Roomsound

Califone’s debut album Roomsound was originally released on CD in 2001 by Perishable and then re-issued on CD in 2006 by Thrill Jockey. As part of our 20th Annivesary we are happy to offer Roomsound on the vinyl format for the very first time. Cut by Paul Gold at Salt Mastering and pressed on high quality virgin vinyl, Roomsound is presented in a deluxe custom silk-screened jacket with an art-worked inner sleeve and free download coupon.

Originally released in April of 2001, Roomsound covers the same rustic, slightly ramshackle back forty that Tim Rutili has been ploughing through since his previous band Red Red Meat. Only this time the tilled bedrock unveils the most vividly colored, luring crop of songs Rutili has ever harvested. 

The sleepy, country-blues picking and autumnal backwoods melodies are accented with striking splashes of electronic tone color, obsolete keyboards and off-kilter percussion. Lyrically, Roomsound penetrates the breath of pirates, poison apples at a tango contest and the waiting room between death and canonization where missionaries have quit and 19th-century whores have been rescued for all the wrong reasons. Masterfully engineered by Brian Deck, the album is vaulted far beyond the sum of its parts. 

Roomsound is a hauntingly unique and distinctive record of crafted and sculpted beauty.

On Roomsound, Califone is:
Ben Massarella (oRSo, Loftus, rrm)- drums, percussion, electronics, bass
Brian Deck (rrm, loftus, oRSo)- drums, percussion, synth, computer/looping, bass, vocals
Tim Rutili (rrm, loftus)- guitars, vocals, piano, organ, synth, bass
Eric Johnson (fruit bats, paulina hollers) - banjo and percussion on 1, guitar on 2
Matt Fields (those bastard souls) - bass on 9
Gillian Lisee (oRSo) - vocals on 5 and 7
Rick Rizzo (eleventh dream day) - treated guitar on 5
Doug McCombs (tortoise, brokeback, eleventh dream day) - bass on 3
John Rice (waco brothers) - violins on 3
Randall Thomas Henry - upright bass on 5

Recorded and mixed at Clava studio by Brian Deck