Description
Vibraphonist/percussionist Mike Dillon has spent the last three decades playing well over 200 shows a year with both his own band, as well as a sideman with artists including Rickie Lee Jones, Les Claypool and Ani DiFranco. So when the pandemic hit in early 2020 forcing Dillon off the road, he instinctively directed his perpetually restless creative energy to writing and recording. Residing in Kansas City after spending 15 years in New Orleans, Dillon and producer Chad Meise would track a trilogy of albums: ‘Shoot The Moon,’ ‘Suitcase Man’ and ‘1918.’ Collaborating with his record label Royal Potato Family, they would release these records exclusively via Bandcamp just days after they were mixed and mastered. In 2021, those albums will now receive the full vinyl treatment, as well as complete digital release across all streaming outlets.
The third in the trilogy of albums, ‘1918’ more heavily focuses on Dillon’s instrumentals: the dank, dark Moog/tabla/vibraphone psych vibe of “Pinocchio,” the electro analog trance of “Pelagic” and the jungle groove, space rock of the title track. Both the instrumentals, as well as a handful of vocal-based tunes address the Covid-19 pandemic and social issues. “The parallels between 1918 and 2020 are immense. We just have fancier toys, but the tunnel vision and mammalian tendencies are the same if not greater,” explains Dillon.
