Marriage

Mise En Abyme is ML Mae, Ahn Mae, Chesty Mae, and Jesquibel Mae. They make German-sounding avant-garde electropop, but in America. Myspace.

MISE EN A TOUR:

DISCOGRAPHY:

Do You Hear The Hum, Marriage Records, 2006
Is Orange Birds, Marriage Records compilation, 2005
Jesquibel, Marriage Records, 2005
Cat and Cake, soundtrack to video art by Gideon Klindt, 2004
Crochet, Marriage Records, 2003
Circles As Loops, soundtrack to video art by Gideon Klindt, 2002
Ingredients 2005 and 2006, Music Video Challenges

LYRICS:

Do You Hear The Hum

Some more reviews

The following from The Wire UK magazine Issue 258, August 2005 (w/ Red Krayola on the cover):
by Louise Gray

"Mise En Abyme, a trio from Portland, Oregon, with a taste for a nicely turned French idiom and a bit of literary theory, are less self-referential than their name might suggest. Which means, firstly, that Jesquibel, their second album after the well-dressed Crochet (which came with its own woollen CD cosy), is not so hung up on its own structural presence as it could be. And secondly, that this album (which seems to be named in honour of Mise En Abyme's guest guitarist Jonathan Esquibel) has its own ideas of how to proceed. ML Mae, Ahn Mae and 'Chesty' Mae (one suspects similar kinship arrangements to The Ramones) form a post-rock, post-electronic group whose oddly beguiling fractured songs say something about their own composition process."

"There's a whiff of Yo La Tengo about them. Listening to the mood changes of the skittery opener, "Reaching", or the more freeform "A Life of Sequence", it is as if all options, all opinions are being expressed. Tracks can change direction, or collapse in on themselves. The nine minute "Glass" fades away after four minutes or so and the rest of it allotted span -- it could be four minutes 33 seconds, but it's difficult to measure exactly -- is silent. The group take a low-key, but highly effective, approach to samples, building tranches of rhythmical noise out of the most basic elements. Coupled with vocals that range from a droning male chorus in near unison to a more decisive and accomplished female voice ("Parachutes" is a Le Tigre song from a parallel universe). The bonus track, called simply enough "Bonus Track", is a most lovely thing: hilarious and dreamy in equal measures. Its jangling guitar riff and a far-off keyboard back a magnificently lugubrious vocal about how nothing is real. There is, oddly enough, a flavour of an old Frankie Knuckles idea in its repetitive movement, but the end vocal lines -- "Oh damn ... damn!" -- repel any notion of peace. Fabulously weird, and just fabulous."

And from Issue 47 of Resonance Mag we quote:
"Mise en abyme may invite comparisons to Yo La Tengo. The line-up, M.L. and Ahn Mae, a married couple, and their buddy Christopher Himes, provides the obvious similarity, but the Maes also display some musical tendencies of their Hoboken doppleganger. Named after the internal artistic spiral (as a mirror in painting, reflecting the scene back into itself infinitely), the band spews electronic meanderings and delicate folk songs that pulse forward only to lap back on themselves. Reiterated lyrical and melodic themes give way to fuzzy psychedelia or rolling beats, best demonstrated by "The Magicians" and "Parts Attack". But the lengthy closer, "Glass," is the apotheosis of Mise en abyme's understated approach, hitting varied but consistently thoughtful grooves that allow these mechanized compositions to grow into a delightfully organic whole." - - Alex Stimmel.

For Do You Hear The Hum:
in The Willamette Week and All Music Guide and AnimalPsi and Pop Matters and Foxy Digitalis

HERE IS A MOVIE OF THE MISE EN ABYME INNER WORKINGS

MISE'S PERSONAL ASIDES

rad show january 16th

we are playing with a couple of acts from sf at the acme this monday.

brookhaven and bookworm.

this should be a very good show.

come on out.

i think it’s free.

i think it starts around nine.

i think you’ll like it.

the acme is @ 1305 SE 8th.

mmm hmmm.

posted by Chesty on Wednesday January 11, 2006

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caught in a web

Hey everybody, the mise have turned on, tuned in and dropped ourselves into the ever growing myspace universe.

