Once & Future Band Share "Airplane" Video, 'Deleted Scenes' LP Out Now

Article Contributed by Tell All Your … | Published on Thursday, May 21, 2020

Once & Future Band have shared their latest video "Airplane" off of their recently released LP, Deleted Scenes out now on Castle Face Records. The video was shared exclusively with Glide, praising, From “Airplane” one down, Once & Future Band has made one of 2020’s mid-year best-of albums, a challenging yet accessible musical journey combing the most approachable aspects of prog, baroque psychedelic and art-rock."

Describing the video, Robinow said, “Airplane was from 2004 thereabouts the lyrics are about whatever you think, but it was written in a rock n roll themed hotel in Amsterdam, the kind with like a snare drum glued to the ceiling, and just the words “Bob Dylan” written in a funky font on the wall, I was sharing a room with an old bandmate who had met a free jazz Swedish woman on the ferry some days before, I also had a friend from home who I was hanging out with platonically, who had mercifully fallen asleep oblivious to the drunken courtship of two ppl who didn’t share a language…I heard “Albert Ayler” and then a lot of amorous scuffling and then everyone was asleep, and the next day had started outside and I wrote a song in my head about someone who was a long ways away and was probably not thinking about me at the same time like I imagined.”

Director Luke Judd explained, “Airplane, is a reflection on isolation and a reframing of the passage of time from burden to beauty while sheltering in place. Compiled from 75 time-lapses taken solely from my yard in Oakland between March 26 ( day 3 of the Bay Area Shelter in Place order) to April 20th. I’m a long time fan of Ron Fricke’s work and I started to form the idea that I could weave these bits into a larger meditative piece. I tend to edit to place holder music and had a pre-release of OAFB’s Deleted Scene I’d been listening to on repeat. The slow, psychedelic beauty of the song, as well as the theme of isolation, Airplane seemed to be a perfect fit. I emailed Raj Ojha, drummer of OAFB and friend, a very early edit. Mostly, as a “check out what I’m working on,” but it sparked a conversation which led to another 40+ time-lapses over the following weeks. With a close eye on weather reports, I tracked a cloud movement and plotted out the framings I wanted. Every night I’d process what I’d taken that day and fill in the gaps. Ultimately, this was a project of letting go of control and making the best choices out of what was available to me, valuable lessons during the quarantine.”

Oakland’s Once & Future Band - “Deleted Scenes"

"The space-age songsmiths of Once & Future Band have been ting-tinging away on the truly heavy anvil of hominid perspective and emotion again to bring you this singing scape of songs. Annealing for over a year now, until it was cool enough to hold in your ears, nested in the pinnae, the time has finally come. Dewdrops pop and hiss as they settle on the gliding guitarmonies. Once & Future Band have outdone themselves this time around, in my opinion. If songs could stop heated exchanges by mere presence, these are the ones, and more needed than ever. As I tuned in to each new transmission, each step closer to this perfect platter, I had to stop and do nothing else, and merely absorb how wonderful this album is. Each tune exists in the company it was born to live with. There are haunting chorale escorts here...long trains of room warmth...the belting of the machine heart...lofty guitar and bass melange...and just beautifully laid to magnetic tape with a sure hand by the throbbing brains that are Once & Future Band. For fans of Roy Wood, Idle Race, ELO, Roxy Music, Head Hunters, Stevie Wonder, Paul McCartney, The Lord Bowie, The Band, and the soundtrack from every movie that ever pierced your cold, cold heart” - John Dwyer