Dntel Was Just Dreaming

It’s as if he’s in a dream he doesn’t want to wake from. Jimmy Tamborello, James Figurine, Dntel, whatever you wish to call him. He prefers the dream state where elaborate instrumentals play, where life becomes weightless and where Tamborello feels, in a very real world, unreal. It’s easy to forget that Jimmy Tamborello is real. Under so many monikers, hidden beneath layers of intricately placed beats and vintage electronic affects, it feels as though his dreamy soundscapes and subtle, achy vocals originated light years away. Spreading his talent from project to project (Headset, Figurine, Strictly Ballroom, The Postal Service), Tamborello seems an elusive figure hovering overhead sprinkling his songwriting and production skills into the air, pushing them into flight and wishing them well as gravity pulls them into the real world. For more almost 18 years, Tamborello—the son of a jazz saxophone player and flautist—has been making music from another world. A longtime fan of Brian Eno, he played a combination of hardcore and Eno-style instrumentals in Strictly Ballroom in the early ‘90s. He unleashed his true love for dreamy electronica and glitch when he began recording under the Dntel name about six years ago. He has since collaborated with a variety of artists such as Ben Gibbard, Mia Doi Todd, Chris Gunst of Beachwood Sparks and Brian McMahan of Slint, among others. His new album and Sub Pop debut, Dumb Luck, out April 24, is as dreamy and withdrawn as most of his previous work. The crackling affects seem to suggest another time, the bemoaning soundscapes suggest another dimension and the dozens of guest appearances* suggest Tamborello is almost not there. His presence is paramount to the strength of this record yet, as a gifted producer, Tamborello opts to crouch in the corners, pushing the sounds to take center stage, to take on a dreamy life all their own. And they do, pushing Tamborello’s physicality and character to the side, leaving the music—manufactured and organic—to lead our ears and our souls into a world where emotions rush, minds reflect and bodies take flight through serene landscapes or vast starlit skies. Tamborello’s songs contain no ego. It’s why when many think of The Postal Service, they think of Gibbard. And when they think of Dntel, they think of ethereal sonic escapes. Tamborello prefers it that way – let him be, he’s wandering somewhere through a lovely dream. “All the courage and the talent that you had / Was just in dreams / And when you wake up / You will beg to get it back,” Tamborello sings softly on the title track, as if he had just awoke. *Dumb Luck features contributions from Jenny Lewis (Rilo Kiley), Edward Droste (Grizzly Bear), Valerie Trebeljahr and Markus Acher (Lali Puna), Mia Doi Todd, Grant Olsen and Sonya Westcott (Arthur & Yu), Andrew Broder (Fog), Conor Oberst (Bright Eyes) and Christopher and Jennifer Gunst (Mystic Chords of Memory), the organic instrumentation by Chris Hathwell (drummer, Moving Units) and Paul Larson (guitarist, The Minor Canon).