San Francisco duo Host Bodies return with their new single and video ‘Impossible Goodbyes’.

The James Collector and Nick Hess project keeps things simple on the surface here. The track started as part of Collector’s daily loop habit, writing 16-bar ideas to keep momentum going. One of those sessions turned into something else after he found an old piano in a garage during a video shoot and worked out the foundation on the spot. They tested an early version at a Headroom meetup at Halcyon in San Francisco. Hess remembers people not quite knowing where to place it, though one producer picked up on the kick drum alone, noticing the change in velocity.

The final version was mixed and mastered by Count Eldridge, whose credits include Radiohead, New Order, No Doubt, and John Cale.

“I remember playing drumset at age 12 with Around the World looping on my Discman,” says Collector. “Nick would come over with his Stratocaster and we’d jam Jimi Hendrix and Rage Against the Machine songs. He had burned a mixtape onto CD with The Chemical Brothers, The Crystal Method, Darude, Moby. That mixtape became a legend at our school. Later, in college we figured out how to get our laptops synced up for live looping by tapping the space bar at the same time (LOL). We were listening to a ton of STS9, DJ Shadow, Aphex Twin, Massive Attack, The Album Leaf, and at the same time Red Hot Chili Peppers, The Roots, Aesop Rock, Hieroglyphics, and Amon Tobin. Blending hiphop with live instruments opens up a whole new universe.”

Hess adds: “After we moved out to the Bay in 2012 and started performing as Host Bodies, we began to gravitate to faster tempos and more house music. Through playing live shows, we met local electronic artists who showed us what moved crowds, new production tricks, and what made us different. At the same time, we’ve stayed close to artists like Tycho, Four Tet, and Bonobo, which led us deeper into that scene with Shigeto, Gold Panda, and Christopher Willits. Lately we’ve been listening to Maribou State, Kiasmos, Stavroz, Parra for Cuva, il:lo, Thoma, DJ Koze, Max Cooper, ford., Thundercat, Dirtwire, Sofia Kourtesis, Jasper Tygner, and Klangphonics.”

Headline photo: Brady Lowery

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