Caspian visits Madison on Wednesday night for a date at the High Noon Saloon. This week we asked guitarist/keyboardist Philip Jamieson to share with us some important and influential tracks to him and to his bandmates. Check them out below, along with Philip’s thoughts, before the show on Wednesday.
1. Led Zeppelin – “When the Levee Breaks”
“Music, to me, is about presence, power, and atmosphere — and this song has it more than any song ever recorded. In terms of ‘heavy’ music this one still has never been surpassed. It changed the game across the board and for a million reasons remains my favorite song ever committed to tape.”
2. Stars of the Lid – “Music for Twin Peaks (Part 2)”
“Stars of the Lid changed the way we listen to and interact with music perhaps more so than any band out there. This piece is a perfect example of their genius and always reminds me that there’s no reason to overdo a piece of music when there’s a central core element of it that can succeed on its own, without being overdone.”
3. Four Tet – “Angel Echoes“
“Four Tet is that rare artist who retains a sense of organic, natural warmth and a human pulse behind what he puts together amidst digital electronic music. This record was massively influential on us whilst putting Waking Season together and encouraged us to manipulate live instrumentation rather than just cycle through a bunch of plug ins and canned synthesizer sounds.”
4. ISIS – “In Fiction”
“Though we aren’t as metal or existentially bleak as ISIS, it does sometimes feels like we are trying to chase down the same kind of ‘spiritual’ dimension during a live show that these guys were chasing after. ‘In Fiction’ is a beast and every time I hear it, I am reminded that transcendent moments are still possible at a traditional, five-piece guitar driven rock concert.”
5. Jackson C. Frank – “Milk Honey“
“Most people would, understandably, never strike a connection between Caspian and quiet, reflective folk music. I guess one of the many reasons why I seem to almost exclusively listen to this kind of music now (Mark Kozelek, Jose Gonzalez, etc.) is that it effectively captures melancholy better than any other genre out there. That and the self-reflective nature of music like this makes for fertile ground inspirationally — even if it is inspiring, an enormous wall of dense overdriven guitar sound like we are going for. I see so many connections between the direct simplicity of this music and the emotional simplicity of what we do, and I am continually inspired to show that to the listener.”