As a side project to this indie folk duo Kaiser Cartel Brooklyn’s Benjamin Cartel released a solo EP “Money and Love” last year that that bridges the gap between Wilco’s wry rock & roll and John Lennon’s classic pop.
Currently on a tour of the midwest he will stop at the Icehouse on 12/22 for a special Holiday show that will also have an acoustic set by the Ryan & Pony of theMelismatics and Ryan Traster. Tickets are still available HERE.
Money and Love is Cartel’s first solo release. Like the musical influences that spawned it, the EP is a mix of old and new. Several songs, like the vintage pop/rocker “No One,” were written before Kaiser Cartel’s formation. Others, like the rave-up title track, are newer compositions. “Julia,” one of the album’s harmony-drenched highlights, was written somewhere in the middle. Cartel looked everywhere for inspiration: relationships, the road, even old Alfred Hitchcock movies.
The recording process began at The End Studio in Greenpoint, Brooklyn, with Mike Cohen (Lucinda Black Bear). Cartel recorded the songs simply, strumming an acoustic guitar while two friends chimed in on bass and lead guitar. He then sent the bare-boned recordings to his friend and occasional tour mate Kristoffer Ragnstam, an indie pop musician living in Gothenburg, Sweden. Ragnstam, along with his bandmate Joel Lundberg, added layers and arrangements to Cartel’s songs, turning what began as a skeletal EP into something more fleshed-out and eclectic.
Tour Dates:
Wednesday, December 21st 8pm @ Red Herring, Duluth, MN
Thursday, December 22nd 9:30pm 2nd Annual BENJAMIN CARTEL and FRIENDS @ IceHouse MPLS
Friday, December 23rd 8pm @ The Smokestack Dubuque, Iowa 52001
Tuesday, December 27th 8pm / w Christopher Tolle @ miniBar Kansas City, MO
Wednesday, December 28th 7pm @ Des Moines Social Club Des Moines, IA
