"Coming-of-age ritual music for the last pagan rave.”
-L.A. Record
Critically hailed by NME, LA Weekly, Stereogum, L.A. Record and lauded by stars like actor/filmmaker Dennis Hopper and Lady Gaga (who called them her favorite band), GIVE/TAKE is honored to bring We Are The World’s sole full-length effort back to streaming services and to a brand-new audience.
A boundary-defying experimental outfit blending dark, heavily percussive electronic music with dance, visual and performance art, We Are The World came together in Los Angeles in the late 2000’s from a collaboration between choreographer ("Sir") Ryan Heffington (Arcade Fire, FKA Twigs, Sia) and artist Robbie C Williamson (Hitting Birth, Dreamers, Double Diamond Sun Body). Their early shows included as many as fifteen people on stage, but soon solidified into a tight foursome: Williamson on production and live percussion, Megan Gold (Dreamers) as lyricist and lead singer with Heffington creating costumes and choreographing alongside dancer and film artist Nina McNeely.
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We Are the World's theatrical shows earned them a rabid following drawing from a range of aesthetic and cultural sources, exploring issues of political ideology, gender identity and religious fundamentalism. Their heavily stylized wardrobe, including burqas, nightmarish black-and-white masks and outfits inspired by ninjas, guerrilla revolutionaries, Chinese peasants and French mimes, inspired ample amounts of both confusion and enthusiasm. Offstage, the group contributed to tribute albums (honoring The Cure and David Bowie, respectively) on the L.A.-centric Manimal Vinyl. The single "Clay Stones" appeared in 2009 on I Am Sound, accompanied by a bewildering video by Alma Har'el, and the band’s debut followed on Manimal in 2010.
We Are The World concluded rather organically when members were drawn to other projects. Ryan opened dance studio The Sweat Spot and began choreographing tours for artists. Nina started the dance/visual collaboration WIFE, while Megan and Robbie transitioned their performance prowess into a new duo, Dreamers.
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Clay Stones (2022 Reissue) includes two previously unreleased, never before heard songs and a nine page .pdf booklet of behind the scenes visual material documenting this monument of an artistic movement.
Lead singer Megan Gold says “The reason ‘Hot Chocolate’ didn't make it on to Clay Stones is unknowable to us now - that song is a fucking jam. 'Lil' Thong’ was a thematic precursor to the Dreamers record, but sonically we didn't feel that it fit.”
Available for pre-order now, Clay Stones (2022 Reissue) releases worldwide January 28th.
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Tsunxmi - Broken on reflection
Tsunxmi leads listeners into a Lynchian world of digital dream logic and nightmare fuel, with characteristic skill and artistic abandon. Harmony and discord intertwine sweetly, as textures envelope and then abandon the listener.
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Bijou Noir - Expatriarch
The album which took leaving everything is now here to reclaim...and for a piece with such dense themes and background, it wraps on incredibly beautiful high notes. The perfect score for an imperfect time.
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