*06.26.10 - Comin' to you live from the Shape Shoppe with Nick Broste at the boards, we're mixing the album. Have some shows coming up towards the end of the summer, so keep your eyes and ears open.
*04.07.10 - Fancy new media player. Welcome to 2010!
This text will be replaced by the flash music player.
Tour starts in a week! We will be playing a 30-40 minute set of rad jams and then backing up Casiotone For The Painfully Alone for another hour or so. The Magical Beautiful lineup is as follows:
Nick Broste - organs, trombone, etc.
Tyson Torstensen - voice, electric piano, MPC1000, etc.
Charlie Vinz - electric bass, baritone guitar, electric guitar, voice, etc.
Alance Ward - drumset, melodica, etc.
The lineup for Casiotone will be:
Owen Ashworth - voice, keyboards
Nick Broste - trombone
Nick Tamburro (the Dead Science) - drumset
Tyson Torstensen - electric piano, nord electro, guitars
Charlie Vinz - electric bass, baritone guitar, electric guitar, voice
Alance Ward - trumpet, percussion
It will be awesome!
*03.26.10 - "Not Building A Wall But Making A Brick is now available for free download and as a high quality stream from Candy Dinner. Previously only available on cassette, these recordings have been remastered for digital release.
*03.15.10 - Website news: new photos up here. New, very basic music page here.
*02.22.10 - Press/venues/etc. - if you're looking for bio information, click here.
Couple items: Magical Beautiful is going on a 3 week-tour as opening and backing band for Casiotone For The Painfully Alone. We are not yet at liberty to disclose the details, but if you check here, you will soon enough find the dates.
"Not Building A Wall But Making A Brick", a 43-minute compilation of various, mostly-improvised material from the past three years, came out on cassette in December of 2009. We will have more copies available on the upcoming tour, and it will be released digitally (and free) on Candy Dinner in late March.
*11.15.09 - Happy Fall, everyone. It's pretty autumnul in Chicago right now; perfect weather for finishing records and starting new Winter projects.
Magical Beautiful recently completed its most active month of local show-playing, performing with some rad bands like Jon Maus; Anti-Pop Consortium; Antimagic; Still Flyin'; The Gaze & Axis:Sova. The majority of the comments received pointed out that we had grown into a real, tight band, which is a relief and a thrill after a couple years of self-imposed lineup instability.
This killer lineup (Torstensen/Broste/Vinz/Ward) reconvenes once more in 2009 on December 6 for a headlining spot at the Empty Bottle with the fantastic Implodes & Above/Below Sea Level opening. We will be playing a longer set this night, and also giving away 25 copies of a new mixtape featuring rough mixes from the forthcoming "Here Come The Wild Waves" full length as well as group improvs; side projects; a Christmas cover; remixes; etc. Again, this cassette release will be free and only available to those that attend this $3 concert.
Work is going very well, but continues to be slower than we'd like on "Here Come The Wild Waves". I work very meticulously and have found that progress absolutely cannot be made if I am not in the right, elusive state of mind. It will be released, though, and I promise it will not be the over-worked mess that so many multi-year musical projects end up being; the album will maintain the warped haziness for which Magical Beautiful is known.
Otherwise, I (Tyson Torstensen) played my first solo show as NIGHT TERROR in Grand Rapids, MI with Antimagic. This is a two-synth & sampler project that is much darker than Magical Beautiful. Expect more shows and releases in 2010. Alance has begun work on his second album (first one still available at I Hear A New World). Nick just recorded his Nick Broste Trio album, has been finishing up the fourth album from the almighty Herculaneum & continues to do engineering/production/mix work at the Shape Shoppe & Strobe. For fairly-priced recording work, contact him at nbroste(AT)yahoo.com. Charlie continues to do all the crazy extra-curricular educational & cultural work which he always does.
When the Magical Beautiful record comes out, we will be touring the United States and elsewhere. Until then, peace.
- Tyson
*08.28.09 - Just finished tracking "silverado" and "purest place" at the Shape Shoppe in the Bronzeville/Chinatown/South Loop? neighborhood of Chicago, and the songs sound illll. Still plenty of editing and overdubs to be done, but "here come the wild waves" is finally within reach, over two years after it was conceived. Couple shows coming up - stay tuned.
*08.22.09 - "Magical, Beautiful" shall henceforth be referred to as "Magical Beautiful". That's right - no more comma. This was suggested by our own Nick Broste, and I couldn't find any argument to keep the punctuation. Show List editors of the world rejoice!
*07.08.09 - This is a new website. It was previously hosted at ihearanewworld.com, (which is still active, but will now focus on the record label rather than the record label/Magical Beautiful). Both websites will get cooler and cooler with time, like so many Arthur Russel's.
Work continues on album number two, which has the working title of "Here Come The Wild Waves". There are several as-yet-untitled pieces on it, as well as songs like: "Purest Place"; "Silverado"; "Wild Waves"; and "Flaming Home (Elverum)". It will exist on several formats, one of which will be 12" vinyl, a first for MB.
I recently spent a wonderful 6 weeks in Europe/UK/Scandanavia with Casiotone For The Painfully Alone and Concern. Some of the 1300 pictures I took can be seen here. Otherwise, there are a couple of free shows coming up in Chicago, some new releases on I Hear A New World and a West Coast tour in December/January. Peace!
