We’re pleased to premiere the second episode of our collaboration with Chromatic – a Dublin-based duo who film performances using unique spaces as visual and acoustic backdrops, featuring Tandem Felix as they perform ‘Making Dinner on Valentine’s Day’ in the Forgotten Village in Dublin.
“This is a song I heard when they opened for Steve Malkmus & The Jicks back in October 2018. I remember the song well, due to its strong visual word painting throughout. I couldn’t get the song or the visualization of walking around the city, foraging for the various ingredients needed to make the meal. It’s sung and paced in such a relaxed yet warming way of what is probably a mundane task for most people.”
“We chose the Forgotten Village for this episode as we felt it contrasted well against the lyrical subject matter of walking through the streets of NYC, with the lush, peaceful setting correlating to Tapley’s humble vocal delivery.”
The “Forgotten Village” dates back to circa 1837 and has been wonderfully reclaimed back by nature over time. It seems that it used to be a horse stud, possibly connected to a larger estate nearby; the performance takes place in the largest structure of the village. It’s nice to sit there for a moment and imagine what would have been, before hearing a distant Luas bell echo in the distance.
Dave Tapley and Éna Brennan, who usually make up the five-piece band of Tandem Felix, recreated the song in a humble arrangement of vocals, guitar and violin. The additional “accompaniment” from the local bird song complimented the sparse arrangement nicely.
Tapley explains the song: “’Making Dinner on Valentine’s Day’ is the closing song off our upcoming record, “Rom-Com”. There isn’t really much to say about it that you can’t hear for yourself, the lyrics are almost like a diary entry.”
– Bed Stuy, New York. 14th of February 2016. There was an official weather warning from the US government today. They said it was a “health hazard” to stay outside for too long. I guess I could have lost a toe to frostbite or something. It was pretty tough alright when I was out getting things for our dinner – some stir-fry thing with sprouts. I am going home in a few days.
The single ‘Making Dinner on Valentine’s Day’ is out Monday 26th August via Spotify. The album Rom-Com is out October 10th.
For more on Chromatic click here to view their Facebook page.
