“We wrote ‘Sea of Dreams’ after a sunrise swim on Whidbey Island, freezing and super-beautiful. I swam out really far and saw two sea lion heads bobbing in the water. The instrumentation has that flat calm of morning water,” he explains. “I like how the guitar lightly chugs along like the ripples small waves make. And the vocals, being calm and easily sung, represent that feeling, the feeling of walking on the shore when the sun is rising.” – Chris Kittrell tells Vogue.com

Chris Kittrell - photo credit: Rudolph Bekker
Chris Kittrell – photo credit: Rudolph Bekker

 

NPR First Watch “Sea of Dreams” HERE
When trying to identify the music made by NYC band Baby Alpaca, it’s perhaps easier to try and figure out what the music is NOT. Judging by the music on the band’s first proper EP, which is released today via Atlas Chair Records, it’s easy to say that this is definitely not your standard indie rock fare: an autoharp is involved, as well as both live and programmed beats and a smattering of guitars. The music eschews any musical tropes typically assigned to wispy bedroom electronica, beardy folk music, or the new wave of alternative R&B, but it could perhaps exist as a distant cousin to all of those things. Buoyed aloft by the winsome vocals of front man Chris Kittrell and shaped by the guitar styling of Zach McMillan, Baby Alpaca make music that is both romantic, vaguely tropical, and sufficiently futuristic—music that seems born of a million dramatic road trips that might provide a suitable soundtrack for a million more. Let’s get wild child…

The four songs on the Baby Alpaca EP make for a striking, remarkably blissed-out statement of intent. The EP’s first single, “Sea of Dreams” (whose Dada-esque video premiered earlier this year via NPR) is as fitting an introduction as any band could hope to have: all echo-chamber vocals that seem to be haunted by reverby guitar lines and gently-played piano notes that drift through the song like ghosts. Tracks like “Wild Child” and “On The Roam” evoke a palpable sense of modern restlessness, something that permeates all of Baby Alpaca’s music. It’s a feeling that Kittrell attributes to his own meandering youth—a time spent experimenting, studying, travelling, and trying to locate his own creative voice.

The gentle, humane quality of Baby Alpaca’s music is deeply indebted to Cincinnati-native Kittrell’s adventurous youth. “I’ve always been torn between tradition and total wildness,” he says, which explains the rather circuitous path he took before settling on music. Having studied a variety of subjects in college—everything from psychology to art to economics—to dipping his toes into the world of fashion working with Marc Jacobs and at The Row with the Olsen twins, Kittrell picked up a support system and a family of creative souls that help support him on the journey. “I’ve lived on rooftops in Bushwick and brownstones in Chelsea. I’ve traveled around the world. At some point I just threw caution to the wind. It was rough at times and it lead me to experience a variety of hardships, but it also brought to the place I was meant to be—which is playing music.”

“A lot of this music is about running way,” explains Kittrell, “I don’t mean that in a escapist kind of way, but more in terms of exploration. So much of my life has been about running away from tradition and traditional ways of thinking, which seeps into the music we make together. It’s about discovery. It’s not so much about running away from something bad, but rather running towards something really beautiful.”

Recent praise for Baby Alpaca:
“My dreams are never like Chris Kittrell’s “Sea Of Dreams,” but I wish they were. Watching this animation will be as close as I get”. – NPR’s Bob Boilen

 “…Sea of Dreams, which channels The Smiths with it’s dreamy, light dada-rock production – think soft, romantic rock that makes you feel all warm and fuzzy on the inside. The debut EP ranges from playful to emotional, but always leaves you impressed. “ – Disco Naïveté

“”psychedelic dream-folk” – Interview Magazine

“…schooled in the Brolin-way of sparse, soulful pop. Everything is there to be inspected. There to be prodded at. But with nothing overwhelming the vital element – Kittrell’s vocals – you’ve no reason not to pay attention.” – This is Fake DIY

 

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