I recently asked Chicago's Nick Butcher what he was looking to accomplish with his latest album, Bee Removal (Hometapes), and his answer was in the form of a question, "How far can you push the format until it falls apart?" Listening through the quiet spaces of Bee Removal I would say he has pushed it pretty far, but nothing has fallen apart. There is structure and melody and gentle movement inside the seven songs on this full sized vinyl LP. A vinyl LP that is icy white to match the hand-screened illustration by Chicago's Chris Kerr, and to add some surface noise this adventure in sound. It is an album that you need to explore while perfectly still in the center of your room on a dark and chilled October night.
Nick is probably more well-known for his work with Nadine Nakanishi and their print shop and studio called Sonnenzimmer. A one time intern at The Bird Machine, Nick has a unique style of creating concert posters, and together with Nadine they have worked The Sea & Cake, Cocorosie, RJD2, Menomena, The Walkmen, and more. Now that Sonnenzimmer is up and running, and making incredible prints, Nick is finding more time to work on his personal paintings and exploring sounds.
Bee Removal is an album that requires focus, but the deeper you look into the sounds that have been created the more you will want to explore. There were only 500 albums pressed, and you can visit Hometapes for more information.
