Long distance labor of love

The Phoenix Bros. drop new EP

The Phoenix Bros. duo Jimmy Morales and Dillon Hargrave debuted their new EP Firehaus on November 5 at Chimera. I went as a blank canvas—hadn’t heard the album, hadn’t yet spoken with them about it. As a happy coincidence, that same night Chimera also unveiled their new venue expansion—the past year’s labor of love. 

I walked through the front entrance and scoured the restaurant for the recently constructed space. Common sense led me to a hallway by the bathrooms that served as a corridor to the venue. As I got closer, the intensity of the bass boomed louder and louder. The room was dark, illuminated only by visuals projected onto the wall, and a multicolored light fixture. The images flashed in seamless accompaniment to the electronic music, captivating everyone in attendance. The light fixture sat in a corner of the room with the sole purpose of providing light to a large kinetic sculpture and possible star of the show.

Built by Tulsa artist Smidge, the structure consisted of a collection of PVC pipes anchored into a cement base. Stuffed animals were tied onto the ends of every pipe, swaying back and forth like tree limbs when pulled towards the floor and let go. 

So, the premier of Firehaus was more than a show, it was an experience—meticulously planned and executed by the electronic music duo, an artistic collaboration sprung from friendship. 

“Jimmy and I met around 2003 while we were both students at Tulsa School of Arts and Sciences (TSAS). The mascot was the phoenix, hence the name: Phoenix Bros.,” said Hargrave in a Facebook chat. Electronic communication between The Phoenix Bros. is a must since Morales moved to Washington two years ago.  

The concept of Firehaus was born in August, 2015 when Hargrave recorded a vinyl brunch at Chimera, hosted by writer John Wooley. 

“The album came about by Dillon doing a podcast at Chimera,” Morales said. “He recorded it and shared it with me saying, ‘you could make an album from all the samples in this podcast, it’s that good.’ So we did!” 

The set list from Wooley’s vinyl brunch included a varied collection of rare tracks from the 50s and 60s, providing Firehaus with a musical landscape rich in feeling and tone. 

“I think what attracted me to that was the fact that it was a very stylized sound from pretty obscure records so I thought the chance of anyone using those samples was pretty slim, and I think something that attracted Jimmy and I both was working on something that’s unique,” Hargrave said. 

In addition to the podcast, Firehaus contains some samples from previous work as well as a vocals-and-sax feature from prolific jazz singer Annie Ellicott on the title track. 

“I reached out to [Ellicott] to see if she would be interested and she agreed to take a swing at it,” Hargrave said. “I didn’t really have a clear vision beyond that. So we went to the studio where she records and we spent the afternoon playing around with it.”  

Firehaus was the first long distance project completed by The Phoenix Bros. and was done entirely through Facebook messenger and Google Drive. When asked about the challenges involved in creating an album so far apart, Hargrave said, “…One of the disadvantages is not really having that hands on studio time with each other to brainstorm and play with different sounds and textures. That’s something I missed with this project.” 

While the duo misses having studio time, they said the process of creating an album is much more streamlined when far apart, forcing them to make decisions based on what they’ve learned about each other through the years.

“When D says make it a little more funky, it’s really easy to know what that means and just implement it on his behalf,” Morales said.  The amount of trust and faith the duo has in each other and their capabilities as producers has made for an enjoyable experience that either would do again. 

“We didn’t speak to each other I don’t think at all except for a video chat we had the day of the release,” Hargrave said. “I can read his voice when I hear it, but it’s a whole different thing to see somebody you haven’t seen or heard speak in so long, and to have it happen for the first time on the day of the release I think is rather remarkable in its own right.”

While The Phoenix Bros. do not have live shows planned for the near future, they have expressed an interest in pursuing spots at festivals this coming summer.

Firehaus is available on beatport.com and Spotify.

For more from Mary, read her profile of rapper Surron the 7th.