Remember Remember began as the solo musical outlet for multi-instrumentalist Graeme Ronald. His love of understated repetition, chamber pop and Steve Reich-style process music, as well as his use of both traditional and abstract instrumentation (wind-up gizmos, toy sharks and the like), culminated in 2008's self-titled debut album, recorded at Glasgow's Green Door Studios and released on Mogwai's Rock Action label.
By the time of "The Quickening", 2011's follow-up album, Graeme had expanded his solo project into a formidable 7-piece collective, augmented further by a string quartet on many tracks and a guest appearance by award-winning guitarist RM Hubbert. Not only had Remember Remember's membership expanded but so had it's already exotic sonic palette, incorporating elements of krautrock, folk, eastern traditional music and psychedelia.
The critical success of "The Quickening" found them nominated for the inaugural Scottish Album Of The Year (SAY) award, touring with label-mates Mogwai and Errors, and sharing bills with Belle & Sebastian, The Pastels and Yann Tiersen. Opting to eschew traditional touring, the band spent much of 2012 and 2013 engaging in a number of special, one off performances in unconventional venues. These included performances at Glasgow's Planetarium, a bespoke audio-visual performance for the Glasgow Film Festival and an unforgettable performance in Dundee's Ice Arena accompanying a specially choreographed performance by the Scottish Olympic ice skating team.
Throughout these performances, new compositions were created and honed, laying the foundations for the new work that Remember Remember are now poised to present. After nearly three years of preparation, Remember Remember return now with their third album 'Forgetting The Present".
With the band's membership solidified to Graeme, Tommy Stuart (synthesizers), Joanne Murtagh (glockenspiel & percussion), Joseph Quimby (guitars), James Swinburne (saxophone & keyboards) and Andy Brown (drums & percussion), the intention was to create a pure expression of the band's abilities, without the augmentation of additional players . Recorded at Glasgow's Castle Of Doom studios with the renowned Tony Doogan (Belle & Sebastian, Mogwai) at the controls, 'Forgetting The Present' develops Ronald's key themes of pastoral beauty in "The Old Ways" and mantric, pagan repetition as found in "Magnets", yet also finds the band exploring territory unheard of in previous records such as the tropical rhythms of "Purple Phase", the melancholy space-disco of "La Mayo" and the hyper-sensory opener "Blabbermouth".
Crafted over wintertime, Remember Remember have delivered an album that finds it creators remembering the past, casting their eyes to the future and, grandly, 'Forgetting The Present".
