To understand Fort Frances’ “Alio” — pronounced ah-low — you
have to start with a cover of a 1991 Will Smith song. Three years ago,
the Chicago-based trio parted ways with their indie rock roots to
record their own take on the hip hop classic “Summertime.” With a
smooth bed of 808s and hand claps, the song made the rounds on lists
of must-download summer songs and landed the band on Comedy
Central’s Tosh.0. But the American reception to the song paled in
comparison to an unlikely spot on the map: Lithuania. While the band
continued to wage the American DIY-band battle for attention at small
club shows around the US, the situation was much different in the
former member of the USSR. The band had become a household name, and
the song’s accompanying video had racked up more than one million
views. “We started to get all these messages from fans in Eastern
Europe about how much they loved the song,” lead singer David
McMillin says. “We really didn’t think that we were catching on
somewhere halfway around the world.” The crunchy guitar-monies
layered behind the falsetto phrasing of “Take the Wheel”, the
marimba-sub synth combo of “Everything is Starting to Make Sense”,
the frantic pacing of “The Light Years” — this cast of songs
puts the spotlight on a band that is growing increasingly comfortable
with loosening its roots in the past. “Memories are not meant to be
kept inside a frame, so before we drive out to the coast tonight, I
will drive myself insane,” McMillin sings on lead single “Building
A Wall.” “Over the past year, I feel like we’ve taken some big
steps for the band,” McMillin says. “The time overseas helped us
open the door to welcome a world of new possibilities.” When it came
time to choose a title the album, the choice was clear. “Alio” is
Lithuanian for hello.
music
concerts
hip hop
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24/04/2016 Last update