Live Band
Jonathan D. Haskell David Wexler Alexa Brinkschulte Charles Davis
Management Molly Bergen molly.bergen@gmail.com
Publicity Daniel Gill Forcefield PR daniel@forcefieldpr.com
Radio Steve Hendriksen Team Clermont steve@teamclermont.com
Legal Dale Huxford dale.huxford@gmail.com
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Sounds Like
Because I am a terrible, incurable scatterbrain, my intention to go check out the promising local electro-ambient combo Seven Saturdays last night at Silverlake Lounge was thwarted for a variety of reasons (this being L.A., let's blame it on "traffic" and everyone goes home happy). This was a shame, because the band's new 10-inch single, "New Hope in Soft Light," suggests that someone needs to get the band's principal, Jonathan D. Haskell, some film soundtrack work really soon.
Dntel is an obvious reference point from the mix of organic instruments and programmed swirls, but the seasick strings and sad little Rhodes piano lurking about hint at Sigur Rós. The dub-step-ish remix by Larvae on the B-side is even better, inverting the payoff to something noirish and hard-bitten. I've heard they're playing out with two drummers, so the next time Seven Saturdays is on the town (no new shows yet on its MySpace), it should be a pretty noisy turn.
August Brown :: Los Angeles Times Music Blog
So I arrive back in L.A. today thirsting to catch up on all the sounds that have been sent me, and I immediately happen on this song by Jonathan D. Haskell, who makes music as Seven Saturdays. Talk about air-conditioning for the soul. This instrumental piece is the title track from Seven Saturdays’ “New Hope in Soft Light” 10-inch vinyl single (lovely packaging, too). It’s gripping and cinematic, recalling Air’s best moments. Haskell says his music is inspired by his love/hate relationship with his native Los Angeles, and hearing this I guess I’m curious about what the hate side sounds like. His collaborators include a lot of familiar names and connections — Morgan Kibby (M83), Mike Garson (David Bowie/Smashing Pumpkins), Eric Heywood (the Pretenders) and Lester Nuby (Verbena).
Kevin Bronson :: Buzzbands Los Angeles
Conceived during a walk on the streets of Edinburgh, Seven Saturdays’ “New Hope In Soft Light” recounts the more delicate moments of Air or Sigur Rós. Melancholy piano, soft violin and ambient flourishes gently build up to an arrangement that brings to mind two of Jonathan D. Haskell’s inspirations for the track: Mullholland Drive and malt scotch. The song is the perfect soundtrack to the darkened corners and pathways of hillside Los Angeles. Its mood is ponderous, and while the song never quite takes off toward a climax, it sustains its mood throughout its duration. Haskell apparently conceived the song while considering his love-hate relationship with Los Angeles, and that sentiment definitely shows. Both the original track and remix express a romanticized and cinematic view of the city—we are made to both marvel at its beauty while regarding it skeptically for its cynical hucksterism. In distilling that confusion about the city, Haskell understands well that appreciating Los Angeles does not come without its compromises. As much as you love L.A., you can recount several reasons to hate it just as deeply.
Abe Ahn :: Evil Monito Magazine
The name Jonathan D. Haskell could be a character’s name in a Lynchian detective story. In the right context, your imagination doesn’t have to stretch too far to envision a shadowy figure driving Mulholland Drive late at night, where he will inevitably find the missing suspect in a mansion about to be shot at the hands of the very beautiful lady who sent Haskell looking for the person with the gun pointed at her breathless bosom… Plus real-life multi-instrumentalist Haskell says he drank a few years worth of Scotch while composing the ambient nuances that appear on his Seven Saturdays recording “New Hope In Soft Light.” Anyone with noirish tendencies has to drink a lot of scotch, whether his tires screech on the Hollywood Hills or his feet splash in cold puddles under street lamps in Edinburgh—the second landscape Haskell evokes in this piece of music. Haskell enlisted a tiny army of musicians to carry out a slow ebb-and-flow cinematic composition about the tight grip he says L.A. has on his soul. The project was recorded, produced and mixed by Haskell and Daniel Farris (St. Vincent, The Black Pill), with contributions by Lester Nuby (Verbena, Terra Naomi), Morgan Grace Kibby (M83), Mike Garson (David Bowie, Smashing Pumpkins) and Eric Heywood (The Pretenders, Ray LaMontagne). This short record won’t inspire you to fill the day with sunshine and joy, but it might make it fun to paint your face like The Crow or get lost in a collapsing time montage with Naomi Watts.
Mulholland Drive, malt scotch, Edinburgh Scotland and Christmas trees may not seem like they have a lot in common, but in the case of Jonathan D. Haskell, orchestrator and multi-instrumentalist for the band, Seven Saturdays, they are the landscape for his cinematic orchestra.
A native Angeleno, Jonathan D. Haskell has spent years working and re-working the subtle melodic nuances that have become the headphone-centric Seven Saturdays. Conceived walking the cobblestone streets of Edinburgh while sipping scotch, Haskell accepted his inescapable fate of never leaving Los Angeles and his impending return. With that, Seven Saturdays embody his love / hate relationship with said city.
"I became more interested in how music made me feel and became a bit more selfish in the type of sounds I wanted to record. I mostly listen to music in my car, and the sounds that moved me the most occurred late at night while driving around the steep slopes and sharp curves of Mulholland Drive. There's nothing like that winding road at midnight... the ebb and flow of swirling tones pouring out from all angles leaves you with a renewed sense of focus and direction."
Seven Saturdays is a direct result of this renewed energy and a reaction to growing up and feeling trapped in Los Angeles. "There is no escaping this city. If you're born here, even if you move away, its impact is always brewing just below the surface.”
Seven Saturdays was recorded, produced and mixed by Haskell and Daniel Farris (St. Vincent, The Black Pill) in the shadowy confines of downtown Los Angeles. And contributing everything from heart-pulled strings, down tempo beats, delicate keyboards and distant voices, Seven Saturdays comprises an impressive list of talented musicians including: Lester Nuby (Verbena, Terra Naomi), Morgan Grace Kibby (M83), Mike Garson (David Bowie, Smashing Pumpkins) and Eric Heywood (The Pretenders, Ray LaMontagne).
For more information on Seven Saturdays, please contact Daniel Gill at daniel@forcefieldpr.com.
i never work fridays, but of course i'm supposed to work that friday! i will figure it out...i see you go on at 930 pm, please keep me posted if anything changes. i'm happy you are performing!
the new stuff tickles my heart (you brought back the bells at the end on this track, just like "air tight sealed reflection chamber"), thanks for changing the way I listen to music, angeles drake was a huge learning experience for me. BTW. Happy Belated!
![Farewell Flight [Leaves for Tour Tomorrow]](http://c2.ac-images.myspacecdn.com/images02/98/s_b8cf3c6e5f7245dc98052fd19b1c9849.jpg)
