The creative 'Arc' of Hibou
Hibou live at San Francisco’s Bottom of the Hill; press photo courtesy of Week in Pop.
Although we live in an imperfect world, we hold tight to those emanating vestiges of beauty. Happiness. Ecstatic excitement. The things that serve us and our communities. While we and our universe are works in progress, the arts that speak to our hearts, minds and spirits elevate us to towering echelons of elated and ineffable points of unrelenting exuberance. All of this and more only begins to describe the collective sentiments shared by the DIY pop fandom with the recent release of Hibou’s new Arc EP.
The LA by Paris by way of Seattle bandleader Peter Michel composed Arc during a summer spent by the Canal de l’Ourcq, then recording his song cycle of sincere sentiments in the warmth of last autumn. The luster of days and evenings running their natural courses comprises the breathtaking "Night Fell", that feels like a dusk sojourn spent along the Seine with a bottle of rosé champagne shared with a dearly beloved soulmate. "June" exudes a sense of melancholia, like the transition of the solstices from spring that lead lionhearted into the life progressions and changes that arrive with the season of seemingly perpetual sun.
The hallmark Hibou sound rings out brilliantly and blissfully on "Upon the Clouds You Weep" which ought to be the name of either a poetry anthology penned by Michel or a binge-worthy series where this song is licensed and employed as the titular theme. "Devilry" gently rocks with the emotive flair like the apex of the romantic story arc from a cult 80s flick during a privy moment shared between a protagonist and their heart-bound opposite. The closer "Already Forgotten" pushes against the edges of remembrances, sending up a culmination of the passions from the EP upward and outward into the stratosphere like a dazzling, cosmic display of fireworks to light up a moonless night's sky. Join Peter Michel after the jump for an exclusive collection of current interests of intrigue:
Inspirational items by Hibou’s Peter Michel
Minari OST, Emile Mosseri
I’ve never seen this movie but the soundtrack is incredible. Emile Mosseri is a musical magician who conducts a landscape of ethereal elements to tug at even the most stubborn of heartstrings.
Peter Michel of Hibou, live center stage at Bottom of the Hill in SF; press photo courtesy of Week in Pop.
Fire of Love
A documentary about a volcanologist couple who find love in the most intense of earth’s environments. The archival footage is incomparably beautiful and effortlessly captures the type of images that so many of today’s films yearn to mimic.
Hibou live on stage in San Francisco; press photo courtesy of Week in Pop.
Chocolate Flower Farm (specialty plant nursery on Whidbey Island)
One of my favorite shops on Whidbey Island. The boutique sits on a farm outside of the small town of Langley, which is one of my favorite places to pass the time. Taking a whiff from one of their chocolate candles transports me straight back to my childhood.
The gilded guitar tones of Hibou; press photo courtesy of Week in Pop.
Scarbo, synth by Teletone Audio
I was recently gifted this synth by a good friend of mine. Inspired by Ravel’s Gaspard de la Nuit, the instrument conjures dark & provocative sounds that have lately been pulling my writing in a new direction.
Late night walks around Silver Lake
I’m currently living in the Silver Lake neighborhood of Los Angeles. To clear my head & come up with new ideas, I have been finding myself strolling amongst the palm tree silhouettes & coyotes.
Hibou’s Arc EP is available now, everywhere.