Whitley

There are two artists by the name of Whitley listed on Last.fm: 1) Whitley is an artist from Melbourne, Australia. Whitley seamlessly blends organic acoustic flavours with electronic overtones creating songs with hushed, whimsical tales of love and loss. Whitley's previous incarnations in hardcore and punk bands were tempered when he was dragged along to see alt-country stars Keiran Cane and Kevin Welsh by a friend's dad.

1) Whitley is an artist from Melbourne, Australia.

Whitley seamlessly blends organic acoustic flavours with electronic overtones creating songs with hushed, whimsical tales of love and loss.

Whitley's previous incarnations in hardcore and punk bands were tempered when he was dragged along to see alt-country stars Keiran Cane and Kevin Welsh by a friend's dad. He had an epiphany and was converted to the ?songs that made sense? and started listening to traditional country. The result of these influences has produced a folktronic sound all of his own.

Whitley first met producer and collaborator, Nick Huggins, from watching him play the Mississippi folk instrument the steel lap guitar (dobro). The friendship evolved through a shared love of music and Nick was the natural choice to work on the album.

The pair took a pragmatic approach to recording, decamping to the surrounds of Nick's family home in Point Lonsdale converting the old house into a studio with a sleeping barracks out the back.

Instead of a rigid schedule and time restraints, recording revolved around the Geelong footy fixture and the surfing tides.

?We planned the whole album around the footy and surfing. It was a matter of working around that stuff. You don't want to do anything when you're not feeling creative. So we would only create and only write and only make music when we wanted.

?Nick is a mad Geelong fan and he refused to record on any days when Geelong was playing. And it would really influence the way Nick recorded that week. If Geelong won, he would be up beat [clicks fingers] and on fire and if they lost he would just be miserable.?

In between Geelong matches and early morning surfs, The Submarine began to take shape, coming to life in the bathrooms and bedrooms of the house. It is this organic approach that results in the songs creating an intimacy that invites you in to join in his happiness and heartbreak.

The Submarine was then mixed by Jonathan Burnside [The Sleepy Jackson, Nirvana, Faith No More, Fugazi] in his studio. Whitley felt that Burnside had an understanding of the organic recording process and could really bring that out.

Lots more info, video and audio can be found at the official Whitley site.

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2) Whitley was an acoustic pop band from Wichita, KS that began in November of 2005 and ended in June of 2006.

They sported many tours through the Midwest region. Only one of which (Colorado) was completely unsuccessful because of weather conditions, a flat tire, and cranky 'tudes from all the dudes.

An EP was released in early 2006 containing 7 songs. A single was later attempted but was never completed.

The front-man, Tyler Clarensau, currently continues with a solo project. Music can be heard here.

The two other members, Josh White (bass) and Joey Betzen (drums), are currently working on an acoustic project of instrumental origin. Music from this untitled project will be recorded in upcoming weeks.