Ernest Gonzales
“Self Awakening EP”

US Release Date: 10/20/2009
Format: Digital

After two releases in their successful Friends of Friends series, FoF is gearing up for their first full-length release, Been Meaning to Tell You by Ernest Gonzales, owner of San Antonio’s Exponential Records. In anticipation for that release, Friends of Friends is releasing an EP, Self-Awakening, by Gonzales. The EP features the title track in addition to two alternate versions of it, a remix by Faunts and a cover by Take. The EP also includes “We Can Live in the Forest,” another Gonzales original, as well as being fleshed out by three additional covers by Cyne, Mexicans with Guns, and Yppah, respectively.

“One of my favorite movies is Vanilla Sky,” says Gonzales. “The title Self Awakening refers to the final scene of the film when the main character, David, needs to make a choice to continue living in a lucid dream or overcome a giant fear to live in the real world. ‘The sweet is never as sweet without the sour’ —these words are some of the last bits of advice given to David…a very resonating message in my mind as well.”

Gonzales’ version of the title track, as well as the remixes, offer up their own sonic interpretations of the sweet and the sour. In Gonzales’ version, slight distortion resonates beneath a melodic refrain as a driving beat pushes the song ever-forward. The first remix is by Canadian post-rock band Faunts (Friendly Fire Recordings), who preserve the song’s sweetness while adding in harder, more distorted phrases that sustain brilliantly over the refrain. The second remix is offered by Take (Sweatson Klank), known for his remix work with Flying Lotus. He brings his distinctively experimental beats, jazz samples, and crushed melodies to the remix, creating an innovative track that stands on its own. The EP also features an invigorating version of “I’m Here You’re There” by Mexicans With Guns, dubstep remixer of the Faunts, Bassnectar, among others. The final track is a remix of Gonzales’ “Etchasketch Trees” by Yppah (Joe Corrales Jr.), an electronic/mashup/turntablist musician whose work has been featured in television shows such as House and CSI.

Self-Awakening offers a delightful taste of what’s to come on Been Meaning to Tell You, which features Friends of Friends’ trademark ingenuity of being much more than an album. The album comes with plenty of involvement from other artists, such as a 16-track disc featuring covers of the album’s songs performed by such artists as Daedelus and Mexicans with Guns. Additionally, the album will come with a book of artists’ visual interpretations of the songs, along with Gonzales’ own notes on each track. Tall Corn Music will also be issuing a 180g white-vinyl pressing of the album. Been Meaning to Tell You will be released February 2010.