Clouds - Dandelion Council, The

The Dandelion Council, lead by Pip Craighead and his revolving band of merry sidekicks, draws inspiration from the hills of Altadena; so much in fact, early drafts of the band's mission statement claimed that rather than original works, they were simply covering tapes found buried deep in the hillside, circa 1970.

Despite band-fueled rumors of borrowing a page from their forebears, the Dandelion Council is nothing if not a creative, unique endeavor. Electronic beats are merged with ethereal human voices, the laughter of children, and sampling from nature. Nature is a huge theme: inspiration is taken from summer nights, fields of grass rippling in the wind, the smell of wet earth, lens flares, sunsets, cricket songs, fireflies, and the friendships that share in them, all ultimately pointing back to the glory of their creator.

Pip Craighead lives in Altadena, California, in close proximity to mountains. This relationship to the natural world has shaped the music of the Dandelion Council. As mysterious and unknown as our world can be, Pip has bent light towards us and given us a guided adventure into the worlds phenomena.

"Waitomo Cave" is a trip through a prehistoric grotto where the glowworms dangle from the ceiling and flutter like the stars. The songs is structured like a journey to the cave, rhythmic and progressive from the start, fading into a dreamy, peaceful atmosphere. Also, hidden references to religion can be found in many of his songs like "Mystery Play" and "Driving Toward the Mountain" where a beautiful voice sings "zion".

Extra focus has been made on giving many of the songs a distinct lo-fi sound. Pip describes it as "tape decay" and it represents the sonic degradation over time. This fuzzy warm feeling can be a subtle reminder of mortality in nature. Read more on Last.fm. User-contributed text is available under the Creative Commons By-SA License; additional terms may apply.