If you’re a part of that scene you should come by and check it out. The space isn’t finished yet, but it currently has four songs for your ear pleasures including a rough cut of a song that will most likely be on our next album.

Dudes.

http://www.myspace.com/miseenabyme

posted by Chesty on Saturday December 10, 2005

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FREE SHOW

This Friday, September 23rd, mise en abyme will be playing a free show, live at Dusty’s. The music will start after 10pm, so don’t be late. Also performing: Tim Hart, Dustin SantaMaria & Mother Aimee Bevell… The entrance is on SE Oak and 10th Ave, so don’t be squeemish. Did I mention that it’s free? Well I did, and that means you are all on the list!

Boom Bap!.,

posted by Chesty on Thursday September 22, 2005

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HOW WE SPENT OUR SUMMER VACATION

Thanks to everyone who came out to the shows for our tour with Thanksgiving. We thought we’d put up a gallery:

Our first tour as a band was a weeklong fantasy mission gone horribly right. The Oyota Ercel was hot and packed to the teeth with all our gear and merch and the five headed humans. With Captain Orange at the helm we set out for that sunny edge of life we had heard was to be our destiny.

Our first stop, in Eugene, OR, was a backyard jamboree filled with beautiful people, wild fingerpainting, delicious refreshments and blazing bonfire. When the police officer arrived during the Thanksgiving set we had to tone it down and move it into the living room for the softer jam.

The next day we drove into Cali.

Sacramento was hot. The burritos were large. We played in a cool basement at the Fool’s Foundation with Fancie—Elisabeth Wood all the way from Berlin, Dark Dark Mask – Awesome John Cummins and housemate. Awesome John silkscreened some truly eponymous posters for the show. Deepest mellow free ice cream.

In Berkley we met a house of culinary physicists and their dalmation mascot, Astro.

The show in the central park Gazebo of Paso Robles truly rocked Planet of the Apes style.

Wednesday we braved Los Angeles traffic to perform at 33 1/3 books in the Echo Park area with Larkness Grimm. It so happened that the independent film center next door was putting on a show at the same time, so we joined forces and put on a six band show trading back and forth between the two venues.

The next evening the mise and T-giving combo tore it up Taz style at the Koo’s Cafe in Long Beach. I don’t know if it was the totally legit venue, our spiritual retreat to the tidal pools of Point Fermen earlier that day, or Koo’s vibe, but the show was legit. Legit.

The last two shows of the tour took place in the “Battle Born” state of Nevada. We crossed through Desert Planet landscapes and violent, purple windstorms to arrive slightly late for our gig at Balcony Lights Music & Books in beautiful, sinfested Las Vegas. Luckily we had Jacob Smigel to keep the crowd thoroughly entertained with an extended set while we pushed the Ercel’s engine to the max in order to get there. ML would like to give shouts out to Jesse for the late night Lengua.

Java Joe’s in Carson City hosted our last show. Adrian finally had the opportunity to publicly declare his love for the city. He was instantly engaged and then marrried to the capitol city in a lovely but brief ceremony, and he says that he is confident of their future.

Thanks and love go out to everyone that came to see us play. It was wonderful to meet so many great people and see so many friends and relatives. Extra special thanks go to those who put us up for the night: Rosie and her kind parents (mise on a trampoline); The Awesome John Cummins family; Emily & Hal (thanks again for the amazing food); Matt (keepin’ it under control); Skip (nonstop bb guns); The Owl and his mom; Jacob and Jesse Smigel; and Lucy and family. Extra extra props go out to those of you who helped set up and pump the shows.

posted by Chesty on Thursday August 25, 2005

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THIS WEEK

Mise en abyme is hitting the roads, taking it on the streets, and generally heading out into this world to find out what it’s like to play in places that are not called Portland. We’ve loaded up the Ercel and are rolling down into California and over into Nevada for a week long tour as the mise en abyme / thanksgiving super combo meal deal. Adrian has agreed to drum for us on this tour, and we will be backing him up in a rhythmic manner in return. And did I mention that Adrian’s mom will be joining us on the first part of the tour? WORD!

Please to look at the shows page for more details about the where and when.

posted by Carlos on Friday August 5, 2005

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