo Telescope reaped the benefits. Foregoing sleep and sanity, the duo worked overtime to tighten up their live show, a spectacle complete with dueling synthesizers, a newly custom-built computer system, and tons of Home Depot lighting.
Since their South by Southwest Since debut, the dynamic duo has been locked down in basements, labs and studios further crafting their hook filled Brooklyn-esque synth pop goodness. These days when they're not locked away Stereo Telescope is surfacing for air; banging keys, shuffling feet at sold-out shows with Delorean or Dragonette, a featured live performance at Boston’s Fashion Week, or the occasional underground dance party. That and gathering local nods, 2010 Best Electronic Band In Boston by Stuff Magazine, and a .Boston Music Awards nomination for Electronic Act of the Year.
Expect a proper release from the duo in early 2011. In the meantime download Geography, Draw Me a Sky and Lighthouse. And check them out live...you know, if you like having fun.
