Hanoi was one of a very small number of cities around the world where underground live music thrived throughout 2020, due to Vietnam largely remaining Covid-free. Mukang Fields released our debut full-length album in July 2020 with a live release show at Hanoi Rock City, the city's predominant independent music venue. Overall we found 2020 to be a strangely fruitful year, all things considered, in our small underground scene bubble in East Asia. Covid-reality hit Vietnam in 2021, and our new album was recorded across several months amidst a shifting backdrop of lockdowns and Covid-cancelled gigs. We spent extensive time in the studio with this album and worked with some very talented people. Thanks Alec at Ech Ech Studio for the superb engineering work, Attiss for the deep mixing and Matt for bringing all of that space groove together during the mastering stage.
On The Fifth Floor listeners will hear a concoction of psychedelic electro space jazz, with heavy doses of synthwave, funk, trip hop and drone all working together to create a sound we call "astral groove" that owes as much to John Carpenter as it does to Sun Ra. Each member brings varied musical backgrounds to the group but shares an ethos of carving out our own corner of the beat-driven space jazz universe. Mukang Fields' music incorporates analog synths (including a light-triggered Jupiter drone synth that provides a unique rhythmic foundation), drum machines, saxophone (played with serious jazz chops), conga and other analog percussion, a theremin, vocal looping, throat singing and more, with songs often stretching into 10-plus minute grooves on the album (and often 20 minutes or longer live) that take listeners on a journey into space.
Enjoy our latest venture deep into the world of cosmic space jazz groove.
released February 22, 2022
MUKANG FIELDS: THE FIFTH FLOOR
BILL BADGER Jupiter T3 Analog Synth, DM1, AniMoog, Conga, Percussion, Super Ball
LUKE DALLAGRANA Tenor Sax, Flute
JACKSON GARLAND Moog Sub 37, DM1, Theremin, Throat Singing, Vocal Looping, Samples
all music written by MUKANG FIELDS
recorded at ECH ECH STUDIO, HANOI, VIETNAM March - June, 2021
engineering ALEC SCHACHNER
mixing ATTISS NGO
mastering MATT AGOGLIA at THE RANCH MASTERING, NEW YORK
design JACKSON GARLAND
spiritual advisor CHAD PARKS
mukangfields.bandcamp.com
thanks: Matias, John, Duc Anh, Slowz, Alec, Izzy, David, Tung, Seb, Toby, Linh Ha, Nhung, Ho Tram Anh, Chi Que Anh, Moka Only, Tri Minh, Chuoi, Vu Dan Tan, Zamina, Lamont, Wouter, Ludwig, Skaro, Nige, Hanoi Rock City, Hanoi Social Club, Hub, W2M, Den, Manzi, Tadioto, The Venue, CAMA-ATK, Soul Bar, Rec Room, Chez Xuan, family and friends, the Hanoi music scene
©℗ 2022 MUKANG FIELDS