Yesterday, Seattle-based trio Fences announced upcoming sophomore record Lesser Oceans and dropped a new single, “Arrows.” It features a guest verse from rapper Macklemore and production from Ryan Lewis, two names that undoubtedly helped immediately propel it towards the top of the iTunes singles chart and to Number 1 on the Billboard “Emerging Artists” list. It’s also the first bit of new music from Macklemore since his breakout record The Heist, and caught attention around the globe, from Seattle Seahawks coach Pete Carroll (seriously) to NPR’s All Songs Considered.
But while the Seattle ties run deep on the track, the Boston connection is just as strong. Fences multi-instrumentalist and vocalist Chris Mansfield went to Berklee College of Music, and after his time there in the late-2000s, enlisted Massachusetts talents Benjamin Greenspan (Protokoll) and Lindsey Starr (the Daily Pravda, Lindsey Starr).
Though he’s now based in the Northwest, Greenspan actually first met Mansfield at the now-defunct All Asia Cafe in Cambridge.
“Working with Chris is a unique experience, he’s an incredibly gifted musician and lyricist,” Greenspan tells Vanyaland. “We work so well together because we constantly push each other to do better work and write better songs. It feels like an ongoing competition to one up each other until we get to the best possible result.”
Starr can be heard singing the vocal hook on Macklemore’s “10,000 Hours,” which was recently featured in a Dr. Pepper commercial that was broadcast during the NFL Playoffs.
“Chris and I hit it off immediately,” Starr says. “Working with him has been such an incredible experience. The three of us — Chris, Ben, and I — have a really great chemistry both live and in the studio.”
“Arrows” has the same genre-bending alt-pop appeal as “10,000 Hours,” and it’s super-polished production suggests it’s destined to not only bring Fences to a widespread audience, but continue to topple charts. It will be performed live by Fences alongside Macklemore & Ryan Lewis at the upcoming Outside Lands Music & Arts Festival in San Francisco on August 9, before the crew all jump the Atlantic together for a slew of European music festival.
That’s one way to keep getting attention.
“I have known Macklemore for quite some time,” Mansfield says in a presser. “A friendship grown in the coffee shops and broken sidewalks of Seattle. We became sounding boards for each other’s music and when it made sense we would combine our efforts. I consider him to be a fearless poet and a selfless human. ‘Arrows’ is the peak of our mountain.”
In more ways than one…
We've hit number 1. I have no words. RT @billboard: .@FFEENNCCEESS #Arrows hits No.1 on the #EmergingArtists Chart: http://t.co/qmExgx5335
— Lindsey Starr (@LindseyStarrTCS) July 30, 2014
Fences’ Lesser Oceans is out October 14, but pre-sale is already underway. Check out the lyric video for “Arrows” below…
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