Atlas Sound & Friends

When we got in touch with the Management of Altas Sound concerning a filming session with Bradford Cox during the Primavera Sound Festival, we got a likeably honest reply saying that this was most probably not going to work: “I don’t think that we can commit to anything at the moment, Bradford prefers not to have plans at Primavera due to jetlag and wanting to see certain bands. Sorry to be so vague but this is generally how things work with Atlas Sound.” Instead of considering this as a big disappointment, we were more impressed by Bradford’s genuine and impulsive take on things. He is surely not the artist to be squeezed into a tight promo schedule and missing out all the great parts of a festival. “Short notice rather than advance planning works much better”, his Management concluded. As chance will have it we bumped into Bradford when meeting Lower Dens for a video session. He obviously enjoyed the festival hang out with his friends and was more then willing to continue with his own songs when Lower Dens had finished theirs. Well, in fact Atlas Sound went for one of his songs (“Mona Lisa”) and animated everyone around to improvise with him on two Hank Williams’ cover versions (“Ladies and gentlemen, this is a once and only opportunity for you to witness the butchering of our American heritage!”). Bradford thus invites a young lady to take the role of his “Sweet Bird of Youth”, who was going to flatter like a bird up to him holding the harmonica, and then calls Josh T. Pearson over (whom he has never met before) for the howling duet of “I’m So Lonesome I Could Cry”. This brilliant festival hang out session very much speaks for Bradford’s spontaneous, enganging and enjoyable character